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Prime example: the NRO donated two unused spy satellites to NASA, each more powerful than the Hubble Telescope. https://www.space.com/16000-spy-satellites-spac
by mr_overalls 7y ago
Prime example: the NRO donated two unused spy satellites to NASA, each more powerful than the Hubble Telescope.
https://www.space.com/16000-spy-satellites-space-telescopes-nasa.html https://www.space.com/16000-spy-satellites-space-telescopes-...
- jcims 7y agoI love this story. Reminds me of Contact, one of my favorite movie quotes of all time: 'First rule of government spending: why build one when you can have two for twice the price?'
- jfengel 7y agoUnless they also donated launch costs, and $90 million per year to run it[1], it's no surprise that they're not actually using it. It's small compared to the overall budget, but not free. [1] https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/fy_2018_budget_estimates.pdf https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/fy_2018...
- jandrese 7y agoHas anybody asked Elon Musk if he wants to show off what a Falcon Heavy can do and maybe get some other billionaire to pitch in for operating capital?
- JackFr 7y agoI read an interview with an NRO scientist, who described his group as following carefully the progress of the Hubble team who were independently solving many of the same problems their teams had solved earlier. From a national security perspective, they had to sit on their hands and not offer any help, but from an engineering perspective, they valued having another team do it to see if they would validate their design by coming up with similar solutions.
- swampthinker 7y agoSounds super interesting, do you have a link?
- heavenlyblue 7y agoIs there an overview of the differences in design choices made?
- dylan604 7y agoProbably shaping the lens/mirror correctly?
- walrus01 7y agoThose were mirror and optics/satellite body assemblies, not two fully completed unused spy satellites. The electronics, power systems and communications systems were entirely absent.
- jandrese 7y agoAren't those more or less off the shelf parts these days? NASA should have the know-how to finish the final details on a satellite like that.