2014
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National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Map of the
Worlds
An NGA project brings a dozen thematic maps together to provide detailed but easily accessible information about any location. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has rolled out the first operational version of its Map of the World (MoW), which brings together information from a wide range of sources to give users detailed but easily accessible information about any spot on the globe. Version 1.0 of the MoW, deployed in August, incorporates 12 thematic maps of the Earth with data on topics such as topography, transportation and human geography. It integrates foundation GEOINT and navigation datasets, as well as features, imagery and intelligence, from the agency and other sources. The goal of the ongoing project, according to NGA’s 2018 strategy, is to serve as “the foundation for the IC’s objectbased production environment,” providing “the geospatial bedrock for all intelligence, information and knowledge to be anchored, integrated, presented and accessed,” and enabling “multi-INT integration by allowing analysts from across the intelligence community to start from a common frame of reference, bringing together multiple sources of information on one object.” The MoW, which is available on multiple security domains, will lead to major gains in efficiency and effectiveness among intelligence community leaders, according to Chris Lee, deputy director of the Content Management Office within NGA’s Source Foundation GEOINT Group. “The Map of the World concept is directly correlated with the intelligence community’s move to integrated intelligence,” said Lee. “The idea of MoW is to provide analysts with an environment where they can interact with data and other analysts and deliver geospatial intelligence for
By Harrison Donnelly, GIF Editor
Map of the World Views (Editor’s Note: Following are the views available on Version 1.0 of the NGA’s Map of the World, along with the times they were included.)
December 2013 January 2014
March 2014
Maritime
Analysis
Names
Boundaries
Elevation
Geomatics
any place, anytime, anywhere on the face of the earth. For the first time, we are developing a consistent content view, spatially and temporally, that has not existed before in any individual application. “Before Map of the World, what we had was a number of different databases based on the products we created and, while accurate, it didn’t present a clear and unified picture to intelligence analysts. Today, Map of the World is one of the primary mechanisms we are using to facilitate online and on-demand access to different layers of GEOINT content organized in different views. Just as Google changed the way we interact with data on the internet, our goal is for Map of the World to change the way we interact with intelligence. By integrating a wide range of intelligence through a common frame of reference, Map of the World provides a dynamic understanding of an activity in place and time to help interpret what may come next,” he said.
Immersive Intelligence The project, which has been a centerpiece of NGA Director Letitia A. Long’s vision of “immersive intelligence,” went operational shortly before her retirement
April 2014
August 2014
Topography
Controlled Imagery
Human Geography
Integrated/Composite
Aeronautical
Transportation
from the agency. In remarks to industry representatives at a recent U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation event, Long hailed government and industry work on the project, and held out a vision for further progress. “I put a marker on the wall and said that Version 1.0 would be available in August 2014, and we delivered two weeks early. It’s only going to get better, because of the partnership. You helped us populate the data, develop the baseline, applications and services,” Long said. NGA officials plan to continue to add to the range of data included in the initiative, and are already working with industry to maintain and enhance it. The agency recently announced a $335 million contract with BAE Systems to assist the project in transforming the collection, maintenance, and utilization of data and products. “Our GEOINT experts will be exploring new sources of data, including commodity data, open-source intelligence and NGA archive data to deliver new products in line with the agency’s changing mission focus,” said DeEtte Gray, president of BAE Systems’ intelligence and security sector. “BAE Systems is expected to maintain, update and/or create new GEOINT Continued on page 18 ➥
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GIF 12.7 | 13
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Robert Cardillo Director
Michael Rodrigue Deputy Director
Gary Dunow Analysis (Acting)
David White Chief Information Officer
Cardell Richardson Sr. Diversity Management and EEO
Misty Tullar Chief Financial Executive
Allison Hall Security and Installations (Acting)
Tonya Crawford Senior Procurement Executive
2014
TASC.COM
14 | GIF 12.7
TRUSTED ADVISOR www.GIF-kmi.com
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Ellen McCarthy Chief Operating Officer
Maj. Gen. Mark Quantock Military Deputy
CMSgt. Rachel Zeigler Senior Enlisted Advisor
Douglas McGovern InnoVision
John Goolgasian III Source Operations and Management
Geoffrey Fowler Xperience
William Caniano Corporate Communications
Cynthia Ryan General Counsel
Brig. Gen. Joseph Composto (Ret.) Inspector General
Jimmy Greene Geospatial Intelligence Management
Joseph Drummey International Affairs
Ed Mornston Human Development
Sammie Jackson Military Support
Jennifer Daniel Persistent GEOINT
David Bottom IT Services
ON GEOINT PROGRAMS, PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES www.GIF-kmi.com
GIF 12.7 | 15
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
GEOINT/NGA Timeline 1996
1941 Between 1941 and 1968, the Army Map Service (AMS) is responsible for the publication and distribution of military topographic maps for use by U.S. military forces. The AMS is later merged into the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA).
1972 The Defense Mapping Agency begins operations as a Department of Defense entity, consolidating multiple mapping agencies and assuming responsibility for producing and distributing maps, charts, and geodetic products and services.
https://ww
w.nga.mi
1960 Between August 1960 and May 1972, the Corona program, the nation’s first generation of photo reconnaissance satellites, takes over 800,000 images from space on 2.1 million feet of film.
The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), authorized by the 1997 defense bill, integrates into one agency the services of mapping, charting, imagery and geospatial information to a wide range of customers. Rear Admiral John J. Dantone Jr., the director of DMA, becomes acting director of NIMA.
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istory/NG
AinHistor
y/Publish
ingImages
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1971
Photo interpreters at the National Photographic Interpretation Center, using analysis of photos taken by a U-2 mission, discover the presence of Soviet SAMs in Cuba. Within a few weeks, the Cuban Missile Crisis intensifies when aerial photography reveals the presence of Soviet medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic-missiles.
4:24 AM]
1991
The launch of the HEXAGON (KH-9) photoreconnaissance satellite marks a new generation of technology that uses a wider array of sensors, improved spatial resolution, and four film buckets.
1962
014 10:4
DMA supports Operation Desert Storm, producing 35 million maps to support the buildup of coalition forces, in addition to customized individual and digital products prepared for combat troops.
1976 An earthquake devastates Guatemala. The NPIC exploits U-2 imagery to assess the damage, in an early example of high-resolution imagery of a foreign natural disaster being made available to the affected nation in time to be useful in support of disaster relief.
2000 The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, a joint effort between NIMA and NASA undertaken from Space Shuttle Endeavour, acquires elevation data over about 80 percent of the earth‘s surface, using the technique known as interferometric synthetic aperture radar.
https://www.nga.m
il/About/Histo
2010
2003 United States and its allies launch Operation Iraqi Freedom. NIMA support teams support of combat forces with customized systems such as the Mobile Integrated Geospatial Intelligence Systems and the NIMA Deployable Communication System.
2001 Lieutenant General James R. Clapper Jr. becomes director of NIMA, taking office only days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
2014
Letitia A. Long assumes the position of NGA director, becoming the first woman to head an IC agency.
2003
NGA tracks burgeoning international crises, including the rise of the Islamic State in the Levant and the RussiaUkraine dispute. Commercial satellite imagery acquired by NGA plays a major role in public diplomacy.
2011
NGA forwards 100 graphics depicting the locations of key infrastructure for counties in the path of Hurricane Katrina. Within days of landfall, NGA equipment and analysts are en route to the affected area.
NGA completes its transition to a consolidated new headquarters facility in Springfield, Va.
2014 Robert Cardillo becomes NGA director.
2003 The 2004 defense bill changes the name of the agency from NIMA to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to reflect the changed role of technology and its uses.
2011 NGA and other members of the IC collaborate with the military on the successful raid against Osama bin Laden. NGA works in collaboration with other intelligence agencies to create a replica of the terrorist leader’s home in Pakistan.
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency ➥ Continued from page 13 products and services as needed to support our customer’s needs,” explained Tony Baraghimian, vice president and general manager of content and data management for BAE Systems. “For example, we could be asked to provide foundational GEOINT content and products to support a variety of mapping and analysis applications to enhance our customer’s situational awareness, or directly in support of mission planning.” A $20 million contract with Leidos, meanwhile, will fund conversion of NGA navigational and other data for MoW use. In addition, an NGA announcement this spring reached out to industry and academia for actionable ideas to accelerate the initiative. The request specifically sought help in linking and conflating data from various sources and developing a framework for user-generated content. The MoW project involved a number of technical challenges, including finding ways to display disparate data, accommodate formatting standards and consolidate data access. In addition, planners devoted considerable effort to managing change within the agency and reaching out to the broader intelligence community. “We found there was so much demand for information about NGA’s MoW initiative that we established a dedicated communications and outreach team,” said Lee. “The team briefed at least 1,500 people in the last two months, including the unified commands, the NGA support teams, and some of the services, and we still have a long way to go. “The idea is to demonstrate and educate users on the MoW, get their feedback, and apply what we learn to the development process. This is all part of ensuring we are providing what customers want in a format that is easy for them to access and use,” he added. The project is already bearing fruit for users, Lee noted. “In one recent case, a forward-deployed analyst required an updated map of a certain area in the war zone. In the past, it may have taken days or weeks to find the data he needed, but he was able to access the MoW, find the data and print it out within a half hour.” Indeed, making the map dynamic and flexible is seen as critical to its success. “The idea is to avoid creating something
that is static in any way. We’ve identified certain types of data that we want to bring in as services, so the map remains dynamic, relevant and accurate.” BAE Systems also has ambitious plans for its role in MoW, Baraghimian said. “Automation and technological improvements will be developed over the course of this contract to ensure the most current data is always available to our customers. We aim to make NGA’s Map of the World project an immersive experience that allows analysts to ‘live within the data,’
For more information, contact GIF Editor Harrison Donnelly at harrisond@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.gif-kmi.com.
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Concurrent.
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just as Director Long described earlier this year. In addition, the MoW’s shared environment will create new efficiencies for the intelligence community that will heighten situational awareness, enhance national security and deliver long-term value to the government.” O
www.ctc.com
9/30/2014 3:44:09 PM
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