Safeguards and Satellite Imagery: Potential Applications

Commercial satellite imagery provides the International Atomic Energy Ag.-ncy with yet another vantage point from which to monitor a stale's nuclear activities. The most practical uses of remote sending for safeguards include serving as an inspection aid, detecting changes at certain types of facilities and sites, and corroborating state declarations on the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclearrelated activities as well as open-source information. Although the IAEA's experience with member state information may lead some observers to conclude that high-resolution satellite imagery could yield a significantly better ability to detect undeclared activities, a realistic assessment must conclude that a credible capability for wide-area monitoring with satellite images is not cost-effective. The agencx and member states will need to balance carefully the value added by CSI with the costs it could entail.