NASA has agreed to work with the National Reconnaissance Office in developing the next payload for the Lunar robotic probe.
The cooperation will focus on developing a miniature synthetic aperture radar sensor that the lunar probe will use to develop detailed maps of the Moon's surface, Rustan said in a Jan. 25 interview. The lunar probe is expected to begin its mission, which will run over the course of a year, in 2008. The Pentagon is planning to launch the fourth in a series of small spacecraft known as TacSat or Joint Warfighter spacecraft that year.
While the Pentagon has not finalized the payload for that spacecraft, the NRO hopes to place a small synthetic aperture sensor on the satellite, Rustan said. The NRO is also working with NASA to reduce the size of synthetic aperture radar sensors used on spy satellites through NASA's experience with the Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar program, Rustan said. The NRO and NASA began collaborating in this area about a year ago following discussions by the partnership council that includes NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, NRO director Peter Teets, and other top military officials who oversee space work, he said.
Other examples of joint efforts include automated data processing, Rustan said. The NRO and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency are working with NASA officials to take advantage of technology used to automate processing of image data used by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, he said.
There's also a note about trying to prop up Lockheed Martin and Boeing. It's a little like trying to read tea-leaves, but we see some reference to White House directives.
Meanwhile, the Air Force has been preoccupied with finding ways to support Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., its primary launch providers, due to the poor commercial launch market, Dickman said. The Air Force has also focused on developing rockets that can launch small satellites in a fast and inexpensive manner, he said.
Such rockets are not likely to fit into NASA's plans for bringing humans to the Moon and Mars, Dickman said. But more launch cooperation could come as a result of the U.S. Space Transportation Policy signed by President George W. Bush in December that calls on NASA and the Pentagon to collaborate on the development of a heavy lift rocket for space exploration.
The policy instructs the agencies to strongly consider using the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle rockets developed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin for the Air Force as they made plans for the exploration vehicle.
It's interesting how Bush's presidency is beginning to echo certain aspects of another Texan president, Lyndon B. Johnson. President Bush seems very interested in giving the Aerospace industry something to do as well as build up market demand for the military industrial companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Of course this manifests itself in wars such as Vietnam and Iraq, as well as a general sense of dodginess to the contract tenders issued. Sometimes it ain't about party politics, it's just about delivering the bacon to your people.
- Art Neuro
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