AS YOU ARE WELL AWARE, THE CORPORATE MEMBERS OF THE GEOSAT COMMITTEE AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GEOLOGICAL COMMUNITY ARE VITALLY INTERESTED IN YOUR CURRENT DELIBERATIONS REGARDING THE FUTURE INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR SATELLITE REMOTE SEN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP10M02313R000704000013-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 22, 2012
• Sequence Number: 13
• Publication Date: September 10, 1979
• Content Type: LETTER

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/22 : CIA-RDP10M02313R000704000013-6
EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT (O/DCI)
Routing Slip
ACTION
INFO
DATE
INITIAL
1
DCI
2
DDCI
3
DD/RM
X
4
DD./NFA
X
5
DD/CT
X
6
DD/A
7
DD/0
8
DD/S&T
9
GC
10
LC
11
IG
12
Compt
13
D/PA
14
D/EEO
15
D/Pers
16
AO/DCI
17
CAPS
18
19
20
21
22
SUSPENSE DATE:
Remarks:
To 3: Please coordinate with 4 and 5;
advise DCI if appropriate.
STAT
13 Sept 79
Dot.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/22 : CIA-RDP10M02313R000704000013-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/22 : CIA-RDP10M02313R000704000013-6
The Geosat
Committee, Inc.
Dear Member of the President's Review Committee - Space:
As you are well aware, the corporate members of the Geosat Committee
and other members of the geological community are vitally interested in your
current deliberations regarding the future institutional arrangements for
satellite remote sensing of the earth for the next decade. The Geosat Com-
mittee has closely followed the progress of and contributed to the Private
Sector Involvement and the Integration Studies conducted in response to Pres-
idential Directives 37 and 42 in 1978.
Your review of these studies in mid-September, 1979, and your resulting
recommendations will strongly influence the future disposition of operational
earth remote sensing satellite systems on an international basis. The Geosat
Committee strongly urges that your recommendations and the ultimate administra-
tion decisions encourage private sector involvement as rapidly as possible,
subject to market and technology transfer conditions. We strongly believe that
the private sector, through the service industries, can most efficiently pro-
vide those types of satellite remote sensing data of importance to the geolo-
gical community. We recognize that government is a principal user of this data
and must be a part of any overall operation of earth remote sensing systems.
We encourage the eventual operation of such a system by a private sector ser-
vice industry to provide this data to both private end users and government.
It is our understanding that your deliberations include consideration of
the placement of an operational earth remote sensing satellite system, including
such current components as the EROS Data Center, either in the Department of the
Interior or the Department of Commerce, perhaps in NOAA. Many of our geological
member companies would feel most comfortable with such a system being placed with-
in the Department of Interior because of its land-oriented charter. However, we
can see some justifications for placing that system within the Department of
Commerce, whose charter encourages private sector development. We do not believe
the interests of the geological community would be best served over the long term
by placing this operational earth remote sensing satellite system within NOAA,
whose current charter emphasizes oceanography and atmospherics. If the decision
is made to place the earth remote sensing system within the Department of Commerce,
we hope that due consideration will be given to the establishment of a separate
DOC entity to deal with land-oriented end users interests. The Geosat Committee
does not consider itself in a position to make a firm recommendation as to where
an operational earth remote sensing system should be placed within the Federal
government, but we strongly urge that a decision be made s orl, so that justi-
fiable private sector involvement, such as a STEREOSAT initiative, can proceed
without further delay. Such data is important to the United States in view of
the current mineral and energy crises.
In agreement with Senator Schmitt's 1979 Senate Bill 875 and with our under-
standing of the intent of the current inititive of the Department of Interior to
153 Kearny Street, Suite 209
San Francisco, California 94108
[phone]
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/22 : CIA-RDP10M02313R000704000013-6 -
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/22 : CIA-RDP10M02313R000704000013-6
Letter to the President's View Committee - Space
Page
2
become the lead agency for an operational earth remote sensing satellite sys-
tem, we strongly recommend that wherever the decision is made to Dl'a a this
system, a Board of Directors or some other form of meaningful governing board
be created which will represent the end user community in order tc direct the
policy and programs of the system. In this sense, we strongly urge that such
a board contain members of the Federal government, the private sector end user
community (the geological industry, agribusiness, the timber industry), state
and local governments and non-U.S. users. We believe that such a governing
board directing these programs in the future with direct end user participation
will provide maximum benefits to the United States.
Although at times the governmental decision-making process of which you are
presently a part seems to go agonizingly slowly and thus tends to inhibit pri-
vate sector involvement, the Geosat Committee applauds the efforts being made
and encourages your early decision. We hope that the operational earth remote
sensing satellite system will be established and that a governmental comatitt-
ment be made for its continued development. We also hope that miximum oppor-
tunity for private sector involvement by the service industries for the end
user community will be encouraged as rapidly as possible as a matter of national
interest and security.
Respectfully yours,
Frederick B. Henderson, III, Ph.D.
President, The Geosat Committee
FBH:dgp
A2C: Cecil Andrus, Richard C. Atkinson, Bob S. Bergland, Harold Brown, Charles Duncan, Stuart E. Eiz enstat, Robert A. Frosch, Howard W. Hj_ort, David
Johnson, David C. Jones, Juanita M. Kreps, Gordon Law, James T. McIntyre,
Jr., Daniel Murphy, Frank Press, Robert Rosenberg, George E. Seignious,
Norman Terrell, Cyrus R. Vance.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/22 : CIA-RDP10M02313R000704000013-6