What are Satellites capabilities for zooming close up to the earth at night?
Q. I recently learned about google maps option of street view for satellite imagery. I could see houses in close up detail from all angles of the street, aswell as people in close up detail from multiple angles walking down the street. My question is what are the highest level production of satellites capable of viewing and from what distances/clarity at night time? Who owns them? Is there such thing as long distance thermal imaging? Long distance X-Ray? Long distance land Sonar? Anything on this subject would be interesting.
Asked by f - Mon Jul 19 05:53:35 2010 - - 5 Answers - 0 Comments

A. My question is what are the highest level production of satellites capable of viewing and from what distances/clarity at night time? The answer is that the answer is classified. Keep in mind tho, that back when the highest resolution that civilian sat imagery was 5 meters, governments were viewing with todays 2 meter resolution or better. So in general, the civilian market is restricted to tech several generations behind that which is available to governments. The limit is imposed for "reasons of national security". Who owns them? Governments and private companies / corporations under contract with the government. Is there such thing as long distance thermal imaging? Yes, but it it's resolution is not nearly as good as visible… [cont.]
Answered by Will - Mon Jul 19 06:05:34 2010

What prevents satellites in space from crashing against each other?
Q. There are hundreds of satellites above us, I'm wondering how they control the traffic, so they won't hit each other!
Asked by Axy - Thu Jun 18 21:52:09 2009 - - 8 Answers - 0 Comments

A. Two things. First, space is really, really big, and satellites are pretty small. You know how small one airplane is in the vast expanse of sky above your head? Well, satellites are quite a bit smaller, and space is a heck of a lot bigger. Sheer probability can keep your satellites safe at least for a while. Second, satellites are placed in very carefully calculated trajectories, and almost always in circular orbits, which means a satellite is not capable of crashing into satellites in lower or higher orbits, only satellites in their own 'shell' of space outside the Earth. Space agencies furthermore track all the satellites they know of and are able to predict when two satellites may come close enough to hit each other, and often use a… [cont.]
Answered by Meklar - Fri Jun 19 17:58:24 2009

How do companies get their satellites into orbit?
Q. Like cellular phone companies, satellite radio companies, and internet service providers... Also, how do they know where to position the satellites? Do they ask the government? Where are political boundaries in subspace and space, if any? Is it getting crowded up there? Could one satellite steal information from another satellite? Could satellite information be stolen from earth as communications are transferred (such as bank acct. #s, passwords, usernames, addresses, social security #s, etc.)? What about sabataging another country's spy satellites? Why would one country allow itself to be spied on? How many satellites are in Earth's orbit currently? Does the Unites States know when any country is sending a spy satellite into… [cont.]
Asked by Chris M - Sun Feb 26 13:03:33 2006 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments

A. There is probably a huge amount of information about this on the internet. However, I can make a few guesses about some of your equestions. To get their satellites into orbit, companies use commercial or government rockets. The US, China, the European Union, Russia, and Japan are probably the main countries who have the capability of putting satellites into orbit. I think that satellites overfly national boundaries all the time. Information transferred to and from satellites of course can be stolen unless it is properly encrypted, etc. I remember reading about incidents of international satellite saboutage. There are many satellites in earth orbit currently, although some decay and are burned up in the atmosphere, and some are… [cont.]
Answered by hound9_4 - Sun Feb 26 13:29:57 2006