Can spy-satellites zoom closer than u think?

for the sake of discussion, here is an example of the resulotion/quality you can get using a "civilian" satellite/program (taken using Keyhole 2 LT)


*image removed to empty upload space
not sure if you can see this in lowband mode or not

that's how close you can zoom in using civillian technology...if you're good at cars (I'm not btw) I'm sure you can go as far as identifying the type of cars on this pic. Now if civilians have this, I'm sure the military/governent has better

*edit:
here is some information on the sattellites that are used in this program:
science.howstuffworks.com...

[edit on 1-11-2004 by UnknownOrigins]

[edit on 9-11-2004 by UnknownOrigins]

i remember seeing on the history channels "tactical to practical" that our spy sats can see "two cans of soda side by side and tell that there is two different objects there" but counting the change in my hand? if its true than thats pretty scary, not to mention if they have thermal imaging.

The hubble, if turned to point down to earth, could pretty much see anything it wanted, but the resolution always turned out off because it has always been made for deep space exploration and research.

Now a days though, we don't need the hubble for spying because of the massive technological advancements since the time that the Hubble was launched. However, hubble is still the best space observation tool we have today, sucks that its lost all funding almost.

reply to post by Ronan


How can they read license plates? They look down, not sideways.

You all have made very good points. About the angle from the last person; the satellite would orbit around the planet, correct? Well, if this is so, then (providing nothing is in the way) they could completely change the angle by moving the satellite to where the object they are looking at could be seen from another angle. It's quite simple really.

Also, the country doesn't really do much to take care of the slodiers in Iraq with what we know they have. Why should that make a difference? I mean really, think about it!

-x-

You are thinking theoretical, and forgetting about reality. Sure, you can have optics that would get you some super resolution in theory , but there is the atmosphere to deal with.

You would never have clear enough air to get the kind of detail being discussed here, with the distortion you get from the atmosphere. Being able to identify a type of aircraft or vehicle is one thing, but to read a newspaper and read a cigarette label is something else.

I know a guy who use to work for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and he told stories of putting satellites into orbit that were as large a city buses and made the Hubble telescope look like a child's toy. There is apparently a network of orbiting satellites that ensure that a vast majority of the earth's surface is covered at all times.

He did mention one thing that I found interesting. He said that the satellites were essentially microscopes in the sky, and the magnification was variable, with the ability for them to literally zoom in to the point of being able to count the strands of hair on a person's head, or even to see a person's fingerprint. There is apparently image stabilization hardware and software that makes it possible to have extremely crisp images.

He also mentioned cryogenic cooling and how these satellites had x-ray, infrared, ultraviolet, and a host of other features that gave them the ability to look inside of buildings, through heavy foliage, or even underground. Unfortunately once the cryogenic cooling ran out (as it was a limited supply) these features would no long be available.

He also mentioned the ability to "read" sounds via some mechanism that could reproduce the vibrational frequencies and relay that through the satellite. So they can zoom into you and a buddy having a conversation inside your house and literally listen to what your saying.

This was nearly 7 years ago that I was told all this. I can only imagine what they have now, heck, they can probably zoom in and give you a full physical without you even knowing nowadays.

[edit on 9-7-2008 by DJM8507]

Originally posted by DJM8507

He also mentioned cryogenic cooling and how these satellites had x-ray, infrared, ultraviolet, and a host of other features that gave them the ability to look inside of buildings, through heavy foliage, or even underground. Unfortunately once the cryogenic cooling ran out (as it was a limited supply) these features would no long be available.

He also mentioned the ability to "read" sounds via some mechanism that could reproduce the vibrational frequencies and relay that through the satellite. So they can zoom into you and a buddy having a conversation inside your house and literally listen to what your saying.

[edit on 9-7-2008 by DJM8507]

If you ever watch the movie Behind Enemy Lines about the pilot being downed in Bosnia the US command is watching the enemy search party closing in on him in a thermal view from a sat feed.


The ability to read sounds might be a laser microphone?

en.wikipedia.org...


I've also heard they can detect submarines that are underwater with satellites by detecting the displaced water on the surface

[edit on 28-7-2008 by warpboost]

if the max that a good telescope can read is around 10cm then you wouldn't not be able to read newspapers or see coins. 10cm means you can see the outline of an image that is 10cm is size from space. not the tiny writing on a object that is 10cm in size.

Originally posted by DJM8507
I know a guy who use to work for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and he told stories of putting satellites into orbit that were as large a city buses and made the Hubble telescope look like a child's toy. There is apparently a network of orbiting satellites that ensure that a vast majority of the earth's surface is covered at all times.

He did mention one thing that I found interesting. He said that the satellites were essentially microscopes in the sky, and the magnification was variable, with the ability for them to literally zoom in to the point of being able to count the strands of hair on a person's head, or even to see a person's fingerprint. There is apparently image stabilization hardware and software that makes it possible to have extremely crisp images.

He also mentioned cryogenic cooling and how these satellites had x-ray, infrared, ultraviolet, and a host of other features that gave them the ability to look inside of buildings, through heavy foliage, or even underground. Unfortunately once the cryogenic cooling ran out (as it was a limited supply) these features would no long be available.

He also mentioned the ability to "read" sounds via some mechanism that could reproduce the vibrational frequencies and relay that through the satellite. So they can zoom into you and a buddy having a conversation inside your house and literally listen to what your saying.

This was nearly 7 years ago that I was told all this. I can only imagine what they have now, heck, they can probably zoom in and give you a full physical without you even knowing nowadays.

[edit on 9-7-2008 by DJM8507]

I think somebody was having a little bit of fun with you.

I joined up here at ATS when I saw this topic.
Do you remember the film that starred Will Smith
called " Enemy of the State" ?
I know a former USN Intelligence Officier who said
thats exactly what he used to do in regards to the exact same satellite capabilities shown in that film.
The interesting thing is that he was active in the late 70's to the late 80's.
He said he would really like to know what the capabilties are now.
His very words were ...
" Oh yeah ...cute film - I used to do that."