171 



sets that might be released that could be of value to the academic 

 community and to private industry because once it gets out there, 

 they're going to use it? 



We're in the process now of doing some experiments to find out 

 whether that really can be done. I think this is a very productive 

 activity. 



I held up this Popular Science before because I was talking about 

 the Navy's GEOSAT program that had been released. But the cover 

 picture is actually the first step on releasing some of the classified 

 data from spy satellites that was done from 1960 to 1972, a good 

 start on information that is in the intelligence archives and in fact 

 can be made available. 



So I think we have a process in place. We're doing it very delib- 

 erately because it's absolutely essential that the national security 

 interest be preserved. 



At the same time, there's an interest from both the DOD and the 

 intelligence community to try make this work. 



So I think we're making progress. 



Mr. Taylor. May I interrupt for just one second? 



It came close to home. There's a project to try to get some fresh 

 water from the Mississippi River into the Mississippi Sound to get 

 the proper mix of salinity and fresh water to produce oysters, 

 amongst other things. 



I really foimd it strange that the Corps of Engineers went out 

 and contracted someone to drop something like 5000 small balls 

 into the water there so that they could map the flow of the water 

 through Lake Pontchartrain into the Mississippi Sound, when Ad- 

 miral Gaffney's crew, using remote sensing from satellites and just 

 the difference in temperatures, could have done it sitting at their 

 desks. 



How can we as a Congress expedite getting people to talk to each 

 other in the different various government agencies? 



And again, I'm sure that's just one very small example of what's 

 going on every day. 



Admiral BooRDA. It's probably a very good example. I don't know 

 about it, but Paul can talk about it in a minute if he wants to. 



Let me tell you that it's getting better. It's not fixed. I don't know 

 about a lot of balls in the river. But what I do know, because we 

 don't work in the river. We work out away from the United States. 

 That's our charter. 



But we had, and I think it's really what we're looking at in this 

 Popular Science, we had the GEOSAT satellite in the '80s. In July, 

 as a result of us all getting together, we released all that data, de- 

 classified it, for scientists, for these agencies, for business, for any- 

 body who needs it. 



We're going to launch a GEOSAT follow-on satellite, GFO, this 

 next year. In fact, it will be this spring. And that might be some- 

 thing we can use as an interest-getter that you talk about. I have 

 a couple other things and I'll fold them into this answer. 



I don't know how I'll fit it, but I'll make it work. 



But that, with a five- to eight-year life expectancy, will do the fol- 

 lowing things, and probably lots more, but directly related to what 

 you're talking about. 



