Saturday, December 01, 2007

US Planning Next Generation of Spy Satellites

Anne Flaherty and the Associated Press are reporting that after a very expensive flop, the US Government has initiated a new effort to upgrade its spy satellite fleet that will cost the American taxpayer more than $2 billion.

The U.S. is pursuing the new multibillion-dollar program to develop the next generation of spy satellites, the first major effort of its kind after the Defense Department canceled an ambitious and costly effort known as the Future Imagery Architecture two years ago, The Associated Press has learned.

The system, called "BASIC," would be launched by 2011 and is expected to cost between $2 billion and $4 billion, according to U.S. officials familiar with the program. They discussed details on condition of anonymity because the information is classified. You can read the rest of the story at this URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22046019/

I have a related story and commentary at
http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/2007/11/death-of-spy-satellite-program.html