The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-26)

THURSDAY, MAY 26 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU A

year the government of Ukraine

issued a plea for help, asking

satellite companies to share their

data with the Ukrainian military.

Countries have for decades

used satellites to spy on their

enemies. But a revolution in

technology, driven in large part

by the private sector, has made

the satellites smaller, less expen-

sive and highly capable. As a

result, the U.S. government has

said it wants to harness those

capabilities.

“The NRO has a long-standing

strategy of ‘buy what we can,

build what we must,’ ” Chris Sco-

lese, director of the NRO, said in a

statement. “The diversity offered

by our expanding architecture

lions of dollars” over the next

decade, BlackSky said its award

was worth $1 billion. In a filing,

Maxar said its could be worth up

to $3.24 billion.

It was unclear how much Plan-

et would receive as part of the

program. But Robbie Schingler,

the firm’s co-founder and chief

strategy officer, said: “We have

long held the conviction that

unclassified commercial satellite

imagery not only equips the gov-

ernment with differentiated and

innovative intelligence capabili-

ties, but also increases transpar-

ency and accountability that ad-

vances global security, as well as

trust between government and

citizens.”

BY CHRISTIAN DAVENPORT

The National Reconnaissance
Office, the U.S. intelligence agen-
cy that operates the nation’s spy
satellites, announced that it is
awarding billions of dollars in
contracts over the next decade to
three commercial satellite com-
panies that take photos of Earth.
In a statement, the NRO said it
was the “largest-ever commercial
imagery contract effort” and that

it represented “a historic expan-

sion of the NRO’s acquisition of

commercial imagery to meet in-

creasing customer demands with

greater capacity than ever

b efore.”

The awards went to Planet,

BlackSky and Maxar, all of which

operate fleets of satellites orbit-

ing Earth that take imagery of the

ground below.

The contracts come as the

Pentagon and intelligence agency

are increasingly relying on im-

agery from commercial satellite

companies to aid in spying, war-

fare and humanitarian efforts.

Commercial images have played

a big role in the war in Ukraine,

as commercial satellites have

captured troop movements,

d estruction, even plumes of

smoke that disclose the locations

of missile attacks — all in

h igh-definition.

The imagery is so vital that this

Spy agency awards ‘historic’ contracts

to three commercial satellite firms

BY CHRISTIAN DAVENPORT

Boeing’s Starliner space cap-
sule landed in the New Mexico
desert Wednesday, completing a
six-day mission in which it finally
reached the International Space
Station and that could lead to
flights with astronauts.
The capsule, without any crew
on board, touched down as sched-
uled at 6:49 p.m. Eastern time at
the White Sands Missile Range in
New Mexico under a trio of para-
chutes. Air bags cushioned the
landing.
The landing was the last step of
a crucial test for Boeing and
NASA, which required the aero-
space company to prove it could
safely fly the vehicle to the station
and back autonomously before al-
lowing it to fly astronauts.

The return flight went smooth-

ly, NASA and Boeing said, from

undocking with the space station,

then firing its thrusters to deorbit

and entering the atmosphere. As it

plunged back toward Earth, its

heat shield endured temperatures

as high as 3,000 degrees Fahren-

heit.

“Just a beautiful touchdown in

White Sands this evening,” Lauren

Seabrook, a Boeing spokesperson,

said on the live broadcast of the

landing.

She added that the spacecraft

landed about three-tenths-of-a-

mile southeast of the landing site,

“which is basically a bull’s eye,” she

said.

It is unclear, however, when the

first crewed flight would happen.

On its way to the station, two of

its main thrusters cut off after

sensors recorded problems. Back-

ups kicked in without delay, put-

ting the spacecraft on the right

path to the station, but once it got

close to the station, two other,

smaller thrusters, used to position

the spacecraft for docking, also

had problems, Boeing said. In ad-

dition, the spacecraft’s thermal

control system, used to keep the

spacecraft at the right tempera-

ture, also failed.

Despite those challenges, NASA

and Boeing hailed the mission as a

“historic” first that would give the

space agency an alternative to

SpaceX for carrying cargo and

astronauts to the station. Mark

Nappi, a Boeing vice president

who oversees the Starliner pro-

gram, said that despite the prob-

lems, the “spacecraft is in excel-

lent condition,” and that it “per-

formed like it was supposed to.”

Steve Stich, who runs NASA’s

commercial crew program, said

last week that the problems were

overcome without too much trou-

ble but that the “failures” would

have to be studied.

“We have a lot of redundancy so

that really didn’t affect the rendez-

vous operations at all or affect the

rest of the flight,” he said after the

docking. “I know after the flight,

we’ll go study the failures there

and see what happened.”

That investigation is made

more difficult by the fact that

engineers on the ground won’t be

able to examine the two main

thrusters that cut out since they

are housed in the spacecraft’s

service module, which was jetti-

soned during the return.

Still, NASA and Boeing cel-

ebrated the flight as a success.

During a post-flight briefing

Wednesday evening, Stich said the

“test flight was extremely success-

ful. We met all the mission objec-

tives.” He added that “the systems

performed great on the vehicle

and, you know, once we work

through all the data, we’ll be ready

to fly the crew on the vehicle.”

While there were several issues

along the way, he said there were

no “showstoppers.” Despite the

problems with the thrusters, he

said, “I don’t see any reason why

we can’t proceed toward a crewed

flight test next.”

Nappi added that “we are ex-

tremely pleased with the result of

this mission.”

Boeing and NASA have said

they would like to be able to fly a

mission with astronauts by the

end of the year, but they would

first need to make sure they un-

derstand all of the issues that

cropped up as well as study the

data they have from the capsule

now that it is back on the ground.

The program is already delayed

by years after a series of previous

problems. Boeing first attempted

the uncrewed test flight in Decem-

ber 2019. But it had to cut the test

short after a major software prob-

lem and a communications failure

caused the spacecraft to burn too

much fuel and not enter an orbit

that would carry it to the space

station. It took 20 months before

the company tried again, but that

flight failed even to get off the

ground last August when engi-

neers discovered that 13 valves in

the service module were stuck in

the closed position.

In crucial test for Boeing, Starliner capsule lands on Earth to finish mission

BY NICK ANDERSON

AND SUSAN SVRLUGA

The University of California
has agreed to another massive
round of settlements in response
to sex abuse claims from hun-
dreds of patients of former UCLA
gynecologist-oncologist James
Heaps, officials said Tuesday, rais-
ing the university’s total payouts
in the case to nearly $700 million.
That total is believed to set a
record for a public university in
resolving such allegations.
The settlements disclosed
Tuesday, according to a statement
from UCLA Health, will total
$374.4 million and resolve law-
suits that 312 women filed in state
court. That followed a disclosure
from UC this year that its Board of
Regents agreed to pay $241.2 mil-
lion to settle claims from 201
women who alleged that Heaps
sexually abused them. (The num-
ber of plaintiffs who qualified for
that round of settlement has var-
ied slightly.) In addition, a state
court last year approved a $
million agreement reached on be-
half of former patients of Heaps.
In all, UC’s payouts as a result
of the Heaps scandal have
reached more than $688 million.
That is a landmark sum for a
public university. It surpassed the
$500 million that Michigan State
University agreed to pay in 2018
to resolve litigation in the sexual
abuse scandal connected to dis-
graced sports doctor Larry Nas-
sar. Another major payout came

in January, when the University

of Michigan agreed to pay $

million to former patients of a

sports doctor who alleged that he

sexually abused them over many

years.

Attorneys for plaintiffs in the

Heaps cases described the UC

payout as the largest sexual abuse

settlement for a public university.

The private University of

Southern California, in another

scandal involving a gynecologist,

agreed to pay more than $1 billion

to settle allegations that former

USC doctor George Tyndall had

abused patients at the student

health center for decades. A large

portion of the payouts was an-

nounced last year.

For UCLA, the staggering costs

of the Heaps scandal have been

coming into focus in recent

months. Heaps was arrested in

2019 and has been charged with

21 counts of sexual offenses, attor-

neys said, including sexual ex-

ploitation, sexual battery by fraud

and sexual penetration of an un-

conscious person by fraudulent

representation. He has pleaded

not guilty and is awaiting crimi-

nal trial.

Heaps is “adamant” about his

innocence, said Leonard B.

Levine, an attorney who repre-

sents the doctor in the criminal

case. “He’s looking forward to a

jury trial where he believes he’ll

be totally exonerated.”

Separately, civil lawsuits had

alleged that UCLA concealed sex-

ual abuse by Heaps. Patients had

complained of inappropriate

touching and comments during

gynecologic procedures.

“The conduct alleged to have

been committed by Heaps is rep-

rehensible and contrary to our

values,” UCLA Health said in its

statement Tuesday. “We are grate-

ful to all those who came forward,

and hope this settlement is one

step toward providing some level

of healing for the plaintiffs in-

volved.”

Despite complaints about

Heaps, UCLA continued to “pack

his waiting room,” until his de-

parture in June 2018, according

to attorney Darren Kavinoky, who

represented plaintiffs involved in

the latest settlement. “That’s one

of the most infuriating things

about the case.” Rather than safe-

guard patients and suspend

Heaps or take other action, Kavi-

noky said, UCLA let him remain

in his position. “He continued to

practice up until his very last day,”

Kavinoky said, and his departure

was announced to patients with

“mixed emotions.”

Another attorney representing

former patients of Heaps said

Tuesday’s development is a mile-

stone.

“This is the latest in a long line

of these types of cases” exposed in

recent years, said Jennifer

McGrath, citing episodes at nu-

merous prominent schools. She

argued that the Heaps case also

points to a systemic failure by

UCLA Health to listen to not only

patients but to employees who

expressed concerns. Many em-

ployees feared retaliation if they

spoke up, she said.

As for the plaintiffs, McGrath

said, many were frightened by

either the diagnosis or prospect

of cancer when they sought care

from Heaps. They were betrayed

twice, McGrath said, “both by the

physician they put their trust in,

and the institution, UCLA, that

they put their trust in.” McGrath

said it is troubling that, by what is

publicly known, UCLA does not

appear to have disciplined any of

the decision-makers involved

with the Heaps case.

UCLA Health said it has taken

measures to prevent abuse and

misconduct, including updated

and enhanced “chaperone pol-

icies” for sensitive exams and

procedures, as well as “rigorous

screening” before doctors are

hired and expanded training for

employees to report sexual vio-

lence and harassment.

“We are dedicated to providing

the highest quality care that re-

spects the dignity of every pa-

tient,” UCLA Health said in its

statement. “We are taking all nec-

essary steps to ensure our pa-

tients’ well-being in order to

maintain the public’s confidence

and trust.”

Settlements in UCLA sex abuse suits reach $688 million

AL SEIB/LOS ANGELES TIMES/ASSOCIATED PRESS

James Heaps, a former UCLA gynecologist-oncologist, w as accused of sexual abuse by hundreds of

women. Heaps pleaded not guilty to 21 counts of sexual offenses and is awaiting criminal trial.

edged that the report does not

reflect the likely full impact of the

war on prices, as the invasion in

particular appeared to put dra-

matic upward pressure on food

and gas costs, and said inflation is

likely higher than their report

states. The CBO officials spoke on

the condition of anonymity under

the ground rules of the call.

The administration has tried to

highlight the falling deficit, but

voters have remained alarmed by

rising prices. The persistent price

BY JEFF STEIN

High inflation is expected to
persist for the rest of the year,
saddling Americans with higher
costs as price hikes continue, the
Congressional Budget Office said
on Wednesday.
The nonpartisan budget office
estimated that key measures of
inflation will show signs of easing
this year relative to last year, but
will remain high as demand con-
tinues to outstrip supply, putting
upward pressure on prices.
From the end of 2020 to the end
of 2021, the consumer price index
— one measure of inflation — grew
by roughly 6.7 percent, the highest
level in roughly four decades. The
pace of that increase will come
down, according to the CBO, but
only to 4.7 percent — still far high-
er than policymakers want. Other
measures of inflation cited by the
budget office project that price
hikes will remain roughly twice
the Federal Reserve’s intended
target of 2 percent. Price increases
won’t fall back to targeted levels
until 2024, the CBO said.
“There remains a significant
gap between consumers’ demand
and businesses’ ability to supply
it,” said Adam Ozimek, chief econ-
omist at the Economic Innovation
Group. “People’s desire to con-
sume more goods than businesses
can produce is leading to a rise in

prices, and consumers are going to

feel that in their pocketbooks.”

The projections suggest the

Biden administration could re-

main hemmed in by the politics of

high inflation, which has hurt the

president’s approval rating, while

also potentially defining this fall’s

midterms. But the CBO report of-

fers some hope for the White

House, indicating high growth

and low unemployment this year.

The eventual easing of infla-

tionary pressure is part of the

budget office’s broader predic-

tions of a gradual restoration of

more typical economic conditions

after disruptions caused by the

coronavirus pandemic, trillions of

dollars in stimulus, and energy

and food shocks after Russia’s in-

vasion of Ukraine. The CBO proj-

ects the U.S. economy will grow at

3.1 percent in 2022 — faster than

usual, but slower than the rapid

5.5 percent clip of 2021 — as some

of the factors juicing demand be-

gin to ebb. Unemployment is pro-

jected to remain low, at 3.8 percent

this year and 3.5 percent next year.

Similarly, the federal budget

deficit that exploded in 2020 and

2021 amid a surge in pandemic

spending is set to moderate over

the next several years. The CBO

projects the deficit will shrink to

$1 trillion in 2021 and average $1.

trillion annually from 2023 to

2032. The deficit hit a record of

roughly $3 trillion in 2020.

In a news briefing, CBO officials

said the projections were solidi-

fied by March 2 and incorporated

some of the initial impact of the

disruption caused by Russia’s war

in Ukraine. But officials acknowl-

hikes pose a major challenge both

for President Biden and the Feder-

al Reserve, which is weighing how

to push interest rate hikes to crush

higher prices without throwing

the economy into recession.

“Other than maybe fuel and en-

ergy prices, I think we’ll see a

deceleration of inflation,” said

Larry Mishel, an economist at the

Economic Policy Institute, a

l eft-leaning think tank, in an in-

terview before the report’s release.

“How much, how quickly and

where it will be is hard to judge.”

Federal revenue is projected to

reach its highest level as a percent-

age of gross domestic product in

more than two decades because of

the strong economic recovery

from the pandemic, according to

the CBO. In the briefing, CBO offi-

cials said strong incomes across

the economy — though offset by

high prices — mean tax revenue

overall is being pushed up, though

they said many factors are likely in

play. Investors also appeared to

pay more on their capital gains.

Although the deficit is expected

to fall in the short term, the CBO

estimates that the deficit over 10

years has increased from its last

projections by roughly $1.

t rillion. That is in part because the

central bank’s move to hike inter-

est rates will push up the cost of

borrowing, even though revenue

will also be higher.

High inflation will persist into next year, Congressional Budget O∞ce says

MATT MCCLAIN/THE WASHINGTON POST

Kelly Hayes bags groceries after shopping at Whole Foods Market in D.C.’s Tenleytown neighborhood

in April. Hayes said she’s been more conscious of buying items on sale because of high i nflation.

composed of both commercial

and NRO systems increases our

resilience and enables an inte-

grated approach to the threats

facing our nation.”

While the NRO said only that

the contracts are “valued at bil-

“The NRO has a

l ong-standing strategy

of ‘buy what we can,

build what we must.’ ”

Chris Scolese,

National Reconnaissance Office