[FPSPACE] Obama Administration approves new spy satellite projects

[Peter Pesavento]

Associated Press, From the Houston Chronicle (Texas)

 

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6363615.html

 


White House approves costly, new spy satellites


By PAMELA HESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS


April 8, 2009, 7:39AM


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 said 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.

The new contract will be large enough to pay for the construction and launch
of two new commercial satellites with the same capabilities as those now on
orbit. The new contract will include "guaranteed access"- that is, top
priority and the ability to direct the satellites if there is a war or
another emergency.

The commercial contract will be negotiated in the coming weeks, the
intelligence official said.

Defense giant Lockheed Martin, of Bethesda, Md., is almost certain to win
the secret multibillion-dollar contract for the two new high-altitude spy
satellites. It built the spacecraft now in orbit that will be roughly
duplicated in the "2-plus-2" program.

The intelligence official acknowledged the possibility that the massive
contract could be awarded this year to Lockheed without a competitive
bidding process.

The "2-plus-2" program is meant to avert a potential gap in U.S. imagery
satellite coverage around the world. The sophisticated spy satellites now in
orbit are nearing the end of their service life, and replacements must be
launched in the next decade to prevent blind spots.

The plan will have to win congressional approval. A second intelligence
official said the administration is confident it will pass.

The Defense Department spends about $20 billion annually on space programs.

 

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