Exploring the Unknown - NASA's History Office

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OBSERVING THE EARTH FROM SPACE
tomers. 84 This also reduces costs compared to a system such as Landsat 7, which is
designed to collect as much data as possible to provide a global archive for the future
needs of scientists.
Department of Commerce officials coordinated the license application with DOD, the
Central Intelligence Agency, and the Department of State. By late 1992, national security
planners were more inclined than ever before to ease earlier restrictions on the resolution
limits of civilian data. Their decisions were moved in part by the knowledge that the
French were planning to improve the resolution of their SPOT system, and the Indian
Space Agency was also moving to higher resolution instruments. Furthermore, the
Russian firm Soyuzkarta had begun to market high-resolution multispectral photographic
data (two-meter resolution) from the formerly secret Russian KVR-1000 sensor. On
January 4, 1993, the Department of Commerce sent a license to WorldView, allowing it to
operate a three-meter satellite system. [II-46, II-47, II-48].
Other companies soon filed their own applications for systems that would achieve
even greater sharpness. In June 1993, Lockheed, Inc., filed with the Department of
Commerce for a license to operate a system capable of achieving one-meter resolution.
Shortly after, Orbital Sciences Corporation, in partnership (later dissolved) with GDE
Systems and Itek, also filed a similar license request. The proposal to collect higher resolution
data caused the Clinton administration to reconsider desirable policy for commercial
remote sensing. Although the sale of such data abroad posed no threat of the transfer
of critical technology, in the view of some, one-meter data were too close to the reconnaissance
capabilities of high-flying aircraft and classified satellites. 85 Others, while recognizing
the risk of marketing these data worldwide, have argued that data of high
resolution can moderate potential conflict if they are available to all sides. 86
Nevertheless, one-meter data, delivered in a timely manner, are of significant security
utility for surveillance, military planning, and the creation of the up-to-date maps needed
to fight battles effectively. When combined with the geolocational capabilities of the global
positioning system, these data also make it possible for belligerent nations to target specific
locations for cruise missile and other precision attacks. Hence, intelligence officials
argued, if the data were sold globally, there would have to be some sort of control over distribution.
Ultimately, after several months of discussion, officials decided that the benefits
of keeping such data under the control of U.S. suppliers were greater than the risks posed
by possible data misuse.
In March 1994, eight months after receiving the license application, the White House
released a policy statement concerning licenses for commercial remote-sensing systems.
The policy required the satellite operator to maintain satellite tasking records and to
make them available so that the federal government could determine who purchased what
data, if necessary. It also authorized the government to cut off or restrict the flow of data
during times of crisis to protect national security interests. [II-49] The Department of
Commerce has granted several licenses based on this policy, including one to Lockheed,
Inc. [II-50]
84. For EOSAT, the operator of Landsats 4 and 5, this meant collecting fewer scenes than government
operators would have collected. NASA and NOAA were interested in gathering as many scenes as possible to file
the archive of Landsat scenes.
85. V. Gupta, “New Satellite Images for Sale: The Opportunities and Risks Ahead,” Center for Security
and Technology Studies, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, UCRL-ID-118140, 1994, Space Policy
Institute Documentary History Collection, Washington, DC.
86. B. Gordon, “The Moderating Effects of Higher Resolution Civil Satellite Imaging on International
Relations,” paper presented at the 1996 AFCEA Conference, Washington, DC, June 1996.