On January 2nd, 1974, The Earth Resources Observation and Science Data Center, (EROS), begins operations in its new facility. The complex is located about 15 miles north and east of Sioux Falls.
The U.S. Geological Survey office that administers the EROS Data Center marked the 50th anniversary of the operation by publishing the projects history and accomplishments.
The concept of a remote sensing satellite program was proposed early in 1966. By September that year, the proposal was put into motion. It was determined early on that a small area in the upper Midwest would be best suited to downlink data gathered by satellites. Ironically, the downlink would not be operational at the EROS site until 1987.
But first, back to the selection of a Data Center Site. Politics and free land tipped the balance in favor of a site between Dell Rapids and Garretson. Senator Karl Mundt, a friend of then President Richard Nixon, and Congressman Ben Rifle, supplied the political influence. A Sioux Falls area Development group headed by businessman Al Schock lobbied with the offer of free land. That combination tipped the balance and South Dakota was selected.
In 1971, EROS Staff began working out of offices in downtown Sioux Falls. In 1972, a ground-breaking for the Data Center was held at the site in northern Minnehaha County. The building was dedicated in August 1973. It now hosts over 500 employees and contractors and is home to one of the largest computer facilities used by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Data has been gathered by several “land-sat” satellites over the years, monitoring the earth's surface ranging from glacial deterioration to changes in the planet's vast desert spaces. In 1986, the Data Center monitored damage from the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
Additions were made to the building complex in 1994, and in 2023, EROS announced a new trio of satellites that when operational, will allow full mapping of Earth every six days with additional multispectral bands.
Production help is provided by Doctor Brad Tennant, Professor of History at Dakota Wesleyan University.