Well, this is bizarre. It seems the boys in black developed two Hubble sized telescopes for spying on earth’s surface, but the devices were never deployed and are now out of date … or something. So they’ve been turned over to NASA:
(MYT) — “This is a total game changer,” said David N. Spergel of Princeton, who is co-chairman of a committee on astronomy and astrophysics for the National Academy of Sciences, which sets priorities for NASA and other agencies. Alan Dressler, of the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, Calif., who reported to the Academy committee on the scientific potential of a mission with the NRO-1 telescope, as astronomers are calling it, said he was “really excited.” He told the gathering, “I think this is a tremendous opportunity for this community.
”For now, the two telescopes and some spare parts are still in their clean room at ITT Exelis, in Rochester. Michael Moore, who, as NASA’s acting deputy director for astrophysics, took the original call last year, has been to see the telescopes several times. He called their optics “astounding.”
I’m glad they were ‘Hubble Sized’, I mean what would have happened if they were ‘Apollo sized’? Or ‘ISS’ sized! Because the size indicates their abilities right?
(yes yes, nitpick…but its annoying)
Maybe we can create a hubble array out of them.
I had heard, from a reasonable source, years ago, that there were some … two or more …. hubble like telescopes deployed and under US military/intelligence controlled. Presumably to read newspapers over people’s shoulders in Cuba or whatever. Do you think there is anything to that rumor? THOSE are the ones NASA should get hold of! (If they exist.)
Let’s hope they both get launched successfully and do even half as well as the Hubble Space observatory has! Awesome news. :-)
Reading newspapers over people’s shoulders (there’s got to be an easier way to get a hold of a copy!) is hard for the same reason that you put telescopes in space in the first place.
That said, I recall there being all kinds of discussion about why a spy telescope could not be used for astronomy and why they could not turn the Hubble around and use it to read newspapers over people’s shoulders.
There was an interesting story that after someone at the CIA developed a technique for looking through windows by focusing on the reflections off car windows, they repainted the parking lots at CIA headquarters to have the cars not facing the building.
Is no one mentioning because it’s just too obvious, how sad it is that NASA is all excited about getting to dig around in the NSA surplus store?
Oh… Oh, it IS sad when you think about it that way.
Here I was all excited, too.
NASA’s budget may be sad, but this isn’t. Any opportunity to salvage, modify and field two space telescopes at (presumably) vastly reduced time and cost is a big win. NASA could be rolling in dough and this would still be great.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for great salvage and stuff. I used to dig around lots of salvage yards in my youth. I just couldn’t help noticing the bittersweet taste in my mouth.
NASA was pleased to be given by the Air Force one of those big-ass hangars at Moffet Field (They’re so big I don’t even have to give you a specific Google Maps URL. You’ll find them. And the tiny little airplanes next to them. Which are actually pretty big.) until they discovered that it’s filled with asbestos flakes.
Mmmmm… Asbestos flakes. Make their own gravy in milk! Just add cancer!
The way they were acquired (as spy-ware surplus) may suck, but ultimately that’s not important compared to the awesome science these devices can be used for. When people are being stunned by the images these things will produce (as we were stunned by the images from the Hubble), it will just re-enforce the idea that scientists can make better use of advanced technology than spooks.
Remember the words of Eberhard Faber: “Knowledge Is Good”.
(Nitpick) That would actually be the US Navy. (/Nitpick)
Mythbusters have used those hangers for a couple of projects requiring a lot of room and still air.