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Space Imaging IKONOS Satellite Technology

Posted by Hemos on from the looking-more-deply dept.

Scott Mikules writes " ipKonfig.com tours Space Imaging's head office, and zooms in on the IKONOS commercial satellite. It inspired movies like 'Enemy of the State' and 'Sum of All Fears' that have been criticized for years as 'Big Brother' caricatures. Movies' exaggerated plots and glitzy special effects have had a major influence on popular culture, even to the point of making the public feel as if the government is really spying on it. The pandering to conspiracy theories and super-agent spy equipment imagery sells tickets, and persuades plenty of theater-goers that reality is right there behind the big screen. But the actuality, located in the beautiful city of Thornton, Colorado, is a whole other story. ... The IKONOS satellite lifted in 1995, as one of the first commercial use satellites launched. Its powerful lens is capable of producing some of the most advanced images ever put in the public eye. Since then, that public has had an opportunity to see some of the most amazing images every produced. We see them everywhere, and sometimes wonder who's producing them. And it's the IKONOS satellite, which was contracted, built, and launched by Lockheed, giving us this closer eyeful of the world. "

16 comments

  1. Uh. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What is this story about?

    Is it really more than an advertisement for ipKonfig?

    1. Re:Uh. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's about a Satellie doofiss

    2. Re:Uh. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      could have fooled me. I thought it was an advertisement for Macromedia Flash Player 6.

  2. an interesting use... by t3kad0n · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One of the most interesting uses I have seen of the IKONOS system is their pictures of "Area 51", which taking pictures of is legal due to the fact that the U.S. does not actually call it a base. The pictures proved that it was still alive and growing. If you want to see the pics and all, it was on a Discovery channel special on Area 51.

  3. i remember when by nightherper · · Score: 1
    The terraserver was new... I went looking at area 51 and the image data wasn't there. The images for that area seemed to have been replaced with a textured creme colored file....

    Maybe they just hadn't posted them yet.

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  4. Who in fact wrote this? by Sierran · · Score: 4, Interesting
    ...because it sounds like a direct grab from a Space Imaging propagand^H^H^H^Hadvertisement:
    ...located in the beautiful city of Thornton, Colorado, is a whole other story. ... The IKONOS satellite lifted in 1999...Its powerful lens is capable of producing some of the most advanced images ever put in the public eye. Since then, that public has had an opportunity to see some of the most amazing images every produced...And it's the IKONOS satellite, which was contracted, built, and launched by Lockheed, giving us this closer eyeful of the world. "

    Note that Lockheed is, in fact, one of the prime recipients of cash for the "Office of total Information Awareness." This perversion of your government might have leavened the copy with some choice quotes from boss "Rear" Admiral Poindexter, to wit:

    Movies' exaggerated plots and glitzy special effects have had a major influence on popular culture, even to the point of making the public feel as if the government is really spying on it. The pandering to conspiracy theories and super-agent spy equipment imagery sells tickets...

    "Making the public feel like the gov't is really spying on it?" Heaven forfend! I mean, we can't have any pandering to conspiracy theories around these parts, nope nope.


    C'mon. If you're going to post ad copy from Space Imaging or disinfo from TIA, that's fine, but at least have the decency to tell us it's such.

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    A hero is someone who knows when to run away. I am a hero. -Trent the Uncatchable
    1. Re:Who in fact wrote this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you don't see the Italics? If you don't, then they didn't quote it from the site. I see your point, but give your lame-ness a rest for the rest of us.

    2. Re:Who in fact wrote this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ? I see no where that "disinfo" was taken. Sounds like you're picking on the story because you didn't read what was written within perspective. Am I correct? I think I am.

  5. Who's on first? by barakn · · Score: 5, Insightful
    . The IKONOS satellite lifted in 1995, as one of the first commercial use satellites launched.

    INTELSAT launched the first commercial communications satellite in 1965. Perhaps what was meant was that IKONOS was the first commercial satellite with 1 meter resolution.

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    "I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
  6. Let's see what hardware they use. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.ipkonfig.com/Articles/SpaceImaging/imag e_005.jpg

    Can anyone see what it contains?
    I think I see a MO optical disk unit on the left IIRC.

  7. Built by Lockheed, eh? by dandelion_wine · · Score: 1

    So it's basically a giant rifle scope?

    Hey! I can see my house from here! *BOOM* Ohhh...

  8. "beautiful city of Thornton, Colorado"? by astrobabe · · Score: 1

    What? Hello, Thornton has become what people in Colorado hate- urban sprawl. . . That said. . .yes IKONOS makes pretty pictures but the fact that Lockheed had the technology lets you know they had done it before for someone else- namely the US military. Scary enough that I can get 1 meter resolution images off the internet but the resolution is infinately better in military satellites with adaptive optics. . .

  9. Simcity flashbacks! by Alsee · · Score: 1

    Man, I had some pretty serious Simcity flashbacks while looking over some of those images, expecially the Times Square one. Freaky.

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    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  10. Nothing about quickbird? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First of all, Ikonos was launched in -99, not -95.

    And even so I think its old news: Quickbird 2 has been "in the air" for over a year now with superior resolution (61 cm panchromatic).

    1. Re:Nothing about quickbird? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yes, and they corrected that and rev. the article. Good to see that they pay attention or make necisary changes when needed. :)