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U.S. Withholding Satellite Data

Posted by timothy on from the derives-from-a-mandate-from-the-masses dept.

plover writes "Because of Congressional legislation passed quietly in 2003, the Air Force Space Command will no longer distribute space surveillance data via NASA. There was supposed a three year transitional period where the data was to be made available via a NASA web site, but earlier this month their transitional server went down hard, and NASA has decided to not rebuild it. (It was scheduled to be shut down on 31 March 2005 anyway.) The only way to obtain satellite data now is by signing up with the official Space-Track website. Part of the agreement to obtaining data from their site is that you agree to not redistribute their data. Of course, amateurs are still free to redistribute their observations, including those of classified satellites."

6 of 274 comments (clear)

  1. Quietly passed by michaelhood · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Why isn't there some sort of community political watchdog site that informs us when things are "quietly passed"? Tell us about everything that's in the works, let us decide what we do and don't like.

    1. Re:Quietly passed by smchris · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Ah, a man who has obviously worked with government!

      Part of a job I had in the '70s required reviewing both our state and the federal legislative Registers. Be afraid. Be very afraid. If people only knew everything that gets proposed but doesn't pass committee, or if it passes committee, fails the vote (but isn't widely reported).

      Doesn't help that Congress seems especially corrupt at this moment in history. It isn't so much that the system is broken. It's working just fine for the special interests the way they want it to work.

    2. Re:Quietly passed by HeghmoH · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I personally like Heinlein's idea for a bicameral legislature. One house only passes bills, and requires a 2/3rds majority. The other house only repeals bills, and requires only 1/3rds of the vote to do so. It seems to me that this would be a nice division of responsibility and would ensure that the legal system didn't get too complicated.

      --
      Mod down posts with a "Free Mac Mini/iPod" sig, they're spam!
  2. How difficult is it to build ? by zymano · · Score: 4, Interesting

    How hard is it to build a spy/telescope satellite ?

    I found this site about building a miniature

    Miniature Space satellite

    A canadian cheapy.
    Canadian Satellite

    I think it would be cool if someone could put a cheap one in space from off the shelf telescope parts . Don't you think these prices for these orbitting telescopes are a bit farfetched ?

  3. Open ended by WillieT · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So I was reading through the "terms of use" and got to this line "... By continuing, you consent to your keystrokes and data content being monitored." The way it's stated is so ambiguous that it's scarry. Anyone else agree?

  4. Re:Spies. by fremsley471 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Hubble is no good for looking at the Earth because it's too bright. It would flood and destroy the detectors!

    No. Hubble regularly looks at Earth for calibration purposes. See: http://www.stsci.edu/stsci/meetings/shst2/williams r.html