What Can Spy Satellites Do

Science modern spy satellites in an age of space wars.

What can spy satellites do. The first generation type i e corona and zenit took photographs then ejected canisters of photographic film which would descend back down into earth s. About a fifth of all satellites belongs to the military and are used for spying. A russian satellite made a series of maneuvers in late january to get closer to a u s. A united launch alliance delta iv heavy rocket carrying the nrol 44 spy satellites stands atop pad 37 of the cape canaveral air force station florida ahead of a planned launch on sept.

Spy satellite can given clear skies and a good viewing angle probably read a license plate from space. You can think of a kh satellite as a gigantic orbiting digital camera with an incredibly huge lens on it. What isro s new spy satellite can do and how it can penetrate clouds with isro s launch of its new spy satellite theprint takes a look at risat 2b s functioning and use and how it will be affected by clouds. But there are other kind of orbits which are much more useful for spy satellites like the molniya orbit an elliptic orbit that spy satellites can take to keep the northern hemisphere in view 22.

Spy satellites are a special type of artificial satellites intended primarily for espionage purposes. It can t be a coincidence. Began developing spy satellites in the mid 1950s years before it had a rocket capable of placing anything in orbit. Since the satellites are in orbit they cannot hover over a given area or provide real time video.

Spy satellite in orbit. A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite commonly although unofficially referred to as a spy satellite is an earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. Explorer 1 was launched by us in 1958. Space is a battleground for dominance among major powers.

The goes geostationary satellites are about 23 000 statute miles above the equator and would require a telescope to see. If you have a good viewing location away from large cities where the milky way would be visible for instance you can try to spot the noaa satellites. Optical image reconnaissance satellites use a charge coupled device ccd to gather images that make up a digital photograph for transmission back to earth from an altitude of about 200 miles.