Legacy of NOAA, NASA and NIST Cooperation in Developing Radiometric Calibration Standards, Equipment and Methodologies

This report traces the historical development of radiometric standards and calibration methodologies over the past several decades for optical passive sensor calibration at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), formerly National Bureau of Standards NBS. From the beginning, a remarkable goal oriented interaction between scientists and engineers of the 3 agencies took place to reduce the measurement uncertainties and improve the quality of observations. The reports and papers published in the literature show this classic effort from the 3 agencies. Landmark developments such as the absolute cryogenic radiometer, the Si –trap detector and various transfer standards from NIST and the resulting improvements of measurement uncertainties are traced. The time frame from 1987 to 2007 is called the EOS, NPOESS and GOES-R period that institutionalized the interactions of NOAA and NASA with NIST. Both NASA and NOAA started funding NIST for improved standards and calibrations, and at present the emphasis on achieving high accuracy for remote sensing data is further augmented by the requirements for improved weather prediction and climate change monitoring.