The tragic events of 2001 Sep 11 have led some SeeSat-L subscribers to question the propriety of posting observations and orbital elements of U.S. spysats. This activity is entirely legal; however, it is quite proper to question the ethics. In the world of science and technology, we must consider the ethics of our actions. The following are my beliefs; I do not pretend to speak for any of my fellow observers and analysts. I strongly doubt that orbital elements from any source are of any value to terrorists. Consider the imaging satellites in low Earth orbit. They were designed to be useful against the former USSR, which had huge military and industrial complexes. Naval vessels, missiles, planes, tanks and their supporting infrastructure are excellent targets for spysats. In comparison, terrorist equipment and activities are of such a small scale, that I doubt anything important would be detected by imagers. Certainly they can image the buildings in which terrorists are housed (given clues as to their location), but they cannot see through walls and roofs. Some terrorists reportedly have training camps, which might be worth imaging, if only for targeting purposes. The half dozen U.S. LEO imagers now in orbit, assuming 2 to 4 good passes per sat per day, would seem to leave little opportunity for terrorists to hide their outdoor activities, presumably small scale training activities. The electronic imaging sats in GEO or Molniya orbits have the potential to yield the most useful information on terrorists, so long as they use communications that involve radio transmission. At any given time, the entire Earth is under surveillance by these sats, so there is no way to hide, except to avoid radio transmission. Knowing the precise locations of those satellites would not help terrorists avoid detection. Hours after last week's attack, Space.com published, "A Nation Under Siege - Did Satellites Serve the Country?": http://www.space.com/news/satellite_security_010911.html A couple of relevant quotes: "The entire U.S. intelligence community, including all of its expensive satellites, is helpless against any enemy that practices operations security. That means, if they don’t use the phone, don't use a computer, and if they do all their business face to face with single-trusted companions, there is no way the existing intelligence infrastructure can anticipate this kind of coordinated attack," Steele said. and: "Taking satellite photos of terrorist facilities can only go so far, Richelson said. "But what's going on inside those buildings in terms of planning is not something you can detect by satellite, unless they actually go out and practice. I don't think they would have practiced smashing jets into tall towers," Richelson said. Even if the United States had 24 hours-a-day, real-time surveillance of every place on Earth, simultaneously, he said, detection of such terrorist planning is doubtful." Since that article was published, we have learned the shocking truth that the terrorists lived and trained within the U.S.A., in some cases for years. I strongly doubt that any of the communities in which they lived have ever been tasked for imaging by KeyHole or Lacrosse. I believe that by making observations and elements public, hobbyists assist journalists, scholars and those with opposing political views to play their vital role in a democracy. We also expose the nonsense that all spysat orbits can be kept secret. If a dozen dedicated hobbyists can track U.S. spysats using binoculars, stopwatches and personal computers, then virtually any nation or international organization can do so, given the motivation. It would be highly unusual for all of us to agree on this issue, and unfortunately, there can be no assurance of who is right. It is my hope that those on either side can agree to disagree, and leave it to the conscience of the individual. Ted Molczan ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@lists.satellite.eu.org http://www.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Sep 20 2001 - 17:55:53 EDT