Interesting about the modern constellation... https://www.defensedaily.com/ngas-latency-for-imagery-improves-but-more-data-requires-more-compute-whitworth-says/intelligence-community/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJJ2ZtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHbiW0TGgh_pT0F_ItHxy37jNlhRr9MrbFvS62UnI9GER6uMzbdxlSjQJeQ_aem_drmfhJHxTAr8tdSEgiwt0AThe National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is processing imagery 80 percent faster than it did a year ago. However, as satellite constellations and the amount of related data increase, the latency gains could diminish without more computing power, NGA Director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth said on Monday.Despite a cascading deluge of data that NGA is processing and expects to process more of in the years ahead, Whitworth feels good the agency’s resource needs will be met.
Quote from: Targeteer on 03/21/2025 04:37 amInteresting about the modern constellation... https://www.defensedaily.com/ngas-latency-for-imagery-improves-but-more-data-requires-more-compute-whitworth-says/intelligence-community/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJJ2ZtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHbiW0TGgh_pT0F_ItHxy37jNlhRr9MrbFvS62UnI9GER6uMzbdxlSjQJeQ_aem_drmfhJHxTAr8tdSEgiwt0AThe National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is processing imagery 80 percent faster than it did a year ago. However, as satellite constellations and the amount of related data increase, the latency gains could diminish without more computing power, NGA Director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth said on Monday.Despite a cascading deluge of data that NGA is processing and expects to process more of in the years ahead, Whitworth feels good the agency’s resource needs will be met.Keep in mind that NGA acquires commercial data (and quite a lot of it) in addition to any data from national assets. The so-called commercial vendors are supported by large government contracts (in both the launch arena and sensor/satellite operators). Some of these ventures would not be profitable or viable without government contracts (both US and others).BlackSky, Maxar and Planet were awarded contracts worth $4B over a decade for EO imagery alone, per this article. https://usgif.org/commercial-collaboration-nga-nro-discuss-commercial-imagery-ambitions/
Despite the government’s hunger for commercial imagery, there are challenges it must overcome in order to continue satiating its appetite. For example, both Muend and Avila acknowledged the need for tools and processes in the areas of cybersecurity, data lineage, and data trust.And also, data storage—which is why NGA increasingly is moving from buying commercial imagery to buying commercial analytics services, according to Avila.“What we’re really interested in is buying the insights—the knowledge—that can be generated and gathered from all of the information that’s out there,” he concluded. “Anticipating and knowing the volume of data that we’re going to be getting in the future, what’s a smarter way to handle all of that? Focusing on those insights is one way to go."
