The Statesman (India)
August 9, 2001
Govt Nod Mandatory for Buying Satellite Images
NEW DELHI, Aug. 9. - India will do what it can. It cannot stop Pakistan from buying satellite images of strategically-sensitive locations in India from commercial spy satellites. But a new policy to be unveiled shortly intends to make it mandatory for anyone in India buying high-resolution satellite imagery to seek the government's permission.
This, apparently, is to ensure that India's national security interests are protected by screening out images of sensitive areas. Not that it will make much of a difference.
Satellite images of a resolution as high as one metre taken by commercial satellites are already up for sale for US $ 2,000 upwards. Images which can capture details of even "sensitive areas" so as to recognise the types of fighter aircraft, tanks or even the details of nuclear missile sites.
As when Mr John Pike of the Federation of the American Scientists got down to examining new satellite photos purchased of Pakistan's nuclear missile site, he expected to find "two warehouses inside a fence". Instead, he discovered a whole well-developed military base.
The group, an arms-control organisation, buys photographs of chemical, biological and nuclear facilities across the world and has already had a look at the facilities in some countries. India too has made it to this list.
In May last year, the group also released satellite images depicting the Hyderabad Defence Research Complex in India, which the group said, houses primary institutions for development and testing of Agni intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The images show India had expanded the storage area which, he said, is almost certainly devoted to rocket propellant and fuel assemblies for these missile systems.
It is, however, the realisation of the futility of preventing organisations in the country from accessing the high resolution imagery available elsewhere in the world which has prompted the government to allow acquisition of the satellite images.
Additionally, the government believes that India too could benefit from the market for high resolution satellite imagery and plans to get into the business.
The global market for satellite imagery is expected to be worth anywhere between US $ 420 million and US $ 2.5 billion by 2005, depending in large measure to whether it will be just governments who cannot afford their own spy satellites, who will make a beeline to organisations like Space Imaging; the first to have a commercial satellite capable of high resolution images into the orbit.
The US Defence department will be one of them. It plans to increase spending on commercial services including satellite imagery by US $ 1 billion over the next five years.
Copyright 2001 The Statesman Ltd
