LAND REMOTE-SENSING COMMERCIALIZATION ACT OF 1984

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP05T02051R000200370003-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 24
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 18, 2011
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: April 3, 1984
• Content Type: REPORT

`- l Approved For Release 2011/08/18: CIA-RDP05TO2051 R000200370003-6
APRIL 3, 1984.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the
Union and ordered to be printed
Mr. FUQUA, from the Committee on Science and Technology,
submitted the following
REPORT
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 5155]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Science and Technology, to which was re-
ferred the bill (H.R. 5155) to establish a system to promote the use
of land remote-sensing satellite data, and for other purposes,
haling considered the same, report favorably thereon without
amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
Page
1. Purpose of the Bill ..............................................................................................
2
1I. Need for Legislation ...........................................................................................
2
01. Title-by-Title Summary of the Bill ..................................................................
3
IN. Committee Actions .............................................................................................
4
V. Background and Commercialization Issues ...................................................
5
Background ........................................................................................................
5
Issues Arising in Considering Commercialization ......................................
6
V1. Explanation of Bill .............................................................................................
9
9
Marketing Opportunities with the Current Landsat System (Title
II) .............................................................................................................. 13
Ownership and Sale of Data ................................................................... 14
The Transition Period of Title III .......................................................... 17
The Definition of "MSS Data" ............................................................... 19
Data Continuity-"TM" versus "MSS" ................................................ 20
Approved For Release 2011/08/18: CIA-RDP05TO2051 R000200370003-6
 XIV. Effect of Legislation on Inflation .....................................................................
XV. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill as Reported ............................
XVI. Agency Recommendations ................................................................................
XVII. Committee Recommendation ............................................................................
XVIII. Additional Views ................................................................................................
'
2
25
29
31
31
31
32
32
32
33
I. PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purposes of the bill are (1) to provide for the phased commer-
cialization of land remote sensing, (2) to ensure the continuity and
availability of land remote-sensing data, (3) to establish a clear
framework of national security and international policy require-
ments within which private remote-sensing space systems operate,
(4) to promote a unified research and development program which
would maintain the United States' leadership in remote sensing, (5)
to provide for the archiving of a basic set of land remote-sensing
data that will serve the public interest for global environmental
monitoring, (6) to delineate the authorities and responsibilities of
the Federal Government in overseeing private sector remote sens-
ing systems. (7) to designate the Department of Commerce as the
lead agency for transferring space remote sensing to the private
sector, for promulgating and enforcing needed regulations, and for
licensing of private sector operators, and (8) to prohibit the com-
mercialization of meteorological satellites.
II. NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Legislation was i .,1 uc in Congress es is an oper-
ational Landsat system in 1973, one year after the launch of Land-
sat 1. Between 1973 and 1983, over twenty bills were introduced
dealing with the operational Landsat question, with Landsat com-
mercialization, or with other remote-sensing issues, although none
was reported out of Committee. Historically, land remote sensing
has enjoyed strong support in the Congress, but there has been a
lack of consensus on the appropriate institutional arrangement for
an operational system, on the role of the Federal Government, and
Approved
Government Regulation and Oversight in Title IV ...........................
Title V and the Need for a Vigorous Federal R&D Program ..........
Data Archiving Under Title VI ..............................................................
Commercialization of Weather Satellites .............................................
Other Issues ...............................................................................................
Foreign Ground Stations .................................................................
Government Platforms for Private Systems ................................
Surplus Equipment ...........................................................................
Radio Frequency Allocation ............................................................
National Security and International Obligations .......................
Reimbursement for Lost Revenues ................................................
Department of Commerce's Authority to Operate and Trans-
fer Remote-Sensing Systems .......................................................
Authorization of Appropriations ....................................................
Sectional Summary of the Bill .........................................................................
Committee Views ................................................................................................
Cost and Budget Data ........................................................................................
Congressional Budget Act Information ..........................................................
Congressional Budget Office, Cost Estimate .................................................
Oversight Findings and Recommendations, Committee on Government
Operations ........................................................................................................
Oversight Findings and Recommendations, Committee on Science and
on the best means of encouraging the increased participation of the
private sector.
Under the provisions of P.L. 98-52, the Secretary of Commerce
does not have the authority to commercialize the Landsat system
without prior statutory approval. This language was adopted to
ensure Congressional involvement in deciding the many policy
issues that commercialization would raise and with knowledge
that, pursuant to a Presidential decision, the Administration was
proceeding to develop its own independent request for proposals
(REP) for commercialization of land remote-sensing systems.
Issues that are raised by the possibility of commercialization in-
clude: program continuity; foreign competition, national security;
international obligations and policy; research and development;
remote sensing as a "public good"; the government's role in assist-
ing commercialization; and government oversight mechanisms.
These are all discussed more fully in Section V of this report.
Why Commercialize? The Committee and the Congress have over
the years supported commercialization of space technology when-
ever such commercialization is appropriate. For example, the 98th
Congress has augmented programs such as NASA's Technology
Utilization Program which make space technology generally availa-
ble to users. In the case of land remoted sensing, the Committee
has indicated its specific support for commercialization in Report
98-65 accompanying H.R. 2065, the NASA Fiscal Year 1984 author-
ization bill (which became P.L. 98-52).
From its inception, the Landsat technology was intended to be
commercialized because the majority of its uses serve commercial
interests. A present inhibition to commercialization is the lack of a
market, and market development is an activity in which the pri-
vate sector excels. Entrepreneurs will make sure that potential
users become paying users, so there will be a greater use of these
data. The private sector is also good at optimizing the cost-effective-
ness of technology-and making the benefits broadly available-as
it has done with the computer chip. Ultimately, commercialization
should reduce Federal expenditures by perhaps $150 million per
year (but in the near term, costs may be about the same). In sum-
mary, a market-driven system will result in more efficient technol-
ogy and hardware, expanded markets, and a broader scope of bene-
fits for all.
Summary.-Given the general support for commercialization of
space technology, the several issues that arise when land remote-
sensing commercialization is considered, and the statutory prohibi-
tion of commercialization, there is a clear need for legislation both
all th- iblic-- -~.?~
and private, to be realized.
III. TITLE-BY-TITLE SUMMARY OF THE BILL
Three progressive phases of commercialization of land remote
sensing are established in Titles II, III, and IV of H.R. 5155. The
other titles provide a context for the commercialization process.
Title I has findings, purposes, policies, and definitions.
Title II provides for the first phase of commercialization. A con-
tractor would market all new and archived data from the existing
Approved For Release 2011/08/18: CIA-RDP05TO2051 R000200370003-6
 Approved For Release 2011/08/18: CIA-RDP05TO2051 R000200370003-6
oo
W- r MO ' o z fro 7c' o c Sg'
-
. n ?
LT,(nrn O G O
-0 MM; o ID
0 :3
roP cD G
C
r. ocD
0
?,a(D
Q (P e+
'O iv w r+
F _0Cl) o o w
~0 ~G~cexlin~'~~?
n'OGG~~
CFq ->005 !D
cn w ~]p Wooq (D ~*O G ?~
M UU) fD ID G A~ f9 to c~D
Z 00
2xmd 5
3 ~~ S3 x
3
u g'T '=a
3
~~?~ A 7 S
P*C
oA' 30
m'
r ? - ? i..i .T V - F+ U7
A2 0'w (fin o ~w min
?3' r'r.cDCD ~fDO? , "o ?:~~? ?wGwr'`~a0
cno? w O cD'o? cn
=g3
c p-?'
El M
m r.fy uw, (DOq (~D w~? cnti G 0 Enna co ma (n a0 1 M + I ? ?a5? n (n CD m c.~"?v ? a.0 c a
--3 0
a-s-wimcpao?~~o '-?
d. r. cD G
uq
N oo c 0 O 0
--3
o m< aomc;"(Og a --mb
'+ .
E.*aaZ~.
~gwta~.
?Jw~09orco '-~
m`3 t~
~c