[CTRL] Fwd: Eyes in the Sky
-Caveat Lector- A HREF=http://www.ctrl.org/;www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html;Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om ---BeginMessage--- -Caveat Lector- Surveillance Drones To Patrol US Cities By Richard H.P. Sia CongressDaily 12-13-02 An increasing number of federal agencies are pursuing plans to use pilotless surveillance aircraft to help patrol the Mexican and Canadian borders, protect the nation's major oil and gas pipelines and aid in other homeland security missions. Incoming Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., said in an interview Tuesday that he will ask President Bush to explore the possible deployment of such aircraft, known as unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, by civilian agencies responsible for homeland security. The drones would be similar to those used in high-profile missions by the CIA and U.S. military to target suspected Taliban and al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan. ... But unlike many of the UAVs deployed overseas, such as the one that fired a missile at a carload of suspected terrorists in Yemen last month, the drones flown for homeland security operations would not be armed with weapons, only cameras or sensors, several federal officials said. "I think it would be very important that the president initiate a study on the future use of UAVs by elements of the federal government other than the military," Warner said. Warner said he believes UAVs could be an effective means of watching the home front in the war on terror. But he acknowledged that "they are quite intrusive." Warner said concerns about individual privacy, such as those raised when the Pentagon offered to do aerial surveillance during the recent hunt for the Washington-area snipers, are "an open issue and should be addressed by the [presidentâs] study." Among the agencies now committed to deploying UAVs are the Coast Guard and Border Patrol, both of which are moving to the Homeland Security Department. Other non-Defense Department agencies, such as the Transportation Department, are in the early stages of exploring possible security roles for drones. Meanwhile, the Energy Department, which set up a UAV program in 1993 to study clouds and climate change, has been developing high-altitude instruments to measure radiation in the atmosphere. Despite an industry rumor that the FBI is looking into UAVs at its Quantico, Va. facilities, an agency spokesman said there is no such activity. Drones, which are controlled remotely on the ground, can hover over an area for hours, sometimes days, to provide accurate and timely information. In the war on terror, the military and CIA have used UAVs for reconnaissance, surveillance, targeting, bomb damage assessment and telecommunication relays over hostile areas, without risking the lives of aircrews. San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. has supplied the Predator, which can operate up to 25,000 feet, compared to the 40,000-foot ceiling of commercial airplanes. Northrop Grumman Corp. of Los Angeles has produced the still-experimental Global Hawk, which can fly up to 66,000 feet and rival the venerable U-2 spy plane in reconnaissance capabilities. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, interest in UAVs among federal agencies has swelled, industry sources said. ãThereâs been a lot more activity over the last couple of months,ä said one manufacturing executive who asked not to be named. ãItâs been really intense. Weâre doing things now that we wouldnât have been doing a year ago.ä ãThese [UAVs] are hot,ä said Daryl Davidson, executive director of the Association for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems International. Marketers for Boeing, Northrop Grumman and other top U.S. defense firms have been busy talking to agencies about civilian applications of UAV technology, he
[CTRL] Fwd: Eyes in the Sky (They'll Be Seeing More of You)
-Caveat Lector- A HREF=http://www.ctrl.org/;www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html;Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om ---BeginMessage--- -Caveat Lector- from http://www.space.com/php/popup/promo/newsite/noad_newsite_020709.html By Robert Roy Britt Senior Science Writer 09 October 2001 [... ] A host of other satellites, providing intelligence imagery and weather data, are put into what's called Low Earth Orbit, typically between 100 and 300 miles up but as low as 80 miles and as high as 1,200 miles. Space shuttles and the International Space Station operate in Low Earth Orbit. Several military spy satellites work in the 600-1,200 mile range. They're acronyms reflect the type of data they collect: electronic intelligence (ELINT); signal intelligence (SIGINT); and radar intelligence (RADINT). Spy satellites orbit at some 25 times the speed of sound, typically passing over a given location twice a day. This routine is useful for spotting the movements of entire encampments, single vehicles and groups of people. Spy satellites are said by experts to see features as small as 4 or 5 inches across. They can identify people, but not faces. They can spot a license plate on a car, but they can't read it. Or can they? Though highly classified, one type of spy satellite known as "Keyhole-class" is thought to see objects as small as a newspaper headline. Experts say three of these satellites, made by Lockheed Martin and costing a billion dollars or more, range over Earth's polar region. They resemble giant digital cameras, somewhat like the Hubble Space Telescope. Military analysts say Keyhole satellites use an elliptical orbit to take them as close as 200 miles and as far as 600 miles from the planet's surface. This odd orbit allows the satellites, as a group, to photograph nearly the entire planet several times a day, experts say. Close-up views To get a closer look, such as in the search for Osama bin Laden, the military employs aircraft. U2 spy planes soar to 70,000 feet and unpiloted drones slip quietly overhead at lower altitudes. The low cost of the drones makes them nearly disposable. These are the tools most experts say are required to tell the difference between a group of refugees and a group of terrorists. Not all "spy" imaging is done by the military. The private company Space Imaging uses its Ikonos satellite to snap pictures from 423 miles above Earth, revealing features as small as 3.3 feet across. The company provided images of lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. And NASA, of course, routinely photographs Earth in the name of science. No one knows exactly how many satellites the U.S. Military has in orbit. John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, which advises the American intelligence community on post-Cold War security issues, estimates the total number of orbiting spacecraft that support military activity directly or indirectly approaches 100. Included, Pike figures, are roughly two dozen devoted to intelligence, two dozen that provide navigation, and another two dozen that handle communications. And how effective are they when fighting elusive small groups in rugged mountain terrain? "What we can do is fairly quickly and fairly precisely locate vehicles and structures in Afghanistan," Pike said. "What we cannot do is track individual people." He added, however, that along with other intelligence information, satellites enable special operations units to locate terrorists, plan forays into enemy territory, and then go in knowing what weapons have been disabled. A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are
