Satellites have been around for a long time. Ever since the Soviet Union launched the world’s first satellite, Sputnik, in 1957, dramatic advancements in satellite technology have increased governments’ ability to survey the earth in exquisite detail, communicate, and, of course, conduct reconnaissance.
Yet, though satellites have become dramatically more sophisticated and capable since Sputnik, analysis of imagery produced by satellites—which is primarily done by humans—hasn’t advanced as quickly as necessary.
Specifically, with the explosion in the volume of imagery produced by satellites, there simply isn’t enough manpower in the Intelligence Community (IC) necessary to review and analyze the volume of data being produced.