[1] In August 1980, the National Earth Satellite Service (NESS) was removed from the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Services and became a principal agency line organization in NOAA with an Assistant Administrator who reported directly to the Administrator.
This move reflected the increasing importance of satellite observations to NOAA's environmental science and service responsibilities.
It was largely precipitated by a decision by the Carter Administration in November 1979 to assign NOAA management responsibility for all civil operational remote sensing from space.
NESDIS's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) archives data collected by the NOAA, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, the Federal Aviation Administration, and meteorological services around the world.
NESDIS also runs many offices, including:[3][4] In 1960, TIROS-1, NASA's first owned and operated satellite, was launched.