CONTEXTUALIZING HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE SYSTEMS OF THE UNITED STATES: THE ROLE OF HISTORY, POLITICS, AND ECONOMY ON TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT by EMILY MEGAN SNOW (Under the Direction of Thomas R. Jordan) ABSTRACT Satellite remote sensing continues to be refined at an incredible pace, yielding imagery with previously unimaginable spatial resolution. As this causes security and privacy concerns, an estimation of imaging capabilities for current classified and future commercial high resolution systems could aid policymakers in preparing for changes to come. To provide this estimation, this thesis traces the technological advancement of U.S. satellite remote sensing, incorporating both film photography and digital imaging systems, and places this information in its historical, political, and economic context. Based on historical trends, a formula has been calculated that estimates future capabilities, according to spatial resolution achieved. The resulting formula, y = 1E + 149e-0.171x, estimates that high resolution satellite systems in 2020 could yield imagery with 0.10 m resolution. This projection, along with advancements in international remote sensing programs, indicates major policy changes for high resolution imagery in the near future. INDEX WORDS: Remote sensing, Satellite, High resolution, Film photography, Digital imaging, KEYHOLE, GeoEye, DigitalGlobe, Geography CONTEXTUALIZING HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE SYSTEMS OF THE UNITED STATES: THE ROLE OF HISTORY, POLITICS, AND ECONOMY ON TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT by EMILY MEGAN SNOW B.A., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2010 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF SCIENCE ATHENS, GEORGIA 2012 © 2012 Emily Megan Snow All Rights Reserved CONTEXTUALIZING HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE SYSTEMS OF THE UNITED STATES: THE ROLE OF HISTORY, POLITICS, AND ECONOMY ON TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT by EMILY MEGAN SNOW Major Professor: Thomas R. Jordan Committee: Marguerite Madden Lan Mu Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................ viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 Background .......................................................................................................... 1 Objectives ............................................................................................................ 3 Approach ............................................................................................................. 3 2 HIGH RESOLUTION FILM PHOTOGRAPHY ........................................................ 8 Film Satellite Remote Sensing before Digital Imagery ......................................... 8 Declassified Film-Return KEYHOLE .................................................................. 9 Slowly Making Changes in the 1970s ................................................................. 23 3 LOW RESOLUTION DIGITAL IMAGERY ........................................................... 25 Early Alternative to Film Photography ............................................................... 25 Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) ........................................... 26 Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)............................................ 37 Leading the Way to New Frontiers ..................................................................... 48 4 MODERATE RESOLUTION DIGITAL IMAGERY .............................................. 50 Studying Human Impact on the Environment ..................................................... 50 Landsat, a Civilian Program for Earth Observation............................................. 51 iv Breaking the Monopoly: Landsat-Like Systems ................................................. 59 Expansion of Satellite Remote Sensing across the Globe .................................... 65 5 HIGH RESOLUTION DIGITAL IMAGERY .......................................................... 67 Becoming an Integral Component of the Information Age .................................. 67 Commercialization: GeoEye and DigitalGlobe ................................................... 68 Classified Digital KEYHOLE ............................................................................ 74 Reaching a State of Equilibrium ......................................................................... 77 6 DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE ................................................................................. 78 Synthesis of Results ........................................................................................... 78 Discussion of Results ......................................................................................... 84 7 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 88 International Remote Sensing and Future Declassifications ................................ 88 Possible Directions for Future Research ............................................................. 90 Closing Thoughts ............................................................................................... 92 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 93 APPENDIX LIST OF ACRONYMS ................................................................................................. 98 v LIST OF TABLES Page Table 2.1: Numbers of classified film-return launches (successful and unsuccessful both included). ...................................................................................................................... 20 Table 2.2: KEYHOLE details. ................................................................................................... 22 Table 3.1: Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) details. ....................................... 30 Table 3.2: Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) details. .............................. 31 Table 3.3: Improved TIROS Operational System (ITOS) details. .............................................. 32 Table 3.4: TIROS-N details. ...................................................................................................... 35 Table 3.5: Imagery resolution of POES satellites. ...................................................................... 36 Table 3.6: DMSP Block 1 details. ............................................................................................. 40 Table 3.7: DMSP Block 2 and Block 3 details. .......................................................................... 41 Table 3.8: DMSP Block 4 details. ............................................................................................. 42 Table 3.9: DMSP Block 5A, 5B, and 5C details. ....................................................................... 43 Table 3.10: DMSP Block 5D details. ......................................................................................... 46 Table 3.11: Imagery resolution of DMSP satellites. ................................................................... 48 Table 4.1: Landsat details. ......................................................................................................... 57 Table 4.2: Système Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) details. ............................................ 60 Table 4.3: Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) details......................................................................... 62 Table 4.4: Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) details.. .......................................................................................................................... 63 vi Table 4.5: Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) details. .................................................... 64 Table 4.6: RapidEye details. ...................................................................................................... 64 Table 5.1: GeoEye details.......................................................................................................... 70 Table 5.2: DigitalGlobe details. ................................................................................................. 73 Table 6.1: The estimated resolution, in meters, for different years according to the formula: y = 1E + 149e-0.171x. ....................................................................................................... 81 vii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1.1: Demonstration of expected results, not including real data values, showing the relationship between time and increasing resolution. ........................................................ 6 Figure 2.1: Seal and motto of the 6594th Test Group, whose mission was to capture film capsules from classified satellite reconnaissance missions in mid-air (6594th Test Group, 2009). 11 Figure 2.2: Successful launch of Discoverer-14 on August 18, 1960 (Space Medicine Association, 2012). ........................................................................................................ 12 Figure 2.3: Successful recovery of the CORONA