The Denver Post September 30, 2001
Colorado plays role in orbital espionage
By By Ann Schrader
A great deal of the 'shadow' war against terrorism is being fought from Colorado. Satellites controlled by private companies and military organizations in the state are feeding thousands of high-resolution images into the U.S. intelligence and defense hopper.
The information is used to precisely target spy and military missions, most likely including the recently acknowledged placement of U.S. special forces in Afghanistan. Crisp images of terrain, roads, buildings and other objects are snapped by satellites from 400 miles high while they whiz along at speeds seven times faster than a rifle bullet. Commercial satellites can snag clear images of cars and trucks. The clearer-eyed military orbiters can't read license plates but can tell whether an object is a license plate.
But even such powerful eyes in the sky can't identify an individual person such as Osama bin Laden, said Jeff Richelson, an intelligence historian who wrote the recently published book 'Wizards of Langley.' 'They won't be able to tell it's him,' Richelson said. 'But it will be easier to find out what activities are going on, what's moving around.'
Born several decades ago to assist the Central Intelligence Agency, military surveillance blossomed between the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and NATO's mission in Kosovo in 1999 as wide-band communication, desktop computers and other technological improvements made satellites indispensable. High-resolution image capability moved into the private sector in 1999 when Space Imaging of Thornton hoisted Ikonos 2 into orbit. Ikonos 2 is the only high-resolution commercial satellite, but others are poised to take flight.
'The new thing is the commercial imagery,' said John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense, space and intelligence research organization based in Virginia. With the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the appetite for satellite information has become ravenous. To supplement its own secret information, the U.S. government is gobbling up unclassified satellite imagery snapped by Space Imaging. The Department of Defense also has contracted with DigitalGlobe of Longmont to gulp more of the detailed images after the Oct. 18 launch of its QuickBird II, built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies of Boulder.
DigitalGlobe, which was called EarthWatch until Sept. 7, will offer half-meter (19-inch) resolution in black and white from 280 miles high. Space Imaging's next satellite, scheduled for launch in 2005, will match QuickBird's resolution.
Security is tight. 'We will get an order, but we don't necessarily know who it's for,' said Mark Brender, Space Imaging's executive director of government affairs. Frequently, however, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency is the purchaser. The Department of Defense agency was set up in 1996 to provide mapping and digital information on natural and cultural objects; elevations; and even vegetation to support military and intelligence activities.
The agency's budget is classified, but a spokeswoman said it 'does support a robust commercial imagery industry. We have used commercial images in the past and will continue to do so.' The advantage of the commercial satellite images, said agency spokeswoman Joan Mears, is that they are unclassified 'so we can share it with our coalition partners.'
Because of their numbers, commercial satellites add more frequent coverage of a 'hot spot.' Because they have lower resolution than military birds, their images are of wider areas, something that the Imagery and Mapping Agency 'simply doesn't have the resources to do,' Pike said. When it comes to Texas-size Afghanistan, commercial imagery 'will enable them to get a photo map of the whole country.'
The data then can be processed to make 3-D images of buildings and terrain, which pilots use to plot routes, intelligence agents to plan covert operations and generals to place ground troops. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, based in Jefferson County, builds many satellites for the government, spokeswoman Joan Underwood said. Lockheed also is an equity partner in Space Imaging.
Some satellites do unclassified work such as data relay and meteorology, Underwood said. Others are national security orbiters, such as two that will be launched Monday and Oct. 10 for the National Reconnaissance Office, the Department of Defense agency that manages the nation's satellites. Lockheed also built more than 100 Corona satellites, the first to do mapping from space, that were launched by the CIA and the Air Force between 1960 and 1972.
In addition to the $ 100 million QuickBird II, Ball has built many satellites and instruments for the Department of Defense over the last 40 years. On what insiders call the 'dark side' of imagery work in Colorado are the U.S. Space Command, Air Force Space Command and the North American Aerospace Command in Colorado Springs, and military satellite-monitoring groups in Greeley and Aurora.
The six large, white 'golf balls' at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora may be the most visible sign of Colorado's space intelligence presence. The domes shelter satellite-monitoring and communications equipment. Information on missile launches, satellite-intercepted radio and cellphone conversations, imagery and defense operations is downloaded from the satellite dishes and relayed by Buckley's 2nd Space Warning Squadron to the U.S. Space Command at Schriever Air Force Base near Colorado Springs.
The U.S. Space Command commands and controls about 120 satellites, including those for global positioning, defense, weather and navigation.
The Air Force Space Command, headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base, operates the defense system that detects missiles being fired at the United States and deploys missiles to shoot them down. Military strategists tucked inside Cheyenne Mountain download images, almost in real time, from navigation, meteorological and communication satellites to create battle plans.
Copyright 2001 The Denver Post Corporation
