Seems that when California Governor Newsom asked President Biden for satellite imagery to help his states firefighters deal with wild fires?
Biden say ok….
The people who operate the satellite’s did NOT……..
In July, as wildfires tore through the American West, President Biden met with the region’s governors to find better ways to battle the flames. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California requested use of military satellites that are designed to warn of missile attacks, calling the orbital fleet “a game changer” for spotting and fighting wildfires.
Mr. Biden promised to help. “When this meeting is over,” he said, “I’ll be on the phone with the Department of Defense.”
His call wasn’t the first — or the 50th.
The issue of using secret military gear to aid civilian firefighters arose 35 years ago. It grew as the White House, the Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies sought to establish a national system that warned of undetected wildfires and menacing flare-ups.
The Pentagon allowed tests and a short-lived prototype. But the arrangements were never permanent. The military, eager to safeguard its prerogatives and orbital fleets, was always glad to shut the pipeline down. As a result, officials like Governor Newsom now have to lobby for emergency access…..
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In an interview, Linda Zall, a former C.I.A. official who for decades led the agency’s fire and environmental studies, said it was “a travesty” that civilian officials faced so much resistance to a modest step that promised to substantially enhance public safety.
The civilian authorities could soon get better options. Start-ups in Australia and Germany are planning to loft fire-spotting satellites in order to serve fast-growing international markets. And Planet, a U.S. company that built a fleet of nearly 200 imaging satellites, recently joined with a start-up to assess forest fire risks.
But on the military side, things could worsen. The Department of Defense is now facing budget pressures that could end the Defense Support Program and its firefighting aid. The problem arises principally from a new defensive strategy that the Pentagon is racing to put in place…..
KH-11 Kennen image……Reddit