Interesting about the modern constellation... https://www.defensedaily.com/ngas-latency-for-imagery-improves-but-more-data-requires-more-compute-whitworth-says/intelligence-community/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJJ2ZtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHbiW0TGgh_pT0F_ItHxy37jNlhRr9MrbFvS62UnI9GER6uMzbdxlSjQJeQ_aem_drmfhJHxTAr8tdSEgiwt0AThe National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is processing imagery 80 percent faster than it did a year ago. However, as satellite constellations and the amount of related data increase, the latency gains could diminish without more computing power, NGA Director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth said on Monday.Despite a cascading deluge of data that NGA is processing and expects to process more of in the years ahead, Whitworth feels good the agency’s resource needs will be met.
Quote from: Targeteer on 03/21/2025 04:37 amInteresting about the modern constellation... https://www.defensedaily.com/ngas-latency-for-imagery-improves-but-more-data-requires-more-compute-whitworth-says/intelligence-community/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJJ2ZtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHbiW0TGgh_pT0F_ItHxy37jNlhRr9MrbFvS62UnI9GER6uMzbdxlSjQJeQ_aem_drmfhJHxTAr8tdSEgiwt0AThe National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is processing imagery 80 percent faster than it did a year ago. However, as satellite constellations and the amount of related data increase, the latency gains could diminish without more computing power, NGA Director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth said on Monday.Despite a cascading deluge of data that NGA is processing and expects to process more of in the years ahead, Whitworth feels good the agency’s resource needs will be met.Keep in mind that NGA acquires commercial data (and quite a lot of it) in addition to any data from national assets. The so-called commercial vendors are supported by large government contracts (in both the launch arena and sensor/satellite operators). Some of these ventures would not be profitable or viable without government contracts (both US and others).BlackSky, Maxar and Planet were awarded contracts worth $4B over a decade for EO imagery alone, per this article. https://usgif.org/commercial-collaboration-nga-nro-discuss-commercial-imagery-ambitions/
Despite the government’s hunger for commercial imagery, there are challenges it must overcome in order to continue satiating its appetite. For example, both Muend and Avila acknowledged the need for tools and processes in the areas of cybersecurity, data lineage, and data trust.And also, data storage—which is why NGA increasingly is moving from buying commercial imagery to buying commercial analytics services, according to Avila.“What we’re really interested in is buying the insights—the knowledge—that can be generated and gathered from all of the information that’s out there,” he concluded. “Anticipating and knowing the volume of data that we’re going to be getting in the future, what’s a smarter way to handle all of that? Focusing on those insights is one way to go."
https://www.satobs.org/seesat/Mar-2025/0101.html New image of USA 186 from the 22.March 2025.https://www.astrobin.com/6sw744/I measured the length to be about 12m in total with the optical tubeassembly being about 7m.The diameter of the optical tube assembly is around 2.4m, a measurementfrom last year also gave a similar value. The instrument/propulsion sectionseems to be about 4m in diameter.I also added an image of Hubble as it would appear in the same conditions.There clearly are similarities between the two.Raw data on request.Kind regards, Felix S.
Quote from: Blackstar on 10/14/2021 02:56 pm A declassified history by Vance O. Mitchell, “The NRO, the Air Force, and the First Reconnaissance Relay Satellite System, 1969-1983,” describes how this unusual management relationship was developed—and almost fell apart—during its early years. [/i]It is available some where?
A declassified history by Vance O. Mitchell, “The NRO, the Air Force, and the First Reconnaissance Relay Satellite System, 1969-1983,” describes how this unusual management relationship was developed—and almost fell apart—during its early years. [/i]
The passing of Richard Garwin seems a good moment to post this short extract from Joel Shurkin's 2017 biography https://www.nasw.org/member_article/shurkin-true-genius. I'm wondering if the Garwin-Drell memo to Kissinger it mentions is as yet declassified ?
In the Government we encountered bureaucratic competition to the electro-opticalsystem that the Land Panel had proposed for the evolution of the U.S. reconnaissancecapability. The Air Force proposal was to have an "interim" system while thetechnology for electro-optical imaging matured. The champion of the interim approachwas Eugene G. Fubini, who had been Principal Deputy Director of Defense Researchand Engineering in the Pentagon. Sid and I learned that the President's National SecurityAdvisor did not have a good understanding of the performance of the proposedelectro-optical system or of the confidence one could have in the program to achieve it.Fubini had organized an ad hoc technical group of the Defense Science Board, whichwe discovered had not been given the technical basis for judging the relative risks andperformance of the two system in question. It was arranged that I attend a session ofthe Fubini group as acting chairman of the Land Panel for this purpose, and on the spotFubini and I worked out a Memorandum of Understanding, giving the joint views of theLand Panel and of the Fubini Panel.So Sid Drell and I carefully drafted a TOP SECRET code-word hand-written letter thatwas personally delivered to Henry Kissinger (together with this Memorandum ofUnderstanding) at what seems to have been the last possible moment to obtain afavorable decision for the electro-optical system that was indeed built and that hasserved, with improvements, for many years.
Quote from: Targeteer on 03/28/2025 09:06 pmhttps://www.satobs.org/seesat/Mar-2025/0101.html New image of USA 186 from the 22.March 2025.https://www.astrobin.com/6sw744/I measured the length to be about 12m in total with the optical tubeassembly being about 7m.The diameter of the optical tube assembly is around 2.4m, a measurementfrom last year also gave a similar value. The instrument/propulsion sectionseems to be about 4m in diameter.I also added an image of Hubble as it would appear in the same conditions.There clearly are similarities between the two.Raw data on request.Kind regards, Felix S.How is it that of the constellation this is the one that’s always photographed, is it in a more favourable orbit for amateur Astro photographers?
Quote from: LittleBird on 05/15/2025 05:54 amThe passing of Richard Garwin seems a good moment to post this short extract from Joel Shurkin's 2017 biography https://www.nasw.org/member_article/shurkin-true-genius. I'm wondering if the Garwin-Drell memo to Kissinger it mentions is as yet declassified ?Turns out that even if that memo isn't avaiable, Garwin's summary of its role is, via FAS: https://rlg.fas.org/drell.pdf
QuoteIn the Government we encountered bureaucratic competition to the electro-opticalsystem that the Land Panel had proposed for the evolution of the U.S. reconnaissancecapability. The Air Force proposal was to have an "interim" system while thetechnology for electro-optical imaging matured. The champion of the interim approachwas Eugene G. Fubini, who had been Principal Deputy Director of Defense Researchand Engineering in the Pentagon. Sid and I learned that the President's National SecurityAdvisor did not have a good understanding of the performance of the proposedelectro-optical system or of the confidence one could have in the program to achieve it.Fubini had organized an ad hoc technical group of the Defense Science Board, whichwe discovered had not been given the technical basis for judging the relative risks andperformance of the two system in question. It was arranged that I attend a session ofthe Fubini group as acting chairman of the Land Panel for this purpose, and on the spotFubini and I worked out a Memorandum of Understanding, giving the joint views of theLand Panel and of the Fubini Panel.So Sid Drell and I carefully drafted a TOP SECRET code-word hand-written letter thatwas personally delivered to Henry Kissinger (together with this Memorandum ofUnderstanding) at what seems to have been the last possible moment to obtain afavorable decision for the electro-optical system that was indeed built and that hasserved, with improvements, for many years.
Quote from: LittleBird on 05/15/2025 02:04 pmQuoteIn the Government we encountered bureaucratic competition to the electro-opticalsystem that the Land Panel had proposed for the evolution of the U.S. reconnaissancecapability. The Air Force proposal was to have an "interim" system while thetechnology for electro-optical imaging matured. The champion of the interim approachwas Eugene G. Fubini, who had been Principal Deputy Director of Defense Researchand Engineering in the Pentagon. Sid and I learned that the President's National SecurityAdvisor did not have a good understanding of the performance of the proposedelectro-optical system or of the confidence one could have in the program to achieve it.Fubini had organized an ad hoc technical group of the Defense Science Board, whichwe discovered had not been given the technical basis for judging the relative risks andperformance of the two system in question. It was arranged that I attend a session ofthe Fubini group as acting chairman of the Land Panel for this purpose, and on the spotFubini and I worked out a Memorandum of Understanding, giving the joint views of theLand Panel and of the Fubini Panel.So Sid Drell and I carefully drafted a TOP SECRET code-word hand-written letter thatwas personally delivered to Henry Kissinger (together with this Memorandum ofUnderstanding) at what seems to have been the last possible moment to obtain afavorable decision for the electro-optical system that was indeed built and that hasserved, with improvements, for many years.The "interim" system he mentions was FROG. And if you read some of my articles about the selection of KENNEN, you'll see that (I think) originally the competition was FROG or KENNEN, and then FROG was approved with KENNEN expected to come later (so FROG was then "interim"), and then FROG was canceled.
the above document was Garwin’s “version of the facts”;-)
Quote from: LittleBird on 05/15/2025 08:41 pmthe above document was Garwin’s “version of the facts”;-)I don't think his version was necessarily wrong, just over-simplified. And considering that he still had to deal with security restraints, that's not surprising.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/science/richard-garwin-hydrogen-bomb.html<...>That section includes links to these documents:https://rlg.fas.org/seven-decades.pdfhttps://rlg.fas.org/land.htm
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/science/richard-garwin-hydrogen-bomb.html"Dr. Garwin led a team of experts who foresaw a more advanced type of spacecraft that would replace film with microelectronics and radio transmitters. Fresh images would flash to Earth. The team also called for powerful new telescopes. In effect, the spy craft were to be precursors to the Hubble Space Telescope, but aimed at the Earth.
