US agencies to merge

The US Central Intelligence Agency is poised to take control of three space intelligence agencies - the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), National Security Agency (NSA) and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) - to reduce costs, improve efficiency and reduce rivalry and bureaucracy, according to US press reports. The NRO, NSA and NIMA account for almost $30 billion of the US Government's intelligence spending. The NRO operates intelligence gathering satellites, the NSA oversees electronic intelligence, which in part relies on satellites, while NIMA produces intelligence data primarily from satellite imagery. Recently NIMA has been purchasing high-resolution imagery from commercial companies such as Space Imaging.

Source: Flight International