Under the subject, "new russian tracking site", Kevin Fetter wrote, > Russia has a new satellite tracking site ... It's to bad, they don't have a site, like the oig. > > Then we could maybe obtain orbital data on us military > satellites, like we can for russian military satellites > from the oig. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. Probably not, and if the USAF gets its way, OIG soon will be replaced by a fee-based service that may be less accessible to the public: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02403r.pdf Some quotes: "The data sent to NASA are combined with a small amount of NASA's own data and made available to users without charge on a NASA website. NASA provides information at various levels of detail. This ranges from general space surveillance data accessed by recreational space enthusiasts who register for access - which resulted in over 100,000 "hits" to the web site per month in 2001 - to much more specific and extensive data accessed only by twenty-one registered "super users."" "Currently, NASA spends about $200,000 annually to provide space surveillance support through its Web site." "Consideration of a new approach began with a January 10, 2000, Deputy Secretary of Defense memorandum that directed the Air Force to coordinate with the other services and space agencies to study alternatives for providing space surveillance support to commercial and foreign entities. Currently, the Air Force Space Command is proposing to pilot test a new process for providing space surveillance data and services using its FFRDC contracts with the Aerospace Corporation and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Lincoln Laboratory rather than through NASA." "Specifically, Air Force Space Command officials believe that this will help them: - maintain space situational awareness - a key Air Force responsibility; - maintain control over processes and data dissemination; - determine if providing support to a foreign entity is in the best interests of national security; and - eliminate a layer of management and decrease risk and complexity by having FFRDC representatives already on site." "To test their pilot approach, an Air Force Space Command official estimated that it will cost from $1.53 million to $1.84 million per year. ... Although the pilot study cost estimate is higher than current NASA costs, the Air Force Space Command expects that it will be getting additional services from the FFRDC. For example, it expects to receive additional studies and analysis and an assessment of the best way to provide space surveillance support in the future." "One DOD intelligence agency expressed concerns with the specifics of the Air Force Space Command's approach ... also expressed a concern with making space surveillance information publicly available;" "if approved, Air Force Space Command officials stated that the pilot could not commence until authorizing legislation is enacted making disseminating space surveillance data to commercial and foreign entities part of their mission. Air Force Space Command officials are currently drafting this legislation in anticipation of an Air Force and DOD decision and estimate that at a minimum, the preparation and enactment of authorizing legislation could take at least a year. Air Force Space Command officials are recommending that, as part of the authorizing legislation, DOD seek language that will allow it to charge commercial and foreign entities for the support if it is deemed appropriate." "According to DOD, this plan, as yet incomplete, must resolve concerns of the other services and U.S. government space agencies related to public release of the data." "We also provided NASA with a draft of this letter, but NASA had no comments." Ted Molczan ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@lists.satellite.eu.org http://www.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jul 19 2002 - 09:42:57 EDT