|
New Satellite Imagery may overwhelm NIMA
19th August 2000: The Senate Intelligence committee wants the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) to devote a greater proportion of its resources to satellite imagery exploitation - requiring the Agency to take it "out of hide" - and included a directive provision to that end in the Senate's 2001 Intelligence Authorization Act. They claim NIMA cannot afford to spend more of its budget on imagery exploitation (analysis) without impacting adversely on other NIMA missions. The Senate provision probably relates to a DoD proposal for a new constellation of imagery satellites that is expected to increase the flood of imagery manifold. Congress charged that the new satellite system was being planned without including a provision for proper funding for equipment and analysts to exploit the increased flow of new imagery. This is not an unusual strategy in budgeting for new systems, but in this case
Congress threatened that if funding was not found for proper exploitation and analysis of the imagery "harvest" they would not fund the new satellites. All part of the big money, big systems, big Washington poker-game hardball budget wars.
|
