BASIC bopped
- From: Allen Thomson <thomsona@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:41:34 -0700 (PDT)
It appears as if Congress may have done sensible. The mind reels.
=======================
Congress cancels novel satellite program
By PAMELA HESS – 1 hour ago [2008-10-2T115:40Z]
WASHINGTON (AP) — With a federal budget crunch looming, Congress this
month canceled Pentagon plans to buy and launch two commercial imagery
satellites to complement its network of classified spy craft, military
and space industry officials said.
House and Senate intelligence appropriations committees cut all funds
for the satellite program during a conference to work out differences
in the classified 2009 bills that approve intelligence spending. They
also wiped out the remaining 2008 funds.
Congress cut "about $1 billion," said an industry official with direct
knowledge of the program. The exact budget is classified, but the
program was expected to cost about $1.7 billion, according to Pentagon
documents and military and industry officials who spoke on condition
of anonymity to discuss the classified information.
With the Iraq war continuing, the Afghan war heating up and the
national financial bailout casting a $700 billion shadow, the
cancellation means the next administration will not be locked into an
expensive and potentially controversial program, industry officials
said.
The National Reconnaissance Office was supposed to buy and launch two
commercial-style satellites around 2012 under the program called the
Broad Area Space-Based Imagery Collection satellite system, or BASIC.
The program also funded additional commercial imagery purchases,
according to Pentagon documents obtained by The Associated Press last
month.
Some of the money — approximately $350 million — has been set aside
for the Pentagon to study whether it needs more satellite imagery, and
if so, to begin a new satellite program with the funding, two industry
officials said. The study is expected to be completed this spring.
Pentagon, Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office officials
wrangled for months over whether to buy and operate commercial
satellites with the ability to see the outlines of 16-inch objects
from space, or to pump the money into buying more imagery from the
commercial companies that already have such satellites in orbit.
Critics of the program say the Pentagon would be spending billions to
recreate the capabilities of private companies like GeoEye of Dulles,
Va., and DigitalGlobe of Longmont, Colo., which are expected to put
four new satellites into orbit by 2013. On its face, the decision
conflicts with President Bush's national security space policy, which
directs the government to buy as much commercial imagery as possible
to help the companies withstand competition from subsidized foreign
satellite companies.
Pentagon officials pushed the program as a backup to commercial
capabilities, and to give military commanders more control over the
imagery produced.
The BASIC system was meant to spy on enemy troop movements, spot
construction at suspected nuclear sites or alert commanders to
militant training camps. The still images would be pieced together
with higher resolution secret satellites into one large mosaic.
The new satellite system is meant to bridge what intelligence agencies
fear will become a gap caused by the cancellation in September 2005 of
a major component of the Future Imagery Architecture system overseen
by the National Reconnaissance Office. The primary contractor, The
Boeing Co., headquartered in Chicago, ran into technical problems
developing the satellite and spent nearly $10 billion, exceeding its
budget by $3 billion to $5 billion before the Pentagon pulled the
plug, say industry experts and government reports.
A single satellite can visit one spot on Earth once or twice every
day. BASIC's additional satellites would allow multiple passes over
the same sites, alerting U.S. government users to potential trouble,
humanitarian crises or natural disasters such as floods.
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