COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo -- The Pentagon is using experimental weather satellites developed by NASA as it wages war against the Iraqi military, according to a U.S. government official.

Data from NASAs Aqua and Terra satellites is helping U.S. forces forecast sandstorms that could interfere with their operations, said John Cunningham, director of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite program office at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Launched in May 2002, Aqua is on a six-year mission to observe Earth's oceans, atmosphere, land, ice flows, snow packs and vegetation.

The $1.3 billion Terra is the first satellite to monitor daily on a worldwide scale how the Earth's atmosphere, land, oceans, solar radiation and life influence each other.

The campaign in Iraq marks the first time those satellites have been used by the military during its operations, Cunningham said during a press conference here at the National Space Symposium on April 8.