The new Senate Intelligence Committee report on the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY 2007 includes numerous other significant and interesting provisions including: establishment of a National Space Intelligence Center (section 410).
The United States maintains a very large investment in satellites, and this investment has grown dramatically in recent years. These satellites serve the commercial and national security needs of the nation. As such, a loss of any or all of these assets could do tremendous harm to economy and security.
The report submitted by Mr. Roberts from the Select Committee on Intelligence says: “In an effort to better understand the future threats to our space assets, as well as potential threats to the United States from space, Section 410 establishes a National Space Intelligence Center (NSIC). It is not the intent of the Committee that the NSIC be a physical consolidation of existing intelligence entities with responsibilities for various types of intelligence related to space. Rather, the Committee believes that the first function of the NSIC is to coordinate all collection, analysis, and dissemination of intelligence related to space, as well as participate in Intelligence Community analyses of requirements for space systems. The NSIC augments the existing efforts of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) and Missile and Space Intelligence Center (MSIC); it is not designed to replace them. Indeed, the Committee intends that the NSIC work closely with NASIC and MSIC to ensure a coordinated Intelligence Community response to issues that intersect the responsibilities of all three organizations.
The Director of the NSIC shall be the National Intelligence Officer for Science and Technology, and the Committee encourages the appointment of an Executive Director from the Senior Intelligence Service. Further details related to the mission of the NSIC can be found in the Classified Annex accompanying this Act.”
