COMMERCIALIZATION OF LANDSAT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP05T02051R000200370006-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 18, 2011
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: March 27, 1989
• Content Type: MEMO

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/18: CIA-RDP05TO2051 R000200370006-3
SUBJECT: Commercialization of LANDSAT
Attached at Tab A is a law review article that discusses
the Land Remote Sensing Act of 1984 and the problem it
attempted to solve: the commercialization of LANDSAT. The
article makes clear, in my opinion, that the viability of
LANDSAT commercialization was a major concern of the Executive
branch and the Congress when the legislation was passed. See
article at 74-85. Specifically, the extent and nature of the
market was a concern of the drafters. Although I cannot point
to a particular portion of the legislative history (much of
which I do not have), it is my belief that these concerns are
the reason the first version of the legislation, the one passed
by the House of Representatives, contained the requirement,
which they ultimately enacted into law, that "[i]t shall be the
policy of the United States both to commercialize those
remote-sensing space systems that properly lend themselves to
private sector operation and to avoid competition by the
Government with such commercial operations. . . ." Sec.
103(c), 15--U.S.C. ? 4203(c).
The newspaper articles attached at Tab B reflect that
LANDSAT has had significant commercial viability problems that
almost resulted in the recent termination of the system. I
think the Mo Rosen proposal, if adopted, could significantly
exacerbate those problems.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/18: CIA-RDP05TO2051 R000200370006-3
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/18: CIA-RDP05TO2051 R000200370006-3
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/18: CIA-RDP05TO2051 R000200370006-3
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.RAY CLINE
Nickel
and
during:
Landsat
n emergency congressional
hearing was convened last
'Ibesday to examine why
an invaluable bit of ad-
vanced technology 'enabling- the
United States to collect valuable inn-
agery of the earth's surface is in dan-
ger of being phased out at the end of
this month.
Testimony was presented by a
numberof expert witnesses andsev-'r
oral congressmen commented as
members of the Subcommittee on
Natural Resources, Agricultural Re-
search and Environment of the
I louse Committee on Science, Space
and 'A?chnology. The gist of the re-
marks was that the executive
branch was about to commit an in-
credibly stupid folly by ,allowing
data flow of importance to many
because nobody wants to pay
the bill.
If current circumstances
prevail, the Earth Observation
Satellite Co. (EOSAT) will be
forced to shutdown Landsats
ness.
The official explanation from the
National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration, the.
government agency that
oversees Landsat oper-
ations, is budgetary con-
straints. Yet only $10 million
is needed to keep these two
satellites operational. I sus-
and a lack of strategic vision.
The testimony made clear that the
Defense Department, the Interior;
Department, the Agriculture De-i
partment,.the,Commercei Defirt; .
"~tient;tfie'Sfatd'Dep'arhnenyati the'
intelligence community all benefit
from the images of the earth pro-
vided by Landsat. It Is amazing that
these satellites are still functioning
several years after their designed
life expectancy, a technical marvel.
Because of this bonus benefit to
EOSAT and the whole world, nobody
has budgeted the money to keep
these surveillance. systems oper-
ational beyond March 31. ? . ?
This folly is all the harder to be-
lieve because budgetary limitations
and other difficulties have kept the
next satellite, Landsat 6, from being
orbited until 1991. Thus the only us-
able imagery in the public domain
for commercial exploitation Is the
bonus operational capacity of Land-
sats 4 and S.
Fortunately, the heat being put
upon the Bush administration as a
result of this situation has caused
Vice President Dan Quayle, head of
the Space Council, to state categori-
cally the money would be found
somewhere and somehow to keep
Landsats 4 and S going for a time,
perhaps a few weeks or months. Yet
Fortunately ,the heat being put
upon the Bush administration as a
'result of this situation has caused
Vice President Dan,Quayle, head of
the Space Council, tQ,state categori-
cally the money would be found
somewhere and somehow to keep ?
Landsats 4 and 5 going for a time,
perhaps a few weeks or months. Yet
nobody knows where the funds will
come from to budget for operations
as long as these systems perform
down until 1991. A clear and firm
policy on civil remote-sensing infor-
mation is hard.to.pcrceive In this
fumbling approach to using a great
national asset.
I n the 1950s, the United States
desperately needed to under-
stand the kind of world -and the
potential conflicts it was con-
fronting. An appropriate national
strategy.- needed to be forniulated.
With national uncertainty about dan-
gers ahead., preoccupying American
citizens, the president ordered de-
velopment of the classified govern-
ment overhead reconnaissance sys-
tems.
Associated institutions were or-
ganized to tnaxitnize"exploitation of
the information being gathered by
overhead reconnaissance through
research and technical analysis.
When I was deputy director for
intelligence at the CIA, I supervised
the joint facility, the National Photo-
graphic Interpretation Center,
which served us conspicuously well
during the Cuban missile crisis of
1962.
Without question, our nation's
surveillance capabilities increased.
international security and stability
substantially, in part because at that
time President Dwight D. Eisen-
hower, on the basis of facts about
world power, adopted a firm strategy
of containment and deterrence.
In 1972, a twin surveillance sys-
tem, unclassified and not managed
41 1
L7 1E
1. From pngeF
^ lite,.later,.named Landsat.' Landsat
was a direct response to the growing-
,:awareness;of.global' environment
;challenges. Even though the 'res-
+'olution capabilities of the first three
..satellites; orbited were quite poor,
:? Landsat.did;much to reshape our
perceptions of Earth as an. lnte-
','grated ecosystem.
In 1982,a new instrument, the the-
matic mapper, was included that fur-
?thel"Increased the utillty`of data
gathered by Landsat With a res-
olution olution of objects on earth of 30 me-
ters:in dimension; the information`
was relevant to environmental and
military?planners alike. Images ac
'quired by Landsat are used for many
is purposes, ',;including economic ? re-
sources' development' and envlron-;
'mental cbntrrol. No matter how you.
*,'slice it, Landsat1s an unqualified,
+buccess story, although mostly un?:
? known and unsung.
The squabble over funding of '
Landsat served to detract from
the core Issue. Our govern-
ment still had not made a commit-
ment to using our, civilian remote-
sensing . assets ? as part of an
integrqted national security strat-
egy. something that would be much
to our, benefit.
In 1986, the Fredch shattered any'
illusion that the United States had a.'
.monopoly on earth-observation
technology when. they launched`
SPOT-1, . an advanced civilian re-
mote?sensintg satellite with res-,
olution capabilities of 10 and 20 me-
ters. SPOT has been used to monitor.
DATE 1~.~.?c(~
ndlitai acUVltte3-in-. the Soviet'
Union and the rest of the world. In
,another development, the Soviet-.
Union entered:'the commercial.
',remote-sensing market and now dis--
tributes images of S-meter dimen--
stone on a Umlted scale, . .
.r.,''-Withjhe information age literally
exploding all around us, nations of
"all Ideological persuasion are mov-
ing Inexorably into a new era of in-
tetnatfonal openness.
b;~"Global changes are also numer-
oils and pose new challenges to U.S,..
''national security. The environmen,
;;tai concerns first detected by Land]
sat have proven to be of greater con=, -
sequencethan previously imagined,
as acid rain and the greenhouse ef? .
Meet on global warming clearly dem;.?
;.onstrate. All told, the United States.
is' once' again In a position, as we:
Were 40 years ago, where its citizens
`lmust7'understand the extent of -
~ mtfdern-day' global' changes and,,
Intelligence, President Bush Is'
uniquely qualified to grasp the Im-
>?pllcations, of this: challenge. The
}time Is nips for the president to re-
;;think.Ike's 1955 "open skies" pro-
posal and incorporate It In a strate- ??
':gic policy that will contribute to the:;
security, and economic strength of-w
the:United States and a growing';
number of nations.
s'' - A revised "open skies" policy will ,
not undermine our classified intelli-
gence efforts, but will serve the in-'
terests'of international peace
keeping, of economic resources
development and environmental
quality, control.
s+..hi?a =1
will determine who wins and who
loses geopollticAlly, more, even, than
missiles and gun& iv
S6; Whatever It takes, I hope all the
pander present today can resolve
their differences and fund the oper-
ations of?Landsata 4' and S for the
remainder of fiscal 1989 and as long
as the satellites last. They area small
but bignlficant part of an ongoing
information-age policy of peace se-
curity, prosperity and enviraonmen-
ta%safety.:,;,,.; .,, q!
.
4t?'On4we confirm the importance ..
of keeping Landsats 4 and S in opera- ..
-lion, we should begin exploring the
larger policy options before us. If we.
cannot :.make these small steps In.
,'support' of the Landsat programs..
,the future of Spaceship Earth is in .
_rr
doubt.+? Surely, 510 ? million is not
much to spend when you look at the
larger global picture. If we do not understand that basic'
fact, W0 will not be part of the solu-
tion of is sound future for our planet,