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Satellite uncovers ancient pyramids
A new remote sensing technology has peeled away layers of mud and rock near Peru's Cahuachi desert to reveal an ancient adobe pyramid, Italian researchers announced on Friday at a satellite imagery conference in Rome. A new remote sensing technology has peeled away layers of mud and rock near Peru's Cahuachi desert to reveal an ancient adobe pyr... more
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DHS satellite spy program going forward despite objections
The Department of Homeland Security has been given the money it needs to begin turning international spy satellites within the country's borders, despite lingering fears about the program's lack of focus and the potential for it to infringe upon Americans' civil liberties.
After more than a year of delay, Congress quietly authorized DHS to begin sharing data gathered by military satellites with civilian and law enforcement agencies. A $634 billion spending bill signed into law earlier this week provides funds for DHS to establish the satellite surveillance program, known as the National Applications Office, without addressing the myriad concerns about NAO privacy and civil liberties protections that had been delaying its implementation.
Supporters of the program claim, according to the Wall Street Journal, that its scope will be limited to "emergency response and scientific needs," but civil liberties advocates and some members of Congress fear the door has been open for the highly classified satellite surveillance program to shift into high gear.
More from this article:
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/DHS_satellite_spy_program... The Department of Homeland Security has been given the money it needs to begin turning international spy satellites within the country... more -
Satellite-Surveillance Program to Begin Despite Privacy Concerns
The Department of Homeland Security will proceed with the first phase of a controversial satellite-surveillance program, even though an independent review found the department hasn't yet ensured the program will comply with privacy laws. The Department of Homeland Security will proceed with the first phase of a controversial satellite-surveillance program, even though a... more
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Solar Wind Lowest In The Space Age
Data from the Ulysses mission show that the Sun has reduced its output of solar wind to the lowest levels since we've had readings and it could reduce the natural shielding that envelops our Solar System.
The Sun's solar wind plasma is a stream of charged particles that are ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. The solar wind interacts with every planetary body in our Solar System. It even defines the border between our Solar System and interstellar space.
This border, called the heliopause, is a bubble-shaped boundary surrounding our Solar System where the solar wind's strength is no longer great enough to push back the wind originating from other stars. The region around the heliopause also acts as a shield for our Solar System, warding off a significant portion of the cosmic rays outside the galaxy.
"The Sun’s 1.5 million km-per-hour solar wind inflates a protective bubble around the Solar System and can influence how things work here on Earth and even out at the boundary of our Solar System, where it meets the galaxy," said Dave McComas, Principal Investigator for the Ulysses solar wind instrument and senior Executive Director at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. "Ulysses data indicate the solar wind’s global pressure is the lowest we have seen since the beginning of the space age."
"Galactic cosmic rays carry with them radiation from other parts of our galaxy," said Ed Smith, NASA's Ulysses Project Scientist from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, USA. "With the solar wind at an all-time low, there is an excellent chance that the heliosphere will diminish in size and strength. If that occurs, more galactic cosmic rays will make it into the inner part of our Solar System."
Galactic cosmic rays are of great interest; cosmic rays are linked to engineering decisions for unmanned interplanetary spacecraft and exposure limits for astronauts traveling beyond low-Earth orbit.
In 2007, Ulysses executed its third scan of the solar wind and magnetic field from the Sun’s south to the north pole. When the results were compared with Ulysses observations from the previous cycle, the strength of the solar wind pressure and the radial component of the magnetic field embedded in the solar wind were found to have decreased by 20%. The field strength near the spacecraft has decreased by 36%. Data from the Ulysses mission show that the Sun has reduced its output of solar wind to the lowest levels since we've had reading... more -
Europe plans asteroid sample grab
European scientists and engineers are working on a potential new mission to bring back material from an asteroid.
The venture, known as Marco Polo, could launch in the next decade, and would be designed to learn more about how our Solar System evolved.
The plan is to select a small asteroid - less than 1km across - near Earth and send a spacecraft there to drill for dust and rubble for analysis.
Mission plans are being worked on by UK Astrium and OHB in Germany.
Both satellite manufacturers have been asked to undertake a feasibility study, to assess the type of spacecraft architecture that would be needed to carry out the project.
A final decision on whether to approve the mission will be made by the European Space Agency (Esa) in a few years' time. The mission would launch towards the end of the next decade, in about 2017.
Asteroids are the debris left over from the formation of the Solar System about 4.6 billion years ago.
Studying their pristine material should provide new insights on how the Solar System came into being and how planets like Earth evolved.
"We'll be looking at the best solution for getting there and back," UK Astrium's Dr Ralph Cordey told BBC News.
"We've got to look at all elements of the mission - how we would design the mission, how to design the trajectory to one of a number of possible asteroids, how to optimise that so we use the smallest spacecraft, the least fuel and the smallest rocket."
Marco Polo might work like this:
• After the launch on a Soyuz rocket from Europe's Kourou spaceport, a propulsion unit would take the mission out to its target asteroid
• The main spacecraft unit would undertake a remote-sensing campaign, gathering key information on shape, size, mass, spin and global composition
• It would then attempt to land, drilling a few cm into the surface. Up to 300g of dust and pebbles would be stored away in a sealed capsule
• After lifting off the asteroid, the spacecraft would put itself on a homeward trajectory, releasing the capsule close to Earth for a re-entry
• The capsule would land without parachutes. It would be opened in a clean facility to ensure there was no Earth contamination
Esa has an exploration roadmap for the missions it wishes to conduct in the coming years. Marco Polo is being considered under its Cosmic Visions programme, and is one of a number of competing ideas in a class of missions that could cost in the region of 300 million euros.
It is quite possible that Marco Polo, if approved, could be undertaken in partnership with Japan.
Sample return missions are of significant interest to scientists. Although in-situ measurements provide remarkable insights, so much more would be learnt if materials were brought back to Earth laboratories, where the full panoply of modern analytical technologies can be deployed. European scientists and engineers are working on a potential new mission to bring back material from an asteroid. ... more -
Scientists hope to have Galileo Operational by 2013
"Eleven industrial groups will compete for the contracts to build Europe's much-delayed satellite-navigation system, Galileo.
They were chosen from an initial list of 21 that had indicated an interest in participating in the project. Galileo will rival but also complement the US GPS network.
The European Commission has set aside more than two billion euros to build 26 satellites, buy launch rockets and set up the ground control centres.
The Commission's partner, the European Space Agency (Esa), is running the procurement contest with the aim of having Galileo fully operational by 2013..." "Eleven industrial groups will compete for the contracts to build Europe's much-delayed satellite-navigation system, Galileo... more -
Satellite Shows Ethnic Cleansing In Iraq Was Key Factor In "Surge" Succe...
Satellite images taken at night show heavily Sunni Arab neighborhoods of Baghdad began emptying before a U.S. troop surge in 2007, graphic evidence of ethnic cleansing that preceded a drop in violence, according to a report published on Friday.
The images support the view of international refugee organizations and Iraq experts that a major population shift was a key factor in the decline in sectarian violence, particularly in the Iraqi capital, the epicenter of the bloodletting in which hundreds of thousands were killed.
Minority Sunni Arabs were driven out of many neighborhoods by Shi'ite militants enraged by the bombing of the Samarra mosque in February 2006. The bombing, blamed on the Sunni militant group al Qaeda, sparked a wave of sectarian violence.
"By the launch of the surge, many of the targets of conflict had either been killed or fled the country, and they turned off the lights when they left," geography professor John Agnew of the University of California Los Angeles, who led the study, said in a statement.
"Essentially, our interpretation is that violence has declined in Baghdad because of intercommunal violence that reached a climax as the surge was beginning," said Agnew, who studies ethnic conflict.
Some 2 million Iraqis are displaced within Iraq, while 2 million more have sought refuge in neighboring Syria and Jordan. Previously religiously mixed neighborhoods of Baghdad became homogenized Sunni or Shi'ite Muslim enclaves.
The study, published in the journal Environment and Planning A, provides more evidence of ethnic conflict in Iraq, which peaked just before U.S. President George W. Bush ordered the deployment of about 30,000 extra U.S. troops.
The extent to which the troop build-up helped halt Iraq's slide into sectarian civil war has been debated, particularly in the United States, with supporters of the surge saying it was the main contributing factor, and others arguing it was simply one of a number of factors.
"Our findings suggest that the surge has had no observable effect, except insofar as it has helped to provide a seal of approval for a process of ethno-sectarian neighborhood homogenization that is now largely achieved," Agnew's team wrote in their report.
Agnew's team used publicly available infrared night imagery from a weather satellite operated by the U.S. Air Force.
"The overall night light signature of Baghdad since the U.S. invasion appears to have increased between 2003 and 2006 and then declined dramatically from 20 March 2006 through 16 December 2007," their report said.
They said the night lights of Shi'ite-dominated Sadr City remained constant, as did lights in the Green Zone government and diplomatic compound in central Baghdad. Lights increased in the eastern New Baghdad district, another Shi'ite enclave.
Satellite studies have also been used to help document forced relocations in Myanmar and ethnic cleansing in Uganda. Satellite images taken at night show heavily Sunni Arab neighborhoods of Baghdad began emptying before a U.S. troop surge in 2007, gra... more -
Spacecrafts to unravel Earth's mysteries
This startlingly good-looking and futuristic spacecraft is the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE). Due to be lauched next month on a Russian rocket, it will be the first of 5 Earth Explorer satellites dedicated to provide a closer, more intimate look of our planet.
See funky vid and more shiny pictures at link. This startlingly good-looking and futuristic spacecraft is the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE). Due ... more -
GeoEye launches $502 million imaging satellite
On Saturday, GeoEye Inc. successfully launched its new GeoEye-1 satellite, which will provide Google Earth, and the U.S. government with the highest-resolution color imagery available.
According to GeoEye Chief Executive Matthew O’Connell it will be 30 to 45 days before the satellite’s camera will be calibrated and GeoEye can begin receiving images.
The spacecraft will be capable of capturing images up to 5.5 feet in color, but will be limited to 1.64 feet resolution by government regulations.
The satellite will photograph the Earth from 423 miles away, moving at 4.5 miles per second.
According to O’Connell, the $502 million satellite will create a lot of opportunities for GeoEye. The company spent four years developing the spacecraft.
Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were on site to watch the satellite’s trip into space.
GeoEye currently has other satellites that provide images to Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google, but Google will be the only company to receive online-search mapping images from the GeoEye-1 satellite.
The new color images mean that Google Earth, and Google Maps will be able to give their users more detailed images in the next three to four months when the new images are processed.
Digital Globe, GeoEye’s main rival, launched its new high-resolution satellite, WorldView-1, in late 2007. The WorldView-1 is capable of gathering half-meter resolution images in black and white.
The GeoEye-1 satellite was built by General Dynamics and features an imaging system built by ITT Corp. Lockheed Martin and Boeing’s joint venture, United Launch Alliance, launched the spacecraft. On Saturday, GeoEye Inc. successfully launched its new GeoEye-1 satellite, which will provide Google Earth, and the U.S. government wi... more -
Don't look up! GeoEye Is Watching
Let the tracking begin!
Excerpts from company's web site:
GeoEye is the premier provider of geospatial information for the national security community, strategic partners, resellers and commercial customers to help them better map, measure and monitor the world. The Company is recognized as the industry's trusted imagery expert for delivering reliable service and the exceptional quality of its imagery products and solutions. It operates a constellation of Earth imaging satellites, mapping aircraft and has an international network of ground stations, a robust imagery archive, and advanced imagery processing capabilities for developing innovative geospatial products and solutions.
This sub-meter ground resolution means GeoEye-1 will be able to discern an object on the ground approximately 16 inches in size and map it to within 3 meters of its true location, using both multispectral imagery and panchromatic imagery.
GeoEye-1 will make 15 orbits per day flying at an altitude of 423 miles with an orbital velocity of about 16,800 mi/hr. Its sun-synchronous orbit allows it to pass over a given area at about 10:30 a.m. local time every day. Given its altitude and sun-synchronous orbit, field of view and superior resolution GeoEye-1 can “revisit” any point on the globe every three days or sooner, depending upon the required look angle.
Here is a list of use for their products in respective order:
Defense
National and Homeland Security
Air and Marine Transportation
Oil and Gas
Energy
Mining
Mapping and Location-based Services
State and Local Government
Insurance and Risk Management
Agriculture
Natural Resources and Environmental Monitoring
Excerpt from FAQ page:
Q. What about the imagery 24-hour hold rule for space pictures better than IKONOS?
A. After a lengthy U.S. Government interagency review, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) notified commercial imagery providers that the 24-hour hold rule that was required for imagery at a resolution better than .82-meter is no longer in place. On June 29, 2007, GeoEye’s commercial remote sensing license was modified to reflect this change. This means that GeoEye will be able to sell imagery as soon as possible after it has been captured.
What do you think about this?
Don't think you aren't being monitored. It's is just so far removed, you just don't notice it.
Good luck fellow citizens.
Ride on! Let the tracking begin! Excerpts from company's web site: ... more -
Google Earth becomes Google Space
Every Satellite Tracked In Realtime Via Google Earth
"With the recent discussion of the ISS having to dodge some space junk, many people's attention has once again focused on the amount of stuff in orbit around our planet. What many people don't know is that USSTRATCOM tracks and publishes a list of over 13,000 objects that they currently monitor, including active/retired satellites and debris. This data is meaningless to most people, but thanks to Analytical Graphics, it has now been made accessible free of charge to anyone with a copy of Google Earth. By grabbing the KMZ, you can not only view all objects tracked in real-time, but you can also click on them to get more information on the specific satellite, including viewing its orbit trajectory. It's an excellent educational tool for the space-curious. Every Satellite Tracked In Realtime Via Google Earth ... more -
Could a spy satellite identify any of us from our shadow?
Spy satellites could soon be able to identify someone from space by looking at their shadow.
They would use a computer program that searches for the movement of shadows on the ground, and then identifies their owners from the way they walk.
The technique - called gait analysis - relies on the fact that someone's walking style is very difficult to disguise.
It could be used to monitor known criminals and suspected terrorists using satellites or spy planes. It could even be used in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.
There is however a significant catch. The system, being developed by Nasa, is useless once the sun goes in.
And, although there has been an explosion in satellite imagery and technology in recent years, it is still impossible to recognise someone with confidence using pictures taken in orbit.
Images from high-altitude aircraft and spacecraft show only the tops of their heads.
Experts say aerial shots are no good for monitoring someone's stride length and walking rhythm.
However, that is not true of shadows. According to Dr Adrian Stoica of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, video from space could provide enough data to confirm a suspect's identity - as long as details of the person's walking pattern were on file.
He has created computer software that can seek out and recognise the shadows of individuals in aerial video footage, reports New Scientist magazine.
It isolates moving shadows and uses data on the position of the sun and camera angle to 'correct' the shadows if they are foreshortened or elongated.
Dr Stoica, who presented his research at a security conference in Edinburgh, said the software then applies regular gait analysis to the corrected images.
In tests on video footage taken from the sixth floor of an office building, the software spotted shadows and extracted information that could be used to identify someone.
The technique is still at the earliest stages of development, and it could be many years before it is used by military, police and intelligence services.
It also has potential flaws. While satellite gait analysis might be useful in countries such as Pakistan and Iraq, trying to identify a suspected terrorist from a shadow in a rainy Manchester is likely to be fraught with difficulties.
The quality of satellite imagery may also not be good enough to reveal a sharp image.
Space imaging expert Dr Bhupendra Jasani at King's College London says the sort of geostationary satellites currently pointing their cameras down to the Earth simply do not have the resolution to provide useful detail.
'I find it hard to believe they could apply this technique from space,' he said.
Aerial surveillance - a key tactic in military spying
Minor differences in gait that can help identify individuals include the length of steps, walking speed, the wiggle of hips and the angles of the knee, ankle and hip.
Aerial surveillance has long been a key part of military spying - ever since 19th century armies began using hot air balloons to observe enemy positions on the battlefield - but in recent years the speed of technological advance has accelerated.
As well as orbiting satellites, spy planes such as the RAF's Nimrod can circle at high altitude watching the movements of individual enemy gunmen on the ground, by day or night, using high definition thermal cameras.
At the same time unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs - ranging from huge jets the size of an airliner to tiny hand-launched drones a couple of feet across - are now widely used in Iraq and Afghanistan, where commanders on the ground increasingly rely on the images beamed from flying cameras to allow them to track approaching enemies or spot dangers in hostile built-up areas. Spy satellites could soon be able to identify someone from space by looking at their shadow. ... more -
Could a spy satellite recognise us from the way we walk?
Spy satellites may soon be able to identify someone from space by looking at their shadow, using a new computer programme that analyses the way they walk.
By looking at the way the person's shadows fall on the ground, the computer then identifies them (providing the way they walk is on file) using a technique called gait analysis, which relies on the fact that it's very difficult to disguise your walking style.
Presently it's still almost impossible to identify people from images taken from space - either because of the low quality or because the snaps tend to be of the tops of heads.
Critics of the new technique suggest weather or a lack of shadow in certain conditions may hinder the process somewhat. Spy satellites may soon be able to identify someone from space by looking at their shadow, using a new computer programme that analyse... more -
US satellite shoot-down was a cover, new evidence shows
When the Pentagon ordered a Navy ship to shoot down a crippled U.S. spy satellite last February, it claimed the operation was necessary to prevent a harmful fuel from being dispersed in the atmosphere. At the time, critics charged that the Bush administration was using the toxic fuel as an excuse to demonstrate missile-defense and antisatellite capabilities.
Now, there is new evidence that the critics were very likely right.
Astrophysicist Yousaf Butt obtained U.S. government documents showing that NASA's own analysis concluded that the satellite's fuel tank was expected to burn up completely during re-entry—even though NASA probably overestimated the tank's chances of survival. "Despite its optimistic oversimplifications, the released study indicates that the tank would certainly have demised high up in the atmosphere," Butt, a staff scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, writes in an article for the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
Up to now, U.S. officials had refused to release any of the prelaunch analyses regarding the fuel tank, claiming they contained sensitive information.
But Butt says that the newly released documents clearly contradict the official explanation for the shoot-down, which was seen at the time as provocative and risky. The Bush administration had protested loudly when China conducted its own antisatellite weapons test by shooting down an aging weather satellite in January 2007. One major concern was the amount of space debris generated by the fragmented satellite.
Beyond the stated concern about the toxic fuel, U.S. officials also were probably trying to prevent any fragments of the highly classified National Reconnaissance Agency imagery satellite from falling into the hands of U.S. adversaries. When the Pentagon ordered a Navy ship to shoot down a crippled U.S. spy satellite last February, it claimed the operation was necessar... more -
Softball-sized satellites make space more accessible
Smaller satellites are making ventures into space much cheaper. For $2.3M a tiny satellite can orbit this planet, which is a fraction of the $450M it costs to launch a space shuttle.
The small price tag, takes the risk out of developing new space hardware. Smaller satellites are making ventures into space much cheaper. For $2.3M a tiny satellite can orbit this planet, which is a fraction ... more -
Iran launches satellite carrier
Iran says it has successfully launched a rocket capable of carrying its first domestically built satellite.
Officials said only the rocket had been fired, correcting state media reports that the communications satellite itself had been sent into orbit.
Tehran has pursued a space programme for years, despite international concern over its nuclear plans.
In February it sent a probe into space as part of preparations for the launch of the satellite.
* * * * *
Rest of the article and video clip at link. Iran says it has successfully launched a rocket capable of carrying its first domestically built satellite. ... more -
Is Scotty lost in space?
Oh wait, wrong show. Rocket with Scotty's remains goes missing on Saturday.
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Britain from above
Video excerpts from the BBC's new documentary, Britain From Above, showing amazing satellite images.
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Views Of Jupiter
The biggest true color shot of Jupiter to date. This image was take in 2000, but Jupiter’s giant red spot has since swallowed the smaller one. The biggest true color shot of Jupiter to date. This image was take in 2000, but Jupiter’s giant red spot has since swallowed the smal... more
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FCC gives blessing for XM and Sirius Marriage
XM and Sirius are finally getting married! The stipulation of no acquisition put into place in by the FCC in 1997 has now been rescinded by a vote of 3/2.
According to Wikipedia, ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interoperable_Technologies )
XM and Sirius have developed the "dual-mode" next generation receiver.
I think the new service should be called Siriusly XM XM and Sirius are finally getting married! The stipulation of no acquisition put into place in by the FCC in 1997 has now been rescin... more
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