NASA's Earth Science Use of Commercially Available Remote.

The article focuses on the NASA Scientific Data Purchase (SDP), which represented an unparalleled alliance between NASA and commercial data providers. The SDP is a product of a Congressional mandate ordering NASA to set aside $50 million for the acquisition of remotely sensed data from commercial providers to meet NASA's science needs. Five companies were awarded data purchase contracts for: the global database of orthorectified Landsat imagery from Earth Satellite Corp.; digital elevation model and orthorectified image data from EarthWatch Inc., in collaboration with Intermap Technologies Inc.; multispectral imagery from Positive Systems Inc.; and IKONOS satellite panchromatic and multispectral imagery from Space Imaging LLC.