Robert Burke, vice president of Civil Systems for Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector called for a comprehensive Global Change Monitoring System (GCMS) while addressing the 47th Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium. Burke identified four components of such a system: observation systems, data handling systems, computing/modeling systems and decision support systems, and indicated that industry could provide all of these capabilities.
“While observations have increased our understanding tremendously, there’s still a lot we don’t understand. Mitigating uncertainty is essential. We need a comprehensive measurement and monitoring system if we are to come to grips with this daunting challenge. The aerospace community must architect the most efficient approach and help our leaders establish a viable way to move forward and implement a GCMS, even with all the demands on their time and budgets.”
Burke goes on to outline necessary capabilities and technology gaps, including the need to better integrate space, airborne and ground-based sensor data. You can read the entirety of his talk on the Northrop Grumman website.
