OTD is a space-based sensor which has been used to determine the distribution of lightning activity around the globe. It was launched into low earth orbit on April 1995 on the Orbview-1 (formerly Microlab-1) spacecraft. The OTD Mission ended March 23, 2000.

The NLDN is a ground-based lightning detection network for the continental United States that is used to detect cloud-to-ground lightning. The distribution of this data is restricted to NASA EOS and TRMM science investigators. This data cannot be redistributed..

A ground-based lightning detection network that is used to detect lightning over the Atlantic & Pacific oceans up to 1200 miles during the day and 2500 miles at night beyond the continental United States. The distribution of this data is restricted to scientists employed by the US Government.

A type of lightning detection instrumentation that is used to detect both intracloud and cloud-to-ground lightning near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Data can be ordered free of charge from the GHRC through HyDRO, the GHRC's online data ordering system, or by contacting the GHRC User Services Office. Please note that not all datasets archived by the GHRC are from the Lightning Team. Most datasets are available in several media forms, including digital tape and FTP download, and are available in compressed or uncompressed formats. Most datasets are stored in HDF (Hierarchical Data Format) files. Information about this format is available from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the URL http://hdf.ncsa.uiuc.edu/. NCSA provides a public domain library supporting HDF on a wide variety of computer platforms.