Satellites

Russians Track Wayward U.S. Spy Satellite

Greg Schnippel — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:56:59 -0800

Russian researchers are tracking the malfunctioning U.S. Defense Support Program satellite, DSP-23, out of concern that the it might prove troublesome to other high-value satellites in its populated geocentric orbit.

With Vintage Satellites still in Orbit, Sales are Grounded

Greg Schnippel — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:22:51 -0800

Satellite manufacturers are seeing their sales flag as older satellites exceed their expected life expectancy, sometimes by two to three times longer than anticipated.

Human Rights Groups Using Satellites to Monitor Darfur

Greg Schnippel — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:23:30 -0800

Amnesty International and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) are collaborating on Eyes on Darfur (eyesondarfur.org), a Web site that shows before and after satellite images of areas the human rights organizations believe are, or could be at risk of, being under siege.

Out There: Space Traffic Control System Needed

Greg Schnippel — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:31:26 -0800

An international meeting of hundreds of aerospace safety experts from America, Europe, Russia, and China has begun work on a blueprint for a key building block of a space arms control regime: a civilian space situational awareness system.

Google Earth Helps Yet Worries Government

Greg Schnippel — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:15:09 -0800

The imagery provided by Google Earth and other commercial satellites has transformed global security in fundamental ways, forcing even the most powerful nations to hide facilities and activities that are visible not only to rival nations, but even to their own citizens.

Rocket Launch Marks First Test for Korean Space Ambitions

Greg Schnippel — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 08:47:45 -0700

A decade of effort and anxiety all comes down to a single moment next summer when South Korea attempts to launch its first satellite into orbit. A successful launch would make it the ninth country in the world to launch a home-made satellite from its own soil and mark a huge step forward in its ambition to have a man on the moon by 2020.

GeoEye's New Satellite Offers Unprecedentedly Sharp Images

Greg Schnippel — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 08:05:01 -0700

The sharpest commercial imaging satellite ever launched is now orbiting the Earth, sweeping over the North Pole and under the South Pole every 98 minutes, collecting high-resolution images of the scene below. From 423 miles up, the GeoEye-1 satellite can spot objects as small as 16 inches across.

Google's Super Satellite Captures First Image

Greg Schnippel — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:32:31 -0700

The world's first and highest resolution commercial imagery satellite,
the Google-sponsored GeoEye-1, has achieved first light, returning a
0.5 meter resolution satellite image of a small university in
Pennslyvania. The imagery is the first .5 meter image to be released
since the U.S. defense department allowed domestic firms to sell
imagery below 1 meter resolution.

Report Warns U.S. Could Lose Space-Spy Dominance

Greg Schnippel — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:58:40 -0700

America has become so lousy at building spy satellites that "the United States is losing its preeminence in space," a Congressional intelligence report declares. What's worse, this decline comes as "emerging space powers such as Russia, India and China" are getting better and better at snooping from above.

Iran to Launch Satellite With Own Rocket to Space

Greg Schnippel — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:19:21 -0700

Iran plans to launch a satellite into space soon using an Iranian-made rocket, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said.
iran missiles

Iran has in the past launched satellites using rockets built by other nations, but this was the first announcement of such a launch with an all-Iranian made rocket.

Ahmadinejad said the rocket will have 16 engines and will take a satellite some 430 miles into space, according to a state television report Thursday.