Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/41362
NEWSLINK Census Moves Forward with Geographic Initiative The U.S. Census Bureau has several years before the next census, but the agency already is leaning heavily on a new Geographic Support System (GSS) Initiative that would make the flow of needed address information more continuous. In a June 2011 posting on the Census Bureau's "Director's Blog," the agency touts the GSS as key to leveraging lessons from the 2010 Census. "Updating the master list of addresses using the Postal Service list produced a stronger list in 2010," according to the blog. "One critical component is the [GSS], an inte- grated program to improve address coverage and provide continuous spatial feature updates as well as enhanced quality assessment and measurement. As part of these efforts, the Census Bureau hopes to initiate programs to work with partners (state, tribal and local governments as well as private entities) to receive addresses and map feature information continuously throughout the decade, and to update our systems so we can more fully leverage GPS and GIS technologies and resources." The bureau got the GSS ball rolling in November 2010, releasing a request for information (RFI) seek- ing vendor input on the planned acquisition program. The RFI states that the initiative's purpose is to "acquire Contractor services for geographic data processing system design, development, operation and maintenance of the Geography Division's com- puter infrastructure in support of new and ongoing programs and operations." The RFI goes on to state that those submitting information are "encouraged to propose creative, innovative solutions employing industry best practices to program management and engineering processes to deliver the required func- tionality without constraints." The bureau has indicated that under the GSS Initiative, researching the availability of commercial address lists and the possibility of using those lists to update Census systems—such as the Master Address File and the Topologically Integrated Geocoding and Referencing System—will be a key activity. Census officials also maintain that the initiative will "allow for a targeted, rather than full, address-canvassing operation during 2019 in prepa- ration for the 2020 Census." NASA Taps Maryland Firm for Geo Support NASA chose Maryland-based Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies Inc. (SGT) to provide support for geophysics, geodynamics and space geodesy work, awarding the company a contract worth a potential $45 million through August 2015. The contract calls on SGT to support a variety of geodynamic, geomagnetic, geophysical and atmospheric investigations of Earth. Work is expected to require instru- ment development; software development and mainte- nance; and data collection, archiving and dissemination. Additional efforts could include scientific data analysis, modeling and interpretation; reports and presentations of scientific results; public outreach and education; and associated technical and administrative work. Through the contract, SGT will support investigators and personnel working on projects and programs such as Interdisciplinary Studies in Earth Science, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, the Ocean Surface Topography Mission, and ICESat as well as future missions such as ICESat-2 and Surface Water Ocean Topography. The work will be performed at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and at the SGT facility in Greenbelt. An artist's rendering shows NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment mission satellite, whose investigators will be supported through a new NASA geophysics/geodynamics/geodesy contract with Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies Inc. 8 GEO W ORLD / AUGUST 2O11 NASA