From The Archives: House, Senate At Odds Over Intel Smallsats

In the fall of 1995, the cash-strapped National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) was battling efforts in Congress to force it to adapt smallsat technologies more quickly for U.S. spy satellites. 

The House Intelligence Committee had ordered the NRO to begin construction of a small satellite to demonstrate the viability of the concept. Supporters of the plan said it would allow intelligence constellations to be upgraded with new capabilities much more quickly, noting that technologies for the NRO’s behemoth satellites had to be locked in 5-10 years in advance. 

But the NRO, backed by Director of Central Intelligence John Deutch and the Senate Intelligence Committee, argued that smallsat technologies were not mature enough to deploy and would cost more to achieve the same level of coverage. 

The NRO ultimately prevailed, and it would be years before U.S. intelligence deployed effective smallsat constellations.

Read the news article on page 24 of the Nov. 13, 1995 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology.

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