SMSRs prepare Agency safety and engineering management to participate in program final readiness reviews preceding flights or launches, including experimental/test launch vehicles or other reviews as determined by the Chief, Safety and Mission Assurance. SMSRs also provide the knowledge, visibility, and understanding necessary for senior safety and engineering management to either concur or nonconcur in program decisions to proceed with a launch or significant flight activity.

Subset of an instrument acquisition data segment, cut by time i.e. across-swath.

The SDMP describes how the program will manage the scientific data generated and captured by operational mission. The SDMP also includes descriptions of how data will be generated, processed, distributed, analyzed, and archived.

Science data product generation software and software documentation. Source code used to generate products at all levels in the science data processing system.

Datasets and documentation. Accuracy of products, as measured by validation testing, and compared to accuracy requirements. Description of validation process, including identification of validation data sets, measurement protocols, data collection, analysis and accuracy reporting.

Identify all ancillary data or other data sets used in generation or calibration of the data or derived product at all levels

Product access (reader) tools. Software source code that would facilitate use of the calibration data, ancillary data and the data products at all levels.

Most of the EOS standard products are produced at facilities under the direct control of the instrument Principal Investigators/Team Leaders (PIs/TLs) or their designees. These facilities are referred to as Science Investigator-led Processing Systems (SIPS). SIPS are geographically distributed across the United States and are generally, but not necessarily, collocated with the PIs/TLs’ Scientific Computing Facilities. 

Products produced at the SIPS using investigator-provided systems and software are sent to appropriate DAACs for archival and distribution. Level 0 Data Products and Ancillary Data that begin the processing sequence are stored at the DAACs and retrieved by the SIPS.

The procedure to search an archive based on specific search criteria (search) and to obtain information on available products (discovery). Data search and discovery are made possible by searchable metadata and browse image catalogues, as well as a catalogue service for making the catalogue accessible. 

During discovery, following a data search, the user finds data based on search criteria and evaluates if the data found are suitable for their application ('fit for purpose'). The user may then decide to retrieve the data.

A file that contains metadata thoroughly describing the characteristics and content of the file.

Device which transmits an output signal as voltage in response to a physical input stimulus. In Earth observation a distinction between passives sensors, such as radiometers, and active sensors, such as radars, is common. Earth observation sensors – or instruments – are operated from different ground-/water-based, airborne, or spaceborne platforms.

A grouping of science data that all come from the same source, such as a modeling group or institution. Series/collections have information that is common across all the datasets/granules they contain.

Metadata elements that describe an entire set of data files. Values of series/collection metadata apply to all of the files in a specific aggregate. Series/collection metadata may represent the same release of any given file, sets of data generated during an experiment, a campaign or an algorithm test.

Method by which location or coverage is designated (e.g., latitude and longitude).

Standard products are agency-certified key products resulting from missions or projects. They are typically acquired systematically and generated by spatially and temporally extensive systematic processing.

The SRB is responsible for conducting independent reviews (life cycle and special) of a program/project and providing objective, expert judgments to the convening authorities. The reviews are conducted in accordance with approved Terms of Reference (ToR) and life-cycle requirements per this document and NPR 7123.1.

The responsibility for planning, management and certification of digital EO data sets throughout the mission phases and to ensure adequate funding. It includes curation and preservation activities. 

Data stewardship covers governance, planning, implementation and management of the sourcing, use and maintenance of space data assets. Data stewardship enables the governance of all the types and forms of space data package and the related repositories or archives.

An organized set of terms, headings or codes representing concepts and their inter-relationships, which can be used to support information retrieval.

The extraction of a multi-dimensional rectangular array of pixels from a single data granule, where consecutive pixels are extracted from each array dimension. For each dimension, the size of the pixel array is characterized by the starting pixel location and the number of pixels to extract.

A swath is defined as the area covered by the spatial samples collected during a scan of a spaceborne instrument defined by an incidence angle.

SARs evaluate whether a specific end item is sufficiently mature to be shipped from the supplier to its designated operational facility or launch site.

SDRs evaluate the credibility and responsiveness of the proposed program requirements/architecture to the Mission Directorate requirements and constraints, including available resources, and allocation of requirements to projects. SDRs also determine whether the maturity of the program's mission/system definition and associated plans are sufficient to begin preliminary design.

SIRs evaluate the readiness of the program, including its projects and supporting infrastructure, to begin system algorithm integration and test (AI&T) with acceptable risk and within cost and schedule constraints.

SRRs evaluate whether the functional and performance requirements defined for the system are responsive to the Mission Directorate requirements on the program and its projects and represent achievable capabilities.