WP,pg1: New Spy Satellite Debated On Hill: Some Question Price and Need

[DeepModem Mom]

New Spy Satellite Debated On Hill
Some Question Price and Need

By Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 11, 2004; Page A01


The United States is building a new generation of spy satellites designed to orbit undetected, in a highly classified program that has provoked opposition in closed congressional sessions where lawmakers have questioned its necessity and rapidly escalating price, according to U.S. officials.

The previously undisclosed effort has almost doubled in projected cost -- from $5 billion to nearly $9.5 billion, officials said. The National Reconnaissance Office, which manages spy satellite programs, has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the program, officials said.

The stealth satellite, which would probably become the largest single-item expenditure in the $40 billion intelligence budget, is to be launched in the next five years and is meant to replace an existing stealth satellite, according to officials. Non-stealth satellites can be tracked and their orbits can be predicted, allowing countries to attempt to hide weapons or troop movements on the ground when they are overhead.

Opponents of the new program, however, argue that the satellite is no longer a good match against today's adversaries: terrorists seeking small quantities of illicit weapons, or countries such as North Korea and Iran, which are believed to have placed their nuclear weapons programs underground and inside buildings specifically to avoid detection from spy satellites and aircraft....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56171-2004Dec10.html?sub=AR

[cavanaghjam]

1. 9 billion

for a stealth satellite, maybe another billion for the first stage of weaponization of space projects; and they won't try to fix the Hubble telescope. That's understandable. All the Hubble does is give us information that may lead to understanding not only how and when the universe formed, but has also raised doubts about the constancy of light's velocity. But what's that matter when placed against the rights of aerospace companies to reap huge profits, none of which will come from Hubble's repair.

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Not only is science not on the cabal's agenda, they actively oppose...

and deny science. How can we hope to maintain pace with the rest of the world, given this attitude and these policies?

You make a very good point, c.

[talk hard]

3. We wouldn't need to worry ...

if our government wasn't composed of such insufferable assholes.

[Moderator]

4. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1055832