Status of the landsat data continuity mission

A new strategy has emerged for continuing the acquisition of Landsat data beyond the mission life of Landsat 7. An initial effort to extend the Landsat program through a commercial data procurement was ended in late 2003. An interagency working group has since convened and recommended merging the Landsat program into the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). The strategy would place a Landsat sensor, called the Operational Land Imager (OLI), on an NPOESS satellite in time for the late 2009 launch of the first satellite in the NPOESS constellation. An earlier "gap-filler" mission is also under consideration due to the age and condition of Landsat 5 and 7. The recommended merger would place the next Landsat mission, called the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), into a stable operational environment while enhancing the land observation capabilities and services of the NPOESS