Can you Play a Spy or a secret agent type character in a movie and then become one in real life?
I think it a little odd that all these Hollywood Actors,
Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, David Pressman and producer Jerry Weintraub.
Are willing to venture into spy satellites to watch over a "Possible" Conflict area.
How long before they join forces with other big business's to do the same here?
(Reuters) - Groups including the United Nations, Harvard University, Google Inc and an organization co-founded by actor George Clooney are launching a project using satellites to "watch" Sudan for war crimes before a vote that could split the African country in two.
The Satellite Sentinel Project, which begins on Wednesday, is meant to provide an "early warning system" for human rights and security violations before the January 9 referendum on whether to divide Sudan into north and south.
"We want to let potential perpetrators of genocide and other war crimes know that we're watching, the world is watching," Clooney said in a statement.
The satellite project received funding for six months from Not On Our Watch, an organization co-founded by Clooney and his Hollywood friends, actors Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, David Pressman and producer Jerry Weintraub.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Clooney, Google, U.N. watch Sudan using satellites
Monday, June 28, 2010
Goce satellite views Earth's gravity in high definition
Photographing Gravity ?
Supposedly this will help Climatologists in their evaluation of Global warming , Al Gore will be all over this one , If he has some time out of his Busy Massage Schedule !
BBC
It is one of the most exquisite views we have ever had of the Earth.
This colourful new map traces the subtle but all pervasive influence the pull of gravity has across the globe.
Known as a geoid, it essentially defines where the level surface is on our planet; it tells us which way is "up" and which way is "down".
It is drawn from delicate measurements made by Europe's Goce satellite, which flies so low it comes perilously close to falling out of the sky.
Scientists say the data gathered by the spacecraft will have numerous applications.
One key beneficiary will be climate studies because the geoid can help researchers understand better how the great mass of ocean water is moving heat around the world.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Satellites crash over Siberia: Iridium bird destroyed
Space debris is going to be a real problem one day ! With this collision there is around 600 new piece's of junk floating around ,junk that has to be tracked so as to move other satellites out of the way !
Job of the future , Space salvage ! The Register
....
A defunct Russian satellite has collided in orbit with another from the Iridium satcomms fleet, according to reports. Both spacecraft were wrecked, creating two large clouds of hazardous high-speed debris. The International Space Station (ISS) is not thought to be in danger, however.
The Guardian quotes US air force colonel Les Kodlick as saying that the American military is tracking an additional 500 to 600 pieces of orbital debris as a result of the collision, adding to the 18,000 other objects already logged.
"We believe it's the first time that two satellites have collided in orbit," the colonel added.
The collision reportedly took place at 1655 GMT on Tuesday, at an altitude of 490 miles above Siberia.
The Russian satellite was a Cosmos telecoms bird launched in 1993 and no longer in service. The other sat dated from 1997 and was an active part of the Iridium network, which was originally intended to be the world's first global mobile phone system. However, GSM roaming beat Iridium to the punch and the network went bankrupt before being reborn with US government backing.
Iridium does have advantages over other satcomms systems, however, as it requires only a small antenna rather than a dish or other directional apparatus. It is critical to many specialist applications today - many of them involving the military and intelligence communities, perhaps giving a clue as to why the US government was so keen to revive the system.
The Iridium Satellite corporation told AFP that it expected only minor outages as a result of the collision.
"This satellite loss may result in very limited service disruption in the form of brief, occasional outages," the firm said, adding that the company expects to have a network solution in place by Friday, and will move one of its in-orbit spares to permanently replace the destroyed satellite within 30 days.
NASA officials said that the ISS was not thought to be in significant danger as it orbits at an altitude of 220 miles, well below that of the satellite wreckage clouds. Should any debris threaten the space station, it has the ability to manoeuvre so as to avoid being struck: this has already happened on eight occasions.
The event seems sure to provide excellent conspiracy-theory fodder at any rate. Just for starters, here's one: the Russians deliberately rammed the Iridium sat to prevent a particular satphone call/tracker-bug message/submarine data upload getting through.®
