On Dec 9, 2009, at 20:26 , John Sessoms wrote:
From: Joseph McAllister
On Dec 9, 2009, at 12:25 , John Sessoms wrote:
> This is a backup optic for some "scientific" package that went
into > space. Bet it was one of those CIA spy satellites they
could use to > read the numbers off a license plate from orbit.
Take the Hubble. Turn it earthward. Load it up with antennae for
all freq's of communications. Attach a SLIR and FLIR package, and
multispectral sensors. That's what they are looking at your
license plate with.
<http://www.spacetoday.org/Satellites/YugoWarSats.html>
Not the most accurate currently, but a good general overview of
what we've been doing for the last 50 years.
Well, I was kidding about it being from a CIA satellite. Don't
expect to see those cameras on ebay within my lifetime.
But thinking about it, it could be the backup optics for the kind of
earth resources satellite camera that took the photos used for
Google Maps and the like.
The imagery we received every 45 minutes (two satellites) had full
res. film positives made for distribution and local interpretation,
and dozens of dupe negatives made from the positives for distribution
to the various arms of the military and the very closest allies. The
digital tapes made of the incoming data were then transmitted to our
"other" allies with one bit per seven resolution, or an 80% reduction
in resolve.
The satellites in orbit for private mapping and surveillance are
limited by the lack of availability of top-secret CCD sensors with the
capabilities to image fine detail. Off the shelf (mandated by the
gov;'t to not exceed certain specs) CCD strips just don't hack it.
That much glass is too heavy to bother sending up. For power of
magnification Cassagrain is the way to go. 1.5 to 2.5 meter mirrors
are apparently fairly easy to come by now that spinning oven forming,
computer controlled grinding and polishing has become so common. If it
fails, send up another.
Joseph McAllister
[email protected]
“ It is still true, as was first said many years ago, that people are
the only sophisticated computing devices that can be made at low cost
by unskilled workers!”
— Martin G. Wolf, PhD
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