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'A New Look from a Satellite,' #168
By Dr. Dave McIntyre, Director Integrative Center for Homeland Security, 13 Nov 2008
For a decade it has seemed that the tide of technology is running against us. That is, the bad guys are gaining new weapons faster than the good guys can build new defenses. But recent satellite developments suggest we ought to give that concern a second look. I will tell you more if you will give me Just a Minute for Homeland Security.
I’m Dave McIntyre, Director of the Integrative Center for Homeland Security at Texas A&M.
On September 24, 1861, an observation balloon rose 1000 feet above the Union lines in Arlington, Virginia, and began to telegraph information about Confederate encampments. As a result, Union guns were aimed and fired accurately, without actually seeing the enemy – a first in warfare. [1] In a reflection of things to come, the pilot was a civilian contractor.
Military operators were quick to see the potential, but those who pay the bills were not, and aerial reconnaissance struggled for funding for the next hundred years. But with the rise of the Cold War and concerns over nuclear tipped missiles only fifteen minutes from our cities, obtaining information from highflying airplanes and satellites became a priority. During the Cuban Missile Crisis overhead photography drove the President’s decisions. In the 1960’s the CORONA satellite program provided detailed black and white photos, to be replaced by more powerful satellites capable of taking infrared and radar photos as well. [2] Of course the expense of these programs meant only super powers had access to the pictures.
Now that is changing. For years, commercial satellite photography has been available for a price. But technology is now making higher quality available for less money. Google Earth provides detailed pictures of the entire planet to anyone with a computer. And items as small as eighteen inches across are now clearly visible from commercial sources.
Al Qaeda and other terrorists have been quick to exploit these advances. Jihadist web sites emphasize the use of commercial satellites for reconnaissance and for aiming rockets at US troops. [3] And domestic experts have been horrified to see the vulnerabilities of our critical infrastructure displayed on the internet.
But there is another side of this development. The largest buyer of commercial imagery is governments, who can distribute it without worry about classification. Domestic law enforcement, responders and homeland security planners now have quick access to more detailed information. Companies use these new views to make production and delivery quicker and cheaper. And for the first time, journalists and interest groups can check government reports both at home and abroad.
Clearly accurate commercial satellite imagery is going to change the way we look at the world and ourselves. But whether that is more bad or good is yet to be seen.
This is Dave McIntyre, Director of the Integrative Center for Homeland Security at Texas A&M, inviting you to join us again next week on Just a Minute, for Homeland Security.
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[1] _____, “Balloons in the American Civil War,” US Centennial of Flight Commission, accessed 11 November 2008, http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Lighter_than_air/Civil_War_balloons/LTA5.htm
[2] _____, “Corona,” University of California Santa Barbara Department of Geography, accessed 11 Nov 2008, http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~jeff/115a/militaryintelligence/conronahistjpl.html
[3] Peter Eisler, “Google Earth helps yet worries government,” USA Today, 06 November 2008, http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/surveillance/2008-11-06-googleearth_N.htm