Military, civilian satellites aid Katrina relief

By Leonard David

updated 1:32 p.m. ET Sept. 6, 2005

BOULDER, Colo. - The horrific tragedy spurred by Hurricane Katrina is being gauged by an array of both military and commercial satellite, as well as aerial sensors.

These tools, coupled with computer technology and geographical information system (GIS) software, are pieces of an unprecedented and still-unfolding ability to deal with natural, as well as human-made disasters.

Playing a key role in merging both classified and commercial satellite assets is the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or NGA. It is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to appraise damage, as well as begin plotting out action plans.

This agency of the U.S. Department of Defense -- known earlier as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) -- provides timely, relevant, and accurate geospatial intelligence in support of U.S. national security and war-fighting objectives.

In this case, the battleline is the damage left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

NGA is using spysat-snapped photos as well as commercial remote sensing spacecraft to piece together before-and-after data sets that capture the hurricane’s harmful power.

"Observers on the ground provide a close-in view of a disaster. Aircraft can provide a broader view. But NGA using our satellites – U.S. government and commercial -- provide a different view," said Howard Cohen, an NGA spokesman.

"With these satellites NGA provides FEMA with geospatial information that can cover the affected states," Cohen told SPACE.com. "With information provided by these assets FEMA is better able to make assessments on the overall damage and decide where to focus resources," he said.

Not only are satellites being called into action. Dispatched from Beale Air Force Base in California on September 1, a U-2 Dragonlady aircraft conducted a surveillance flyover of hard-hit areas due to Hurricane Katrina.

During a six-hour mission, the piloted U-2 put to use an Optical Bar Camera (OBC), hardware ideal for photographing very large areas with high resolution. The OBC, or film-based imagery equipment utilized, can collect imagery over 90,000 square nautical miles.

Film taken during the high-altitude run by the U-2 is in support of FEMA to assist in disaster relief efforts, according to a U.S. Air Force press statement.

"This is our tsunami…here in the United States," said Joanne Gabrynowicz, Director of the National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center, situated at the University of Mississippi School of Law in University, Mississippi.

"We have to learn how to respond to these immediate, harsh, devastating natural events. We have to think hard and long about land use…about migrating people. We need to see it that way," Gabrynowicz told SPACE.com.

"There are so many dimensions of this. While there were some preparations taken…we weren’t prepared for something of this magnitude." Gabrynowicz said she sees one particular bright spot given the scope of the tragic consequences of Hurricane Katrina.

For one, there has been rapid use of satellite remote sensing tools. Specifically, Gabrynowicz spotlighted the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters.

MORE FROM SPACE

Space Section Front

Earth's upper atmosphere cooling dramatically Cosmic Log: Koreans plan space tours Mars probe's latest trouble: Titanium parts Moon poses radiation risk to future travelers NASA, Google eye tracking climate gases Mars lander just might rise from the dead Cosmic Log: Alien ‘water world’ found Organic molecules found ... on the moon? Hubble spots cosmic Christmas wreath   Month in space: Powerful pictures Space Section Front   Add Space headlines to your news reader: