Commercial Remote Sensing
Satellite imagery is gaining greater attention as it becomes integrated with online maps, news broadcasts, and other popular information sources. The Office of Space Commercialization played a key role in the emergence of the U.S. commercial remote sensing satellite industry in the 1990s and continues to promote its evolution and growth today.
2005 flood damage in New Orleans (Courtesy of GeoEye)
The term "remote sensing" refers to any use of cameras or sensors to observe distant things -- for example, aerial photography and radar surveillance. The Office of Space Commercialization's interest in remote sensing focuses on the use of commercial satellites to image the Earth from space. The data collected by such satellites has commercial value across a broad range of industries, including real estate, agriculture, insurance, and media. Governments also purchase commercial remote sensing data to support weather prediction, climate change research, land management, and national security reconnaissance activities.
The Office of Space Commercialization promotes U.S. commercial remote sensing satellite services by contributing to the development of U.S. Government policies affecting the industry, voicing the industry's interests within U.S. Government interagency discussions, and representing U.S. commercial interests in international negotiations.
(Courtesy of Ball Aerospace)
The Office of Space Commercialization participated in the development of the U.S. Commercial Remote Sensing Space Policy (CRSSP) and plays a key role in its implementation, along with other divisions of NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and other federal agencies.
The CRSSP directs the U.S. Government to rely on commercial remote sensing space capabilities to the maximum practical extent, and to develop a long-term, sustainable relationship with the U.S. commercial remote sensing space industry. To this end, the Director of the Office of Space Commercialization serves as Vice Chairman of the Senior Management Oversight Committee, an interagency body created under the CRSSP to leverage federal investments in commercial remote sensing satellite data and infrastructure, procurements, and contracts.
(Courtesy of Google)
The CRSSP also directs the U.S. Government to enable U.S. industry to compete successfully as a provider of remote sensing space capabilities for foreign governments and foreign commercial users, while ensuring appropriate measures are implemented to protect national security and foreign policy. In support of this goal, the Office of Space Commercialization represents the Department and NOAA within the Remote Sensing Interagency Working Group and several White House policy working groups related to satellite imaging.
The CRSSP directs the U.S. Government to provide a timely and responsive regulatory environment for licensing the operations and exports of commercial remote sensing space systems. The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to license commercial remote sensing satellite operations, and this authority has been delegated to NOAA's Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs Office (CRSRAO). The Office of Space Commercialization works with CRSRO and other agencies to implement this goal of the CRSSP.
Recent Developments
On August 6, 2010, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency awarded $7.3 billion in contracts to two U.S. commercial remote sensing firms in support of the EnhancedView program. Learn more at NGA.mil... Learn more at digitalglobe.com... Learn more at geoeye.com...
On March 3-5, 2010, NOAA hosted the 2010 International Commercial Remote Sensing Symposium in Washington, D.C. Read more...
On August 24, 2009, NOAA granted a license to Northrop Grumman to operate a commercial remote sensing satellite with one-meter synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capability. It is the first U.S. license approved for a commercial radar imaging satellite at that resolution level. The licensing decision was intended to give U.S. industry an opportunity to compete in the lucrative global market for high-resolution radar satellite imagery. Currently, that market is dominated by non-U.S. companies. Read more about the license at NOAA.gov...
On June 15, 2009, NOAA's Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs Office issued a Request for Information (RFI) on U.S. commercial remote sensing capabilities and business models. The industry inputs will inform government decision makers deliberating future NOAA licensing actions. Inputs were due August 14, 2009. Read the RFI...
External References
Further information about commercial remote sensing satellites and the relevant U.S. Government policy framework can be obtained from the following web sites:
- U.S. Commercial Remote Sensing Space Policy
- NOAA Commercial Remote Sensing Satellite Licensing Website
- Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing
- USGS Commercial Remote Sensing Requirements Website
Additional information about the remote sensing industry can be found at the following industry association web sites. These links are provided as a reference tool only; they do not constitute an endorsement of the views of the organizations listed. To request the addition of another industry association web site link, please see the contact information below.
