Looming gaps in U.S. satellite capabilities, compounded by budget constraints, ineffective communications, inadequate data interpretation and an over-reliance on satellite technologies, could pose a serious threat to national security and foreign relations, according to an Aug. 1 report (.pdf) from the Center for a New American Security.

"By 2016, only seven of NASA's current 13 earth monitoring satellites are expected to be operational, leaving a crucial information gap that will hinder national security planning," find report authors Christine Parthemore and Will Rogers.

The report concludes that core capabilities at the Defense Department, USAID and the State Department will be directly affected by these gaps in earth monitoring technology.

While the Obama administration has instructed the Office of Science and Technology Policy, NASA and DoD to better coordinate earth monitoring efforts to find efficiencies in a budget-constrained environment, "officials at a range of agencies provided countless examples of areas where interagency cooperation could further be improved," according to the report.

The coverage gaps outlined by CNAS have been widely documented in NASA and NOAA inspector general reports, Government Accountability Office reports and congressional testimony. 

Many of the satellites monitor climate change and other environmental trends. Climate change "may act as an accelerant of instability or conflict, placing a burden to respond on civilian institutions and militaries around the world," notes the DoD's 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review.

An open arctic could lead to more search and rescue missions, receding Himalayan glaciers could affect shared water resources, and in turn the relationship between Pakistan and India, and strain on the South China Sea fishing industry could lead to regional tension, finds the report. Satellites are also needed to monitor population displacement, deforestation, emissions and nonproliferation treaty compliance, write Parthemore and Rogers.

For more:
- see the CNAS report (.pdf)

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