(Washington, DC) - Today, the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) launched successfully from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The Landsat program is an ongoing joint effort between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, which began in 1972 to study the surface of the Earth. This will be the eighth satellite in the history of the program.
Ranking Member of the Space Subcommittee Donna F. Edwards (D-MD) made the following statement.
"I want to congratulate all of the people involved in making this a successful launch: the people at Orbital sciences who built the satellite; those at Kennedy Space Center providing launch management; those at United Launch Alliance who provided the Atlas V rocket; and the people at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD responsible for LDCM project management. The Landsat program has provided invaluable information for the past 40 years, including data on forest cover, agricultural outputs, ice cover, wildfires, and the management of water resources. This information helps us track and understand what is happening to our planet, which is so important at this time of great environmental change and resource usage. This latest Landsat satellite will allow us to continue this critical work."