Letter from NASA Adminstrator Sean O’Keefe to NIMA Director Clapper

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Office of the Administrator

Washington, DC 20546-0001

March 25, 2003

Lieutenant General James R. Clapper, USAF (Ret.)

Director

NIMA

4600 Sangamore Road

Bethesda, Maryland 20816

Dear General Clapper Jim

Thank you very much for the briefing that you and your staff presented to us at NASA on March 13, 2003. We appreciate your offer of close cooperation regarding the use of NIMA assets relative to future shuttle operations.

As agreed during that session, we deeply appreciate your intention to make available the products of NIMA assets on a routine basis, without specific tasking from NASA. This will be very helpful as we continually asses the condition of the Shuttle during on-orbit operations. Significantly, your willingness to employ NIMA assets during targets of opportunity without specific tasking will be another useful source of information to help us assess the potential of on-orbit anomalies.

Additionally, recall that we considered a number of other parameters for possible use by NASA and agreed that our staffs would undertake to address the details of these agreements. We have worked through these issues and have prepared a package for your consideration. I have reviewed the staff suggestions and have asked that contact be made with your folks to discuss our proposal by the end of the week.

I look forward to continuing to work cooperatively with you in the future and very much appreciate your willingness to add our requirements to your routine operations.

With all bets wishes,

Cordially

Sean [signed]

Sean O’Keefe

Cc: The Honorable George Tenet

Admiral Hal Gehman, USN (ret)

Thanks for your help Jim! [handwritten]