Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Film

The United States Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS) is a polar orbiting meteorological sensor with two spectral bands (visible and thermal infrared) capable of acquiring global coverage on a daily basis at .27 km spatial resolution. Until 1992, there was no digital archive for DMSP-OLS data. Air Force meteorologists did their analysis using visible and thermal band film strips. The National Snow and Ice Data Center maintained an archive for OLS film from 1972-1992 through a cooperative institute with NOAA. In 1992, a digital archive for the OLS data was established at the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC). In 1996, NGDC had the film archive shipped to the Federal Records Center at the Denver Federal Center due to storage limitations.