Report Warns U.S. Could Lose Space-Spy Dominance

America has become so lousy at building spy satellites that "the United States is losing its preeminence in space," a Congressional intelligence report declares. What's worse, this decline comes as "emerging space powers such as Russia, India and China" are getting better and better at snooping from above.

The gloomy report, approved last Friday by the House's technical and tactical intelligence subcommittee, was originally obtained by CQ scoopster Tim Starks. "A once robust partnership between the U.S. Government and the American space industry has been weakened by years of demanding space programs, the exponential complexity of technology, and an inattention to acquisition discipline," the document states.

NASA's woes get most of the headlines — especially since the U.S. civilian space program may be forced to depend on Russia to get into orbit. But the American military space effort has been a wreck for quite some time, too. Misty, a super-secret satellite program had to be canceled last year. Since 1999, the military has spent nearly $10 billion to produce a set of so-called "Future Imagery Architecture" eyes in orbit. When they finally managed to launch one in 2006, it died instantly — and then had to be shot down, before it plummeted to Earth. Earlier this year, the once-secretive, once-proud Pentagon agency that oversees spy satellites, the National Reconnaissance Agency, had some of its authority stripped away. More recently, a high-level military commission recommended shuttering the office entirely.

Part of the problem is that the United States has "no comprehensive space architecture or strategic plan [for] current and future national security priorities," the report states. Part of the problem is that the country's military and intelligence agencies have overlapping, confusing lines of authority. Part of the problem is regulatory — export restrictions often get in the way of satellite-building efforts.

But the main issue, the panel concluded, is cash. "Research and development (R&D) receives inconsistent funding despite the link between many failed acquisition programs and insufficient upfront R&D investment. Research investment must be treated like a national priority," the panelists write. "Fixing the issues that exist will not take a monumental effort like the 'Manhattan Project,' but it will take a paradigm shift."

Which may be easier said that done, given how tight government budgets are likely to be in the years ahead.
Wired

More good news for the Bush administrations space programs. I swear Mickey Mouse would have made a better president