GOVERNMENT FUNDED FACILITIES ENGAGED IN OVERHEAD CENSOR EXPLOITATION FOR CIVIL APPLICATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T01137A000300040007-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 25, 2010
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: December 7, 1973
• Content Type: MEMO

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MEMORANDUM FOR: Director, NPIC
SUBJECT Government Funded Facilities Engaged
in Overhead Censor Exploitation for
Civil Application
The number of government agency facilities utilizing
remote sensing is quite extensive. Many of these have
one or two small projects being carried on depending upon
the interests of scientists working at the installation.
These facilities which have relatively small roles to play
will not be listed since I don't believe they warrant a
special visit. The attached list covering the volume of
civil effort is divided into three categories: government
in-house facilities, government support facilities,
commercial contractors who have developed capabilities
based on work done with the classified and unclassified
systems.
Lt. Colonel,
Deputy Chief
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1. The Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville,
Alabama
2. Mississippi Test Facility, Gulf Port, Mississippi
3. Goddard Space Flight Center, Beltsville, Maryland
4. LBJ Space Flight Center, Houston, Texas
The Marshall Space Flight Center and the Mississippi
Test Facility are both involved in projects utilizing high-
altitude aircraft (U-2 and RB-57) along with ERTS data for
a variety of state, municipal, and regional projects
involving agriculture, forestry, urban planning and pollu-
tion problems. The Mississippi Test Facility has resident
scientists from the Geological Survey, Department of
Agriculture, and Department of Commerce. The programs at
the Mississippi Test Facility are probably the best cross
section of interdepartmental type in operation today.
The Goddard Space Flight Center operates the ERTS
Data Processing Center which produces the hard copy
photography from ERTS tapes received from Goldstone and
Alaska, in addition to the imagery received directly at
Goddard. NASA sends the hard copy photography from
Goddard to Sioux Falls where it is reproduced and dis-
tributed to the public and other government agencies.
Goddard also produces limited amounts of imagery for the
NASA funded principle investigators. However, the plan
is that most users would receive the ERTS imagery from
Sioux Falls.
The LBJ Man Space Center, Houston, operates the
NASA U-2 and RB-57 aircraft programs. They also process
Skylab and Apollo photography. They have limited programs
under their management for the exploitation of this
material. For example, the lunar maps for Apollo photo-
graphy are being compiled at the LBJ Space Center and at
DMA, however, the lunar mapping program is being run and
managed from the LBJ Space Center.
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The contact for scheduling visits to any of the NASA
Centers is either at
NASA Headquarters.
1. EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
2. USGS Facility, Menlow Park, Calif.
3. USGS Facility, Federal Center, Denver, Colo.
The EROS Data Center is the principle center serving
the requirements of the federal civil agencies, state and
local governments, foreign governments and the general
public for ERTS imagery. The functions at the EROS Data
Center include reproduction and distribution of ERTS and
aircraft imagery, library storage of ERTS and aircraft
imagery, and training government, commercial, and foreign
personnel on the techniques of exploitation of remote
sensing data. The USGS Menlow Park and Denver offices are
conducting extensive projects involving the geological
interpretation of high altitude aircraft and ERTS imagery.
They are also engaged in several mapping programs utilizing
these materials.
Contact for visits to any of the USGS facilities is
EROS Program Office, Reston, Virginia.
1. National Environmental Reconnaissance Center,
Las Vegas, Nevada
2. Vint Hill Photographic Analysis Center
The EPA Environmental Reconnaissance is engaged in
utilizing NASA procured imagery for pollution studies and
the application of remote sensed data for enforcement
purposes. They also are conducting some R&D to determine
types of pollution and sources which can be controlled most
efficiently by remote sensing. The Vint Hill Center which
will become operational in January 1974 is being set up as
a TK Center. This Center's function will be to extract
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information from TK imagery which can be portrayed at the
secret or unclassified level and fed to all EPA regional
offices. The Center will have the capability for photo-
graphic processing and photographic interpretation.
Contact for visits to any of the EPA facilities is
Government Sponsored Facilities
1. Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Berkley, Calif.
2. Stanford Research Institute, Palo Alto, Calif.
3. Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio
4. Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
S. Jet Propulsion Labs, Pasadena, Calif.
Livermore Lab
AEC and Department of Interior currently have contracts
with the Livermore Lab for remote sensing projects. These
involve primarily the use of high altitude imagery for
geological studies. The work done at the Livermore Lab
utilizes both conventional and TK source material.
Stanford Research Institute
SRI programs have involved Agency sponsored studies
along with Department of Commerce, Department of Interior,
and AEC specialists working on a variety of civil applica-
tions using TK and conventional imagery.
Battelle Memorial Institute
Battelle has been used extensively by the intelligence
community, the Department of Agriculture and Department of
Interior on studies involving the use of satellite photo-
graphy for a variety of applications. They currently have
contracts with CIA, NASA, and Department of Interior con-
cerning interpretation of multi-spectral imagery and data
enhancement.
Contact for visits to Battelle is NPIC's contract
monitor or ODE.
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ERIM
ERIM is the new name for the Willowrun Radar Lab,
formerly of the University of Michigan. This institute
is primarily involved in projects of the Agency and other
government agencies dealing with the applications of side-
looking radar to both reconnaissance and civil requirements.
At the present time their work is about equally divided
between NASA and Agency/DoD contracts.
Visits can be arranged either through the Agency
contracting officer or the contacts listed for Interior
and NASA.
Jet Propulsion Labs
Jet Propulsion Labs has been extensively engaged in
digital enhancement of imagery on a variety of programs to
include ERTS, lunar survey, and the Mars and Jupiter probes.
Frank Billingsly has been in charge of these programs and
is considered one of the true experts in this field.
Briefings by him or his people should be very worthwhile
considering the new system.
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