The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA have defined their roles on the Landsat Data Continuity Mission satellite, which is expected to be launched in 2011, the USGS announced March 29.

NASA will procure and develop the space segment and perform on-orbit satellite checkout, while the USGS, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, will develop and implement the ground segment, including a receiving station network, a satellite operations facility and archiving and image-processing facilities. 

After launch and checkout, NASA will transfer the satellite to the USGS for flight operations, data capture and archiving, and product dissemination.