IP: : Spysats will be on ABC News tonight

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> From: Jim Warren <jwarren () well com>
>
> A few weeks ago, there were some FOI-L tidbits about satellite photo
> resolution.  My ex-spurt on this technology just forwarded the following
> item:
>
> > Hi. I saw an ad last night in which Peter Jennings would be talking about
> > the resolution of US spy satellites tonight. They flashed a quick clip
> > showing what looked like the Hubble Telescope turned the wrong way.
>
> It will be MOST INTERESTING to see if Jennings give an ACCURATE information
> (see my earlier posting on this, below) or gives what we politely called
> "disinformation" in the Reagan era.
>
>
> --jim; jwarren () well com
> Jim Warren, Contributing Editor & columnist, MicroTimes Magazine
> Also GovAccess list-owner/editor; 345 Swett Rd, Woodside CA 94062
>
>
> === from my earlier FOI-L posting ===
>
> > In the last week or so, there has been some discussion of the resolution of
> > satellite images ... including some perhaps ill-informed conjecture.
> >
> > So I asked a semi-exspurt engineering friend -- who has intimate knowledge
> > of such matters, and has given technical presentations about this subject
> > -- the following question:
> >
> > > What IS the [estimated] current maximum resolution per pixel of TODAY's
> > > best security spy birds ... in YOUR guesstimation?
> >
> >
> > He replied, in part -- about 2-inches per pixel -- specifically:
> >
> > > Our LACROSSE (all-weather synthetic
> > > aperture radar imaging) and ADVANCED KEYHOLE (visual imaging) birds
> > > actually fly in 98.7 degree polar orbits at 220 nautical miles (408 km) or
> > > more. So the diffraction limit is actually about 2 inches under optimal
> > > viewing conditions. "Staring", stereo, and heavy image processing can
> > > counteract suboptimal effects such as air turbulence, so I'll go with the 2
> > > inch figure. Not enough to read /Pravda/ or a license plate (lying flat),
> > > but enough to guess at the characters in the headline, if it's brief.