NATIONAL SPACE POLICY ISSUE PAPER SUGGESTED REVISION TO VII. D. (1)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP92B00181R001701640056-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 3, 2012
• Sequence Number: 56
• Content Type: MISC

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP92B00181R001701640056-1
National Space Policy
ISSUE PAPER
SUGGESTED REVISION TO VII. d. (1)
Issue: Should National Space Policy continue to encourage
continuity of remote sensing data from commercial
United States remote sensing systems?
Present Wording:
(1) The United States Government-will: .(a) en-
courage the development of commercial systems which
image the Earth from space, competitive with or su-
perior to foreign-operated civil or commercial sys-
tems; Db) continue to encourage commercial Earth
remote sensing and the continuity of date; (c)...;
NSC Core Working Group Positions:
DOC and OMB: Remove Ub)..;Isince it does not repre-
sent United States Government policy. It is not cur-
rent policy to "continue to encourage the continuity
of data", irrespective of whether it is from a com-
mercial system or not.
State/DCI: Retain Gb)..:ibut restate slightly to
read: "continue to encourage the continuity of data
from United States commercial earth remote sensing
systems;". Both national law and policy do in fact
support remote sensing data continuity from civil
Earth remote sensing systems.
PROS (State/DCI):
Public'Law 98-365, Section 102 ("Land Remote-Sensing
Commercialization Act of 1984") stipulates "assuring
continuous data availability to the Federal Government"
from commercial remote sensing systems, such as Landsat;
-- The Department of Commerce "Revised Landsat Commer-
cialization Plan" accepted by the Administration last
October 1, and by Congress last October 15, states that
"the Administration is committed to the continuation of
Landsat as a commercial-system,r-and "The. Administration
will plan the development of an additional advanced tech-
nology civil earth remote sensing satellite" because
"This approach provides the best long term prospect for
quccess by continuing the present acquisition of Landsat
data..."
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-- Moreover, the Intelligence and Defense agencies
have made extensive use of civil imagery and remote
sensing data from Landsat and have found it valuable
if not critical in fulfilling mission responsibilities.
It is our understanding that the Intelligence Community
plans to make expanded use of such data;
-- Civil remote sensing data continuity is a .
component of U.S. national advanced technology capabi-
lities and competitive growth. An important "value-
added" (i.e. data enhancement) industry is developing
in this area to exploit and expand U.S. leadership in
advanced data processing. Loss of data continuity could
erode U.S. leadership if our private commercial firms
were forced to rely upon unreliable or inferior foreign
data.
CONS (DOC/OMB):
-- Removal of Eb)...1.1is consistent with current Admini-
stration and Congressional policy. No decision of any
type will be made for beyond Landsat 6 until after the
study by .DOC to define the technical, market, and finan-
cial options available for a follow-on system to Landsat-
6 is completed. This study is called for in the DOC
Revised Landsat Commercialization Plan of October 1/15
noted above;
-- It is not technically feasible to encourage continuity
of data in the short term because at least a two year
gap is expected between Landsat 4/5 and Landsat 6. There
is not commitment to ensure continuity in the long term
or beyond Landsat 6;
-- The current policy statement on Landsat does not ad-
dress or make any commitments to continuity of data. Ad-
ditional Federal resources above current commitments
would be required to maintain continuity of data if pri-
vate resources are not made available. Those additional
Federal resources would have to be identified by those
agencies supporting a continuity of data, from within
their approved budget ceilings.
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