READING 3

NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense are negotiating new rules that will govern who

can have access to data produced during a 1999 space shuttle Endeavor mission to map the majority

of the Earth's surface, according to a NASA scientist. "We agreed with the National Imagery and

Mapping Agency (NIMA) to take a look around and make sure we were not publishing something that

could be used by evildoers," said Michael Kobrick, a project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion

Laboratory, Pasadena, California. "We have given NASA and NIMA more time to work out the

distribution details."

Kobrick acknowledged that the negotiations between NASA and NIMA have not been the only

problem delaying release of data from the mission. "Our original thinking was that we would be done

by the end of 2001," Kobrick said. "But it turned out that calibrating and verifying the data was

trickier than we thought. That work is proceeding, but it's a slow process. “Data will be released

incrementally throughout 2002, he said. NASA released some data in late January, but the work will

not be completed until the end of the year, Kobrick added.

Two different sets of topographic maps are being developed, Kobrick said. A set with

30-meter accuracy will be made for military use, such as providing more accurate terrain data for

cruise missiles and better navigation data for pilots. A second set of data, with 90-meter accuracy,

will be developed from that set for non-military users such as scientists, emergency relief planners

and commercial pilots. The 90-meter data will be available publicly through the U.S. archive at the

Earth Resources Observation Systems Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

1. NASA and NIMA are changing the rules of exchanging data due to …

A. security concerns

B. reorganization

C. technical limitations

2. It will take longer than expected …

A. for Endeavour to collect data

B. for NASA and NIMA to ensure security

C. for NASA to process the data

3. Maps for non-military use will be …

A. based on less accurate data

B. adapted from military maps

C. a basis for more accurate maps

Text 6

France Aims To Boost Use of Helios Spy Satellite

French defense authorities are preparing to loosen the classification restrictions on Helios

spy-satellite imagery to widen the distribution of those images among tactical French defense forces

and France's European allies.

They are also considering slashing the price of Helios imagery sold to the European Union's

satellite center outside Madrid. The center, which compiles images to verify treaties and monitor

refugee movements and troop concentrations, has been purchasing more imagery from the U.S.

commercial satellite Ikonos than Helios pictures, according to the center's former director.

Addressing a Feb. 13 symposium here at France's military academy, Gen. Bernard Molard, a

former director of the center, said the systematic classification of Helios imagery and its high price to

European allied governments have kept under wraps a program that should be a showcase of

European know-how. "Why has there been such silence? No one knows," Molard said. "It is not

surprising that we have difficulty persuading our political leaders to continue the space-based

reconnaissance effort when most people are not even aware of its success."

Gen. Gavoty, French MoD’s official, said that, after consulting with space-hardware

manufacturers, he had reached preliminary estimates of what it would cost for Europe to begin to

build a broad military-space capacity. According to his figures, it would cost about 750 million euros

per year over 11-12 years for the satellites and their related launch vehicles.

"That is about one-third of what European governments spend each year on the European

Space Agency," Gavoty said. "I am showing these figures to make the point that, if there is a real

demand for a military space capability in Europe, the money is there."

1. The EU’s satellite center buys more from Ikonos than from Helios because …

A. its products are cheaper

B. its images are clearer

C. it involves less bureaucracy

2. It is difficult to find ongoing funding for Helios project because …

A. few people know how good it is

B. it is not producing results

C. it is being replaced

3. Gen. Gavoty argues that …

A. Europe needs a stronger military presence in space

B. space-based military projects are affordable

C. the European Space Agency costs Europe too much

Text 7

Germany may delay its decision to help develop the Meteor medium-range air-to-air missile,

which could throw the six-nation program into disarray. Defense Ministry officials here say they have

not received enough technical data from the partner nations to make a decision. Lawmakers say they

may not fund the effort.

Five of the partners (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden) signed a

memorandum of understanding last summer, but German officials said – in a surprise move – that the

country would not join until contract details were fully negotiated. Still, the partners had hoped for the

final signature by April. But with the approach of the parliamentary summer recess and the September

elections, a final signature is unlikely before the year's end.

But lawmakers' schedules are not the only barrier to German participation. As Germany's

military struggles to make do with a 3.5-billion-euro procurement budget, Meteor's technical troubles

could make the radar-guided missile an easy target for cuts, the parliamentary source said. "This is

something that Europe has never done before, and it bears a significant risk," he said. "What happens

if we produce a multibillion-euro missile that might not work properly in the end? Perhaps we should

trust our U.S. partners in this case and buy some of their products instead."

The lead firm in the industry team professed astonishment. "We are very surprised by this

statement because we understand from the discussions to date and from public statements made by

the German parliamentary defence committee that Germany is committed to Meteor," said MBDA

spokeswoman Carol Reed in London. "We feel we have all the elements ready for a decision, and

contract, to be made this year. This program is extremely important to MBDA and to Europe's air

forces as well as to Germany's own defense industry, especially with regard to the ramjet technology

from Bayern Chemie."

1. The German government …

A. are keen to develop the Meteor missile

B. want more information about the Meteor project

C. want to abandon the Meteor project

2. A parliamentary source suggests …

A. Europe should ask U.S. for technical assistance

B. more money should be spent on the project

C. spending money on the project is taking a risk

3. MBDA …

A. understands the German position

B. thinks it has been misled

C. will make a decision this year