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After listening to the talking heads today where one of them said 'they did not want somebody like Google Earth or the Government taking an image of them as they read their mail while walking back to the house and stealing information from - say, their bank or broker's statement' - so - here is a tongue in cheek poll. Choose as many as applicable...

None of the above:

X Tell the talking head to get a job.

I doubt anything earth-bound has a super amazing camera (too easy for it to fall into the wrong hands), but I'm fairly certain that spy satellites live up to the hype.

WildBill wrote:None of the above:

X Tell the talking head to get a job.

Back while I was with USACE we were using Quickbird images with less than a meter resolution for our resource management databases (GIS, ArcGIS, RS, etc). I understand the new GeoEye 1 has a .41 meter resolution for Government and military use - commercial images are resampled at .5 meter. Pretty dang good - but it sure as heck ain't gonna read your mail.

couzin wrote:Back while I was with USACE we were using Quickbird images with less than a meter resolution for our resource management databases (GIS, ArcGIS, RS, etc). I understand the new GeoEye 1 has a .41 meter resolution for Government and military use - commercial images are resampled at .5 meter. Pretty dang good - but it sure as heck ain't gonna read your mail.

At what distance (altitude) are those resolutions achieved?

They can read your mind.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=5-41tg_CS7s[/youtube]

A drone crashed in Maryland today.

None of the above.

What drones? What Satellites? It's not a tin-foil hat, it's a radiant barrier!

I'd imagine that a low-flying geostationary-satellite could probably capture a high rate of fairly detailed imagery for more more specific subjects vs. the broad-sweeping mapping satellites. That said, to snap an in-focus, legible pic of a moving document from a satellite would be a cool problem to solve.

This site has some details on many of the Imaging Satellites and the technology. .25m pixel sized noted here:
http://www.satimagingcorp.com/satellite ... eye-2.html

GeoEye's next satellite, GeoEye-2, is in a phased development process for an advanced, third-generation satellite capable of discerning objects on the Earth's surface as small as 0.25-meter (9.75 inch) in size. The company expects to contract with a satellite builder in 2008 and launch the satellite approximately three years after work begins under that contract.

AEA wrote:

couzin wrote:Back while I was with USACE we were using Quickbird images with less than a meter resolution for our resource management databases (GIS, ArcGIS, RS, etc). I understand the new GeoEye 1 has a .41 meter resolution for Government and military use - commercial images are resampled at .5 meter. Pretty dang good - but it sure as heck ain't gonna read your mail.

At what distance (altitude) are those resolutions achieved?

Quickbird - if I remember - was about 375 miles above the earth surface. GeoEye 1 is 423 miles. GeoEye 2 is readying for launch and it will have something like .35 meter resolution. Are we living in cool times or what?

txjim42 wrote:
I'd imagine that a low-flying geostationary-satellite could probably ...

All geostationary satellites fly at 22,000 miles above the equator. You can decide if that's "low-flying" or not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostationary_orbit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am far from an expert on this but I believe that most of the high resolution mapping satellites are low altitude (200-400 miles) high inclination, in other words, like the shuttle. With an inclination of 50+ degrees you can map about 99.9% of the populated area.

Larry

...not a new concern... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g1TtJqHY_s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

sjfcontrol wrote:

txjim42 wrote:
I'd imagine that a low-flying geostationary-satellite could probably ...

All geostationary satellites fly at 22,000 miles above the equator. You can decide if that's "low-flying" or not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostationary_orbit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Everything is relative, right? Thanks for that... I suspect somewhere around 30-40 years ago I knew that and filed it away never to be found again...

If you look at my back yard on Google Earth, you can see the trail the dogs have worn in the yard from the dog door to the bird feeder. If that's "civilian" resolution, "military" resolution has to be pretty good.