Mark Hess

Headquarters, Washington, D.C. January 24, 1990

(Phone: 202/453-4164)

Paula Cleggett-Haleim
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone: 202/453-1548)

Mike Braukus
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-5565)

RELEASE: 90-10

MANAGEMENT OF POLAR PLATFORM TO CHANGE

NASA Administrator Richard H. Truly has approved a plan to

transfer the management of the polar orbiting platform, currently
under development by the Office of Space Flight as part of the
Space Station Freedom program, to the Office of Space Science and
Applications which has responsibility for the proposed Earth
Observing System (EOS) program.

President Bush has made preservation of the environment a

top priority. NASA's EOS is a key element of the overall Mission
to Planet Earth initiative, the purpose of which is to produce
the understanding needed to predict changes in the Earth's
environment. EOS will observe the Earth from polar orbit to
understand the processes that control the global environment.

EOS is planned to be a major new effort within NASA, and the

unmanned polar platform will be the first piece of hardware to be
built for this program. "This gives the responsibility for
managing the EOS platform to the office responsible for carrying
out the EOS mission," said Dr. William B. Lenoir, Associate
Administrator for Space Flight. "In a management sense, it puts
the development and operation of the platform closer to the users
of the platform."

Plans for EOS observations have been developed in

coordination with NASA's international partners. "This
transition plan was discussed with our international partners and
we have assured them that agreements between us will be honored
in all regards," said Lenoir.
 - more -
- 2 -

The role of the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.,

which manages the EOS program and the polar platform, has not
been altered by this decision. Goddard will continue to play a
vital role in the Freedom program as the NASA center responsible
for developing the Flight Telerobotic Servicer, a space robot
that will be used in the assembly and maintenance of the manned
base.

Goddard will retain its management responsibility for

developing the platform with General Electric Astro Space,
Princeton, N.J., as the prime contractor. Current plans call for
the U.S. platform to be launched in 1998 on a Titan IV rocket
from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The platform will have an
orbital lifetime of at least 5 years.

Transition of management of the polar platform will be

conducted during the 1990 fiscal year. Beginning in FY 1991,
complete responsibility for the polar platform will be
transferred to the Office of Space Science and Applications.

- end -

TO: MDS/PRA Group

1615 L Street, N.W. - Suite 100
Washington, D.C. 20036

DATE & TIME: JANUARY 24, 1990

ORDERED BY: Edward Campion

NASA Headquarters/LMD
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20546 PHONE: 202/453-8400

PROJECT TITLE: Release No: 90-10

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