Richard McCunney collaborated in the assembly and system test of the Landsat 1-2 (formerly Earth Resources Technology Satellite) and the Nimbus 5, 6, and 7 satellites, including the Earth Radiation Budget, Infrared Temperature Profile Radiometer and Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet/Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer experiments. These near polar orbiting satellites were employed to inventory and manage the Earth’s resources and helped advance our knowledge of agricultural and forestry resources, geology and mineral resources, hydrology and water resources and meteorological research and development and increased our knowledge of the Earth’s atmosphere, land surface and ecosystems, weather, and oceanography. Data from the Nimbus and Landsat satellites continue to be used in the study of climate change.