The Perils of Landsat from Grassroots to Globalization: A Comprehensive Review of US Remote Sensing Law with a Few Thoughts for the Future

Therefore, the purpose of this article is twofold. The first is to strongly state that the time has come for a long-term, stable, transparent, globalization- era approach for OLI, n6e Landsat. The second purpose is to provide a comprehensive review of US remote sensing law and the environment in which it evolved to provide an institutional memory for future actions. The paper is in four parts. The first is this introduction. The second section identifies some of the macro forces that have been at play in the evolution of the Landsat program. In the third section, US land remote sensing is organized into four eras according to the legal foundation that existed in each. Each era is discussed in a brief synopsis followed by a description of its statutory foundation. The fourth section offers some lessons learned and raises some thoughts about the land remote sensing era that has just begun with the two most recent decisions