Earth Observation, the Environment, Space, and Remote Sensing Law in the Pacific Rim: James T. Mahoney

June 21, 2010 at 3:25 pm | Posted in Blogcast, Space Law | Leave a comment

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

James T. Mahoney, Lead Counsel, Space Operations Missions Directorate, NASA presented next on NASA’s dataaccess policies. He said that essentially NASA’s policy was to distribute its data as quick as possible and free of charge.

Mahoney said that NASA’s policy was to provide full and open access in a timely manner, with no period of exclusive access to mission scientists, and at no costs. He said that this data access policy was administered on a nondiscriminatory basis, meaning that any user in the world may have access to the data. The only costs that will be imposed on a user are the costs of distribution.

He did note that sometimes NASA engaged in agreements which allowed it to veer away from this policy. Specifically, he cited the ALOS-PALSAR Agreement with Japan, which creates a two tiered access policy in which scientific users can gain access to the data for free and commercial users must pay for the data.