Commercial remote sensing: The critical U.S. National Security Space imperative
Accelerating space-based intelligence — the most critical domain in modern warfare — at disruptive speed and economics.
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NRO keeps 3 vendors for commercial imagery with new 10-year contracts
Commercial imagery has proven invaluable in the Ukraine conflict, both to the US government's information war against Russia and to the Ukrainian military.
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Turning R&D into reality to meet the challenges of the modern battlefield
Knowing when to build on commercial systems and when to develop something new can be the difference between parity and information dominance.
To maximize Ukraine coverage, BlackSky shifted orbits for its newest satellites
"We're talking to a lot of different organizations in the government — Space Force, the Army, the Air Force — many that are looking at how you could leverage commercial technologies and tactical ISR," BlackSky CEO Brian O'Toole told Breaking Defense.
After Ukraine success, NRO says electro-optical imagery contracts due this summer
Payam Banazadeh, CEO of Capella Space, told Breaking Defense that the Ukraine war has been a "critical place for the industry to show itself," but NRO says it isn't accelerating the SAR acquisition process.
After success in Ukraine, NRO to pitch satellite firms on radio frequency geolocation
Pete Muend, director of the NRO Commercial Systems Program Office, told the USGIF GEOINT 2022 conference that RF tracking for Ukraine has been "great benefit," and spy agency wants to expand the capability.
Commercial remote sensing firms seek government help to plan for, respond to sat attacks
"There is no 911 ... for us to call to get help," said J.R. Riordan, chief revenue officer at BlackSky.
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Voyager is accelerating access to space
After manifesting 1,400 payloads aboard the ISS, Voyager is applying its mission management expertise to the next generation of space stations, ensuring uninterrupted mission readiness and success from the ground to space.
US space leaders warn sat operators to beware likely Russian interference
"We've been talking about the fact that space is contested, and we're probably right in the middle now of our first space fight," said Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein.
Planned NRO imagery contracts to ease sharing, with one big exception
NRO use of shutter control on commercial electro-optical imagery would be "very rare," and "limited in both area and time," said Peter Muend, head of the spy agency's commercial office.
Project Convergence 2021 Kicks Off; Showcases 110 New Technologies
"Unfortunately, some of the Army's signature modernization efforts, as spectacular as they are, don't work with the other signature modernization efforts," said Ed Mornston, G2 at Army Futures Command.
Army, NRO Pioneer Direct Sat Imagery Downlink In ‘Scarlet Dragon’
The ability to directly access remote sensing satellite data for targeting has long been a Holy Grail for the Army.
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Data overload threatens decisionmakers as autonomy expands
Reducing cognitive overload on warfighters while improving “time to trust” for autonomous systems is a matter of design.
As BlackSky Tees Up Hourly Imagery, NRO Extends Contract
"We really view ourselves, not as a space company, not as a satellite company, but as a geospatial intelligence company," says BlackSky's Chief Technical Officer Peter Wegner.
DIU’s Butow Pushes Space Force Case On ‘Tactical ISR’ Mission
Space Force is not a voting member of the new(ish) IC Commercial Space Council to improve coordination on commercial space policy -- but NRO and NGA are.
NRO Cracks Open Commercial Imagery To More Providers
The plan for multiple contracts represents a sea-change from past Intelligence Community practice in buying commercial satellite imagery.
NGA Re-Ups Maxar Imagery Contract
NGA's Global EGD program is a good example of how the 2017 bifurcation of authority over commercial remote sensing acquisition between the NGA and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) -- a transition that remains somewhat troubled --is supposed to work.