Govt. approves plan for new spy satellites(we spend 25 million a month as well on commercial images)

[The Straight Story]

Govt. approves plan for new spy satellites

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration on Tuesday approved the purchase of pricey new spy satellites and will buy more commercial imagery from the private sector to plug immediate gaps in satellite coverage.

The new program will take the place of one that had been awarded to The Boeing Co. The Pentagon canceled that project in 2005 because it was grossly over budget and behind schedule.

An intelligence official, who spoke to reporters shortly after the White House approved the program, said the new spy satellites would offer the same capability of those now in use. Officials were concerned that significant changes in their design could break the budget for the program or delay the launch of the satellites, he said.

The official, who spoke only on the condition that his name not be used, declined to reveal the budget for the program.

Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has already complained about the price tag, which he put at more than $10 billion. The official said that figure is incorrect but would not offer an alternative.

The official would also not specify how many spy satellites would be built or when they would be launched. He said officials believed it would be soon enough to plug any gaps left by the 2005 cancellation.

However, military, intelligence and industry officials familiar with the program told The Associated Press last week that the program is called "2-plus-2" and calls for building two sophisticated satellites equal to or better than the huge, high-resolution secret satellites now in orbit. The officials all spoke anonymously because the details of the program are classified.

At the same time, the White House has also agreed to boost the amount of commercial imagery it buys. It now spends $25 million a month with DigitalGlobe of Longmont, Colo., and GeoEye of Dulles, Va., buying private imagery that can show outlines of objects as small as 16 inches.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090408/ap_on_go_ot/us_spy_satellites

[janx]

1. LET'S DO IT!

This kind of technology can save money and lives in the long run. By the way, SS, I once worked briefly at a temp. job at Digital Globe. Very impressive!

[leveymg]

2. Just cancel all the contracts. I can walk around my neighborhood on Google Earth. And, it's free.

Can't look into the windows of my neighbor's house. I admit. But, good enough for government work.

Shit. You could plan an invasion down to small unit tactics anywhere on the planet with what's available as an open source to the public.

Why the fuck do we even need Boeing and GeoEye, anymore, anyway?

[htuttle]

3. Google Earth is free for you as an individual

If a business wants to use it, it costs around $300 per computer. It's in the licensing docs.

Just noting this, because I looked into it recently.

[leveymg]

6. Shoot. If NSA wants it, it already has it. Taxpayer already paid for that data, several times.

Why pay again?

Common carrier, or something like that.

[AnnieBW]

4. DigitalGlobe and GeoEye are former employees

They're former employees of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency that went out on their own and are selling commercial stuff back to the government. Nice work if you can get it.

[midnight]

5. We can't afford to supply medical care for the sick, or

give our teachers smaller class sizes so they can teach more effieciently, and we can't feed the poor, but we can spy better. I'm so tire of misplaced resources. Enough!