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NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program announces the addition of three digital elevation and digital terrain products from Vantor’s Precision3D Product Line to its Satellite Data Explorer (SDX) data access and discovery tool.
The products include:
“Digital Elevation Models are foundational geospatial infrastructure for NASA’s science community, and including them in the CSDA program ensures broad, consistent access to high‑quality commercial terrain data that sharpen geometric accuracy, support Earth system and hazard modeling, and extend NASA’s capabilities in support of Earth action priorities,” said Dana Ostrenga, Project Manager for the CSDA.
About SDX
The SDX allows users to search, discover, and access data acquired through the CSDA program. The web tool offers streamlined data download, automated quota tracking, and a new coverage map that provides a high-level overview of the regions covered by of the data discoverable through the SDX for any specified month and year. Currently, SDX offers access to the EarthDEM digital elevation model created by the Polar Geospatial Center at the University of Minnesota and now Vantor (formerly Maxar). For a summary of the NASA commercial partner datasets available in SDX, visit the SDX website.
Researchers interested in accessing these data in SDX can use their Earthdata Login for authentication and initiate data download requests. Data will be made available for download upon approval and acceptance of the end user license agreement (EULA). The use of these digital elevation and digital terrain products is governed by a United States government End User License Agreement (USG EULA).
To order data from SDX, users must create an account with and be logged in to NASA Earthdata. (The initial attempt to use SDX will redirect users to Earthdata Login, where they will be prompted to enter their Earthdata credentials and accept the terms of the EULA.) Users must agree to the terms of the EULA before any data can be requested. Note: All data requests must be approved by CSDA data managers.
About the CSDA Program
NASA’s Earth Science Division (ESD) established the CSDA Program to identify, evaluate, and acquire data from commercial providers that to support NASA’s Earth science research and applications. NASA recognizes the potential of commercial satellite constellations to advance Earth System Science and applications for societal benefit and believes commercially acquired data can augment the Earth observations acquired by NASA, other U.S. government agencies, and NASA’s international partners.
All data from CSDA contract-awarded vendors are evaluated by the investigator-led CSDA project teams that assess the value of adding a vendor’s data to CSDA’s data holdings based on their quality and how they might benefit in the context of NASA Earth science research and applications. To learn about the program, its commercial partners, data evaluation process, and more, visit the CSDA website.
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