Spying Satellites

There might be a SPY SATELLITE which is continuously observing us. Don’t you believe?? Keep reading you will come to know the fact yourself…

In the 1950s and the 1960s, the USA and the USSR were engaged in a political conflict which became popular as Cold War. It was a time of possible nuclear attack. In 1963 the Americans launched a series of satellites called Vela Hotel or Watchman. They carried instruments which were designed to watch for large explosions and especially tests for nuclear weapons. At the same time, the Russians began building their long running Cosmos series of satellites to listen into radio messages around the world.

Secret Satellites

Since then, many countries have launched hundreds of satellites to spy on other nations and keep checks on troops, tanks, missile bases, air force planes and navy ships. These satellites were kept secret. The experts who design and operate them don’t want ordinary people and especially other countries, to know what their satellites can see and do. Some countries deny that the satellite exists, as call them observation satellites. The photographs of Russian Cosmos satellites were released many years after the satellites had fallen out of use.

Military Satellites

Most spy satellites are in elliptical or low earth orbit where they can see or hear more. The elliptical orbit varies more than 40,000 to less than 200 km high above earth surface. Some spy satellites have amazingly powerful telescopes that take detailed photographs. These reveal a number of troops on a March, the markings of a trucks or planes, and even missiles. Navigation satellites and GPS (Global Positioning System) are also used for military purpose to make sure they attack the correct way.

Individual tanks can be seen by the spy satellites far above, which beam the pictures to secret ground station on Earth.

Code Breakers

Some communication satellites are just for military use. They relay secret coded messages between planes, ships, submarines, ground bases and command centre. Other countries also used satellites called Ferrets to listen into these signals hoping to break the codes.

Stealing Satellite Secrets

Comates pass on enormous amount of secret information, such as government defense plans or new inventions. This can be sent in coded form by a narrow downlink beam to one small receiving dish, so that other people cannot listen in. But criminals could use high flying plane or a reflector dish on a tall most to intercept the code and sell the secret information for huge amount of money.

War by satellites

In 1983, the USA announced its SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative). It was nicknamed Star Wars. The Plan was to launch the satellites with weapons such as ray-guns, which could destroy other satellites or missiles. But the costs were enormous and technical problems were too great. In 1992, SDI was changed ground-based radar and missiles instead. Even so, one day satellites might still be used as weapons, to destroy each other or targets lying on Earth.

Satellite Kidnappings

There are several ways that criminals or terrorists might kidnap a satellite. They could jam the control signals so that the satellites drift into space and become useless. They might send secret control signals to the satellite’s computers systems which would run the batteries down so low that satellite no longer works, Or another space craft could be capture the orbiting satellite, even knocking it out of it’s orbit.

The limitations of the spy satellites are boundless and couldn’t be imagined. If it is so, is our privacy safe anymore? Shouldn’t there be limitations for these spy technology?