US remote sensing policies - The April 2003 US Commercial Remote Sensing Policy
From INVESaTWIKI
US remote sensing policies - The April 2003 US Commercial Remote Sensing Policy
Signs of the directions of the new policy were evident
early in 2003, when the National Geospatial-Information
Agency (NGA—the former NIMA) signed contracts
with both Space Imaging and DigitalGlobe for
delivery of satellite imagery data. Valued at up to $500
million each (with minimum guarantee purchases of
nearly $100 million each), the ClearView contracts
signaled an increased interest within the defense and
intelligence agencies in taking advantage of the availability
of high quality data from commercial sources.
The US Commercial Remote Sensing Policy, released
later that Spring, bore out the new emphasis with a clear
signal of continued government support for a stronger
partnership with the fledgling US commercial satellite
firms. On 25 April 2003, President Bush authorized a
new national policy that set forth both policy guidance
and implementation actions for commercial remote
sensing concerning satellite systems, including matters related to technology, components, products, data,
services and related information. The fact sheet describing
the new policy declared that the fundamental goal of
the new policy is:
- ". . . to advance and protect US national security and foreign policy interests by maintaining the nation’s leadership in remote sensing space activities, and by sustaining and enhancing the US remote sensing industry. Doing so will also foster economic growth, contribute to environmental stewardship, and enable scientific and technological excellence."
The new policy is aimed at bolstering the prospects for developing a robust US commercial remote sensing satellite industry that could effectively contribute to US military, intelligence, foreign policy, homeland security, and civil agency objectives, as well as US economic competitiveness. The presidential policy guidance to government users of remote sensing was to ‘‘rely to the maximum practical extent’’ on US commercial imaging satellite capabilities for fulfilling their imagery and geospatial needs. The key features of the new government policy include:
- Greater reliance on commercial remote sensing for meeting US national security and foreign policy needs.The new policy directed the national security leadership (i.e. Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence) to rely to the maximum practical extent on commercial sources for meeting their less demanding imagery and geospatial requirements while focusing the highly capable US government remote sensing space systems on meeting needs that commercial providers are unable to satisfy effectively, affordably or reliably. NGA has the responsibility for acquiring and disseminating all commercial remote sensing space products and services for meeting national security or foreign policy requirements. NGA developed the ClearView and NextView contracts to guarantee various US commercial satellite imagery companies that potentially substantial amounts of their commercial imagery, products and services will be purchased for the national security community. While the ClearView contracts that NGA negotiated with Space Imaging and Digital-Globe focus on purchasing existing high-resolution commercial imagery, the NextView contracts will foster the next generation US commercial observation satellites. They provide an early US government investment that is expected to result in preferential access and licensing terms for the US government in making use of these improved commercial imagery satellite systems.
- Incentives for improving commercial imaging capabilities. The new policy encourages US companies to ‘‘build and operate commercial remote sensing space systems whose operational capabilities, products and services are superior to any current or planned foreign commercial systems’’. This incentive reflects the fact that many US government agencies want access to imagery data and information products of higher spatial or spectral resolution than currently available. Improvements in the licensing process for the US commercial remote sensing firms are also intended to encourage American companies to invest in acquiring a new generation of more capable imaging satellite systems. Along with encouragement to develop more advanced imaging systems are government security measures aimed at addressing US national security and foreign policy concerns. These measures could include a ‘‘two-tier’’ approach that restricts access to the highest resolution and most timely delivery of commercial imagery data and products to US government agencies and other parties, such as close allies, with government approval.
- Strengthening the connection of the civil agencies to the commercial remote sensing satellite industry. The new policy places new emphasis on the importance of the civil agencies building a stronger partnership with industry in meeting the diverse remote sensing needs of civil agencies, ranging from the Department of Agriculture to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The Secretaries of the Commerce and Interior departments, along with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), were tasked by the new policy to determine what civil remote sensing needs can be met by commercial companies and communicating current and projected civil agencies’ needs to industry. These agencies took the lead in an interagency process that has produced a Civil Agencies Implementation Plan intended to implement the guidance for the civil agencies contained in new policy.
- Clearer guidelines for foreign access to US commercial remote sensing capabilities. The new US government policy also includes provisions aimed at reducing uncertainties that have inhibited US commercial firms from competing in the international marketplace for remote sensing products and capabilities. The new policy highlights that license applications for US commercial exports (e.g. imagery products and services) to foreign government and commercial users will be ‘‘considered favorably’’ if they support American interests in having an international competitive remote sensing industry and they are consistent with existing US law, regulations, and policy. The policy implies that, unlike the PDD-23 regulations on commercial remote sensing exports, greater consideration will be given to the existing defense and defense trade relationship with the planned recipient country. Other types of exports, including those involving sensitive or advanced information, systems engineering and integration capabilities and techniques, and sensitive technologies or components will be considered on a case-by case basis and only rarely approved.
Perhaps the most notable departure from the earlier
PDD-23 policy is that the updated US policy does not
emphasize the government’s right to impose ‘‘shutter
controls’’ on the operations of US commercial observations
satellites. To some degree this reflects the fact that,
despite expectations to the contrary, the Executive
branch has demonstrated an aversion to imposing
formal shutter controls on US commercial imaging
satellite operations even during major military operations,
such as those in Iraq. Earlier, during US military
operations in Afghanistan, the US military gained
exclusive access to high-resolution commercial satellite
imagery, which was only being produced by the Ikonos
imaging satellite in late 2001, by relying on a NIMA
contract with Space Imaging. In neither instance did the
US government feel compelled to impose formal shutter
controls on US companies to limit broad international
access to potentially sensitive commercial satellite
imagery during a period of US combat operations.
In general, the new commercial remote sensing policy
is a major step toward addressing many of the
ambiguities of the earlier PDD-23 policy framework
for guiding US commercial remote sensing satellite
policy. The new policy provides the Bush Administration’s
policy rationale for developing a strong
government–industry partnership and for measures
aimed at mitigating earlier impediments that have
seemingly inhibited the development of a robust US
commercial remote sensing satellite industry. An important
expression of the new policy emphasis on
developing a robust commercial remote sensing satellite
industry is funding of the NextView contract. In late
2003 DigitalGlobe received a substantial NGA contract
to provide products and services for supporting the US
national security community. There were also discussions
that a second NextView contract might be
negotiated with another of the US firms if additional
funds became available. Not surprisingly, therefore, the
response of US commercial companies to the new
government policy has been largely positive. However,
as with the 1994 PDD-23 policy, the devil is likely to be
in the details of how well the promising principles of the
new commercial remote sensing policy are implemented. [1]
References
[1] R.A.Williamson, J.C.Baker
"Current US remote sensing policies: opportunities and challenges".
