The commercial remote sensing and Earth observation environment has changed radically since its founding in the mid-1990s. Commercial technology development has accelerated rapidly, bringing new capabilities — like laser communications — that can benefit and enable this sector regardless of its origin.

As U.S. President Barack Obama contemplates changes in space policies and military space posture, it is a virtual certainty that his administration will amend National Security Policy Directive (NSPD)-27, the commercial remote sensing policy of former President George W. Bush issued in 2003. The new administration should not entirely sweep aside the NSPD as it represents more than a decade of enlightened policymaking, spanning two presidential administrations and both political parties. The Obama team, thanks to former President Bill Clinton and Bush, has a successful foundation upon which to shape the domestic elements of a new policy and an opportunity to forge a different direction in the international arena where the previous administrations’ directives fell short. The policy goals of the past — the advancement of commercial remote sensing capabilities and the industry to further the nation’s national security and economic objectives — resonate still. Any new policy should finally cement commercial imagery’s place in the national security imagery architecture and, with a renewed focus on opening new markets and promoting exports, advance the nation’s larger need for economic recovery and job growth.