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I guess other than a few targets like watching North Korean nukes, most general 'war-on-terror' type requirements have scaled back the role of satellite intelli

I guess other than a few targets like watching North Korean nukes, most general 'war-on-terror' type requirements have scaled back the role of satellite intelligence in favor of drones. Interesting reading todays leaks to see the budget of the National Reconnaissance Office and the National Geospatial Intelligence Program [1] is just under the equivalent of one NASA [2] : [1] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/national/black-budget/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/national/black-... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA Can we swap them for a link to google maps and doubling of the NASA budget :-)

bediger4000 13y ago
The NRO and the NGA programs are going to be on a need to know basis, aren't they? That is, knowledge about what's going on is compartmentalized. This adds to the cost. I recall reading a reference (which I can't find now) that claimed a Top Secret program was 20% more costly than an open program. I remember feeling surprised, because my personal estimate was about double for anything Secret. We can double NASA's budget, can NRO and NGA, and still come out ahead financially.
nknighthb 13y ago
I looked up the numbers recently. Combined, 14 of the world's largest space agencies (including NASA and Roscosmos) spend an Apollo program every ~3 years. A 33% funding boost consolidated into one effort could be a permanent Apollo program. It's actually pretty depressing to me how easy it would be given the political will to do it right.