Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 14, 1993 TAG: 9311140014
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: D-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The new policy, to be announced this week by the agency in public congressional testimony, responds to strong pressure from electronic and aerospace firms that they be allowed to compete against foreign governments providing such products.
It also reflects the Clinton administration's policy of easing restrictions on the export of sensitive technologies, now that the Cold War is over and U.S. defense firms are losing jobs to government budget cuts.
CIA Director R. James Woolsey told the Senate Intelligence Committee in closed-door testimony in June that the agency would consider on a case-by-case basis applications to sell photos and satellite systems with a high degree of resolution.
That could mean that objects as small as 3 feet across could clearly be discerned by these satellite lenses from space. U.S. government spy satellites reportedly provide a resolution of even less than that, making it possible - in theory - to read a license plate from space.
Until now, the administration had refused to allow sales of satellites and photos with a resolution of 33 feet, fearing that anything sharper could expose the technological secrets of U.S.-made observation systems.
The president of Lockheed Missiles and Space Co. told the Senate Intelligence Committee that licenses to deploy satellite systems and sell their imagery would provide jobs and retain highly specialized skills being lost to defense cuts.
Lockheed applied this year to the Commerce Department for permission to build a satellite system with 3-foot resolution, and would like to go into partnership with the government and private partners to defray the costs.
John McMahon, former deputy CIA director and president of the Lockheed subsidiary, said surveys found a potential worldwide market of $5 billion to $7 billion for photos and data from aerial and satellite images.
Customers for so-called spatial information - not just photos but also digitalized data from satellites that is then analyzed by computers - include mining and oil exploration firms, ranching and timber companies, and real estate developers.
The French government's SPOT Image already is selling black-and-white photos with 33-foot resolution and is rumored to be planning to field a new system with 3-foot resolution next year. The Russian government is selling even sharper imagery.
by CNB