Bill Schuster was named COO of ORBIMAGE in December 2004. Before that he was with BAE Systems, where he started a new operation as the President of Integrated Systems. He also served at Harris Corporation as Vice President of Programs within the Government Communications System Division and was Vice President of the Space Applications Operation at Loral Space and Range Systems.
Bill began his professional career with the Central Intelligence Agency, where he spent nearly twenty-two years. Upon his departure from the CIA he was recognized by Secretary of Defense William Perry for his work on several national reconnaissance systems.
Figure 1:William SchusterClick on image to see enlarged.
With your experience at CIA (nearly 22 years) and in the private sector (LORAL, LM, Harris, BAE Systems), how have you seen the relationship between government and business change over the past years? What significant changes are still needed?
One of the most significant changes that I have personally observed is a greater dependence of government on the industry base that supports it. The overall scarcity of seasoned program managers and system engineers has resulted in the government acquiring systems at increasingly higher levels of integration. Accordingly, the government is now purchasing more complete capabilities and functionality as opposed to buying components that they subsequently must integrate to satisfy their mission needs.
Figure 1:OrbView-3 was launched in June 2003 and delivers up to 1 meter imagery.Click on image to see enlarged.
Not only has the scarcity of certain skills driven the government to change how and what they buy, but the overall resource question has resulted in the government's rethinking of the roles that should remain their exclusive domain. Outsourcing allows the government to concentrate its personnel on its core competencies, as many corporations do, while taking advantage of economic benefits and efficiencies that industry has to offer. The degree of outsourcing has dramatically increased in scope during my career and has now moved to the geospatial intelligence domain. This is not just restricted to the imagery collection, which represents a significant part of the commercial remote sensing marketplace, but also involves exploitation and production of imagery-derived products.
The IT revolution has enabled commercial capabilities to lead technological developments rather than the historic pattern in which government drove such development in most areas. A significant benefit of this transformation is the government's ability to exploit the advantages of commercial technology, processes, and prices. Full realization of these benefits, however, requires the government to modify some of its acquisition practices. Although a number of regulatory obstacles have been removed, structure and prerogatives have not evolved at the same rate — leaving more to be done to fully capture this potential.
Lastly, I believe that senior people in government have come to understand the need for risks and rewards in the industry that serves them, to balance with those in the greater marketplace. These government leaders also understand the value of a partnership with industry that — consistent with fairness and sound ethical practices — strives for the proverbial "win-win" situation. This is the only way government can continue to compete for the best that industry has to offer. While this understanding is now spreading in the middle tiers of government management, which must ultimately implement it, this is not yet universal. Senior government leadership must continue to show the way to foster an industry-government relationship that equitably serves both sides.
What are the biggest challenges facing the commercial remote sensing industry in 2005?
Figure 2:OrbView-3 captured this panchromatic (black and white) image of Sydney Australia.Click on image to see enlarged.
Two issues must be considered. First, the significant capital investment required to build an earth imaging satellite must be recovered through the sale of imagery, value-added products, and services. Second, satellites are prolific image data collectors, often acquiring more imagery than is required by current market demand. The challenge, therefore, is to close the gaps between cost and revenue and between requirements and capability. A crucial step was recently taken when the White House stated its policy regarding the U.S. commercial remote sensing industry. Although the benefits of this policy have yet to come to complete fruition, a vital element is to have the current anchor tenants of the industry remain consistent with their planned funding commitments. With guaranteed funding, the imaging industry can better plan its investment in new technologies, capabilities, and applications development, which are necessities for industry growth.
In addition, we must do a better job of educating the marketplace on the capabilities and limitations of satellite systems. Within the industry, we must refine our own understanding of how our customers benefit from satellite imagery and derived products so that we can continuously offer greater value to end users. This means that we have to examine the benefits of an "eye in the sky" from the customer's perspective and investigate the added value that may come from combining imagery with other information sources or taking advantage of the repetitive coverage it offers. An example of this is ORBIMAGE's highly successful SeaStar program in which we merge satellite imagery with other oceanographic information to guide commercial fishermen to potentially more productive locations.
You've built new business lines from scratch and are now joining ORBIMAGE well into its successful business plan. Which is more difficult?
Figure 3:A multispectral (color) mode image Sunnyvale, California reveals a variety of land uses.Click on image to see enlarged.
One is not necessarily easier than the other, as each has its own set of challenges. However, they do have something in common: namely, people throughout any organization need to be inspired and led in such a way that their energy is high and their goals are aligned with those of the organization. The clearer and more compelling an objective can be made, the easier it is for the people and the organization to be successful. One challenge is to evolve the objective as circumstances change to sustain the enthusiasm and focus of the organization. For example, during the preparation of a proposal, there is a real enthusiasm and drive to win. When the bid is won, the leaders need to stimulate the team and refocus them to implement and execute the plan.
This is the current situation at ORBIMAGE. We are moving the organization from winning and prevailing as one of the top players in this market to executing programs that will further solidify our leadership position. Fortunately for me, I am working with a great team of people who readily understand that winning a bid is not enough and that our ultimate success will be judged by how well we perform in delivering our products and services.
After December's tsunami, experts helped explain that satellites travel in orbits and that imagery of the event could be taken only when the sensor passed the area. How far along is the industry in educating the public about what satellite sensors can do and how they work? How can this educational process be enhanced?
School children know that the earth is round and rotates on its axis, and those of us who fly on airplanes know that when we are above the clouds we can't always see the ground. Yet many people often don't connect these facts with the circumstances surrounding the operation of imaging satellites. The truth is, however, that orbital mechanics, atmospherics, and optics are complex topics. A good analogy is with computers: many people have them and use them, but most know nothing about what makes them work. And they really don't need to. Instead, it is the growing familiarity we have with computers that makes us comfortable and effective in using them. As products and services from satellites become more commonplace, their capabilities and limitations will be better understood. Likewise, we in the industry must continue to do our part to make these products and services accessible, easy to use, and responsive to the need of those they serve.
ORBIMAGE was last into space with its 1-meter sensor. In this case, does being "last" have advantages?
Figure 4:OrbView-5 with 0.41 meter resolution is extected to launch early in 2007.Click on image to see enlarged.
We launched OrbView-3 in June 2003, and there is no doubt that having the newest of the high-resolution imaging satellites provides certain advantages, most notably that our satellite should outlast the others. But ORBIMAGE has also had the advantage of learning from the lessons of those preceding us. We now have an opportunity to build on our own experiences and on those of our colleagues to design and incorporate new capabilities into our next generation system through the NextView program. OrbView-5 will collect imagery at 0.41-meter spatial resolution in the panchromatic (black-and-white) mode, and 1.64-meter resolution in the multispectral (color) mode. When OrbView-5 joins our OrbView-3 satellite in early 2007, the constellation will collect more than 1.2 million square kilometers of imagery per day with a combined revisit period of less than 1.5 days for any geographic target. We also intend to leverage past experiences in upgrading our capabilities on the ground, so that ORBIMAGE delivers high-quality products as quickly as possible to our customers worldwide.
William "Bill" Schuster joined ORBIMAGE as Chief Operating Officer in December 2004.
