14th Congress of the International Society of Photogrammetry

Abstract

The recent progress made in the control and determination of spacecraft position, attitude, and stability greatly improve the prospects for a spaceborne digital mapping system . Today no such system exists but the technical problems have, in most part, been solved . Once the associated funding and political problems are resolved, we should see a satellite defined which will result in an operational automated mapping system by which any cloud-free area of the Earth can be mapped in a matter of days . Surely this concept warrants the serious attention of the international mapping community, as well as engineers involved in the planning of new projects . The U. S . Geological Survey has defined and is studying a new mapping satellite known as Mapsat which appears capable of 1 : 50,000-scale mapping with a 10-meter contour interval .