DailyDirt: Satellites Looking Down On Us
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
It used to be only the people wearing tinfoil hats that were worried about satellites flying above us all the time. However, satellite technology is getting cheaper and easier to access, and more satellites are looking down at us than are looking at the stars. No one should be worried about a bunch of Helicarriers targeting everyone just yet, but we're making progress towards a sky filled with some pretty advanced technology.- China is building yet another GPS network called Beidou. The US has GPS. Russia has GLONASS. The EU has Galileo. Do we really need another one? [url]
- Nanosatellites could provide an always-on connection for ground sensors, making disaster relief efforts more efficient and providing tons of useful data. Terran Orbital wants tiny satellites orbiting at 600 km above us to provide reliable (not necessarily fast) wireless connections to all kinds of devices. [url]
- Satellite imagery can be used for a bunch of business intelligence services. Retail parking lots can be monitored during prime purchasing seasons. Mining operations and construction projects could be tracked to ensure foreign companies are making the progress they say they're making. (And drones will be spying on everyone!) [url]
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Filed Under: beidou, cubesat, galileo, glonass, gps, nanosatellites, satellite imagery, satellites
Companies: terran orbital
Reader Comments
The First Word
“Re: Re: Do we really need another one?
... and shortly after launch, it gets "shot down" by space debris. (See space.com for a good overview.)Apparently, 2/3 of the tracked debris in orbit has resulted from a 2007 anti-satellite test, and a 2009 collision. Imagine the debris from an all-out attempt to destroy satellites...
Look up NASA's orbital debris mitigation page for an idea of NASA's thoughts on the subject of mitigation.
On the plus side, Waste Management won't put a vehicle in orbital service... nobody wants to pay their surcharge for "distance from road to garbage bin".
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Do we really need another one?
Thia has the additional benefit of requiring more ground tracking power to watch the satellites and space junk.
Win/win.
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Re: Re: Do we really need another one?
Apparently, 2/3 of the tracked debris in orbit has resulted from a 2007 anti-satellite test, and a 2009 collision. Imagine the debris from an all-out attempt to destroy satellites...
Look up NASA's orbital debris mitigation page for an idea of NASA's thoughts on the subject of mitigation.
On the plus side, Waste Management won't put a vehicle in orbital service... nobody wants to pay their surcharge for "distance from road to garbage bin".
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Re: Do we really need another one?
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The issue with GPS is the fidelity of the signal is controlled by the agency that runs the satellites/network, and if you don't like how they're being run (or the fact that they may stop working when you want them to work), you build your own network. It all depends on how much you are willing to spend.
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More powerful than satellites?
Eye in the Sky by Radiolab
The power to do good & evil!
Imagine how powerful this is going to become as the technology matures.
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Do we really need another one?
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GPS networks
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How current is the imagery?
That only works with current imagery. Unless these companies have access the general public doesn't a lot of publicly available imagery is older than 3 months and can be years old. I watched an Air Force auxillary field bulldozed and developed yet the field still shows up, in some cases superimposed over the new buildings. Another example: I saw imagery of a vacant field where I knew a retail building existed (because I had patronized the retailer); that building did not show up until ten years later!
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