J
IM
W
ILLIS WAS THE
V
ICE
P
RESIDENT OF
M
ARKETING AND
S
ALES FOR
I
NTERNATIONAL
Satellite Im-
ages (ISI). ISI had been building a satellite to image the world at a resolution of one meter.
At that resolution, a trained photo interpreter could identify virtually any military and civil-
ian vehicle as well as numerous other military and non-military objects. The ISI team had
been preparing a proposal for a Japanese government contractor. The contract called for a
commitment of a minimum imagery purchase of $10 million per year for five years. In a
recent executive staff meeting it became clear that the ISI satellite camera subcontractor
was having trouble with the development of a thermal stabilizer for the instrument. It ap-
peared that the development delay would be at least one year and possibly 18 months.