May 13 2003
From The Space Library
The White House unveiled the U.S. Commercial Remote Sensing Policy, which President George W. Bush had approved on 25 April to replace former President William J. Clinton's 1994 Presidential Decision Directive-23. The new policy loosened government restrictions on the collection and sale of commercial satellite imagery, directing military and civilian agencies first to approach the commercial sector to fulfill satellite imagery needs. The NSC had created the new guidelines as part of a review of U.S. national space policy, which the White House had directed the NSC to conduct in June 2002 with the support of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The new policy retained the government's ability to restrict operations of commercial satellite imaging companies for national security reasons, but emphasized that the U.S. military should plan actions in the knowledge that adversaries also had access to commercial satellite imagery. The policy encouraged companies to use the most capable systems possible. However, at the same time, the government retained the right to restrict the sale of the most advanced imagery to U.S. government customers. The policy named the U.S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) as the interface between government and industry for national security applications of commercial satellite imagery. The U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Interior, and NASA would fulfill that role for civilian applications. (Jason Bates, “White House Loosens Curbs on Commercial Satellite Imaging,” Space News, 13 May 2003; Dan Caterinicchia, “Commercial Satellite Policy Released,” Federal Computer Week, 15 May 2003.
Hellas-Sat, a geostationary communications satellite jointly owned by Greece and Cyprus, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard an Atlas 5 rocket with a Russian RD-180 motor. The 3.45-tonne (3.8-ton or 3,450-kilogram) Astrium Eurostar 2000+ model carried 30 Ku-band transponders to provide voice, video, data, and broadcast services to Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The launch, the second for the Atlas 5 series, was the 65th consecutive successful flight for the Lockheed Martin-built Atlas rocket and for mission provider International Launch Services (ILS). (Lockheed Martin, “ILS Launches Hellas-Sat on Atlas V~65 Successes in a Row for Atlas,” news release, 13 May 2003, http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2003/ILSLaunchesHellasSatOnAtlasV.html (accessed 21 November 2008); Spacewarn Bulletin, no. 595.
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