3 ms·
JWST would be totally useless as a spy satellite. It sees in IR. It is in space specifically because IR does not penetrate the atmosphere very well. That app
by sandworm101 5y ago
JWST would be totally useless as a spy satellite. It sees in IR. It is in space specifically because IR does not penetrate the atmosphere very well. That applies when looking down equally as up. Everything from the mirror and sensors to the entire cooling operation is optimized to see that IR blocked by earths atmosphere. So any spysat version wanting to actually see through that atmosphere would share almost nothing in terms of design or parts.
This is what real spysats looks like. They make JWST look like a toy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(satellite) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(satellite)
"is according to NRO director Bruce Carlson "(...) the largest satellite in the world".[3] It is believed that this refers to the diameter of the main antenna, which might be well in excess of 100 m (330 ft)."
- jrockway 5y agoIR is how satellites see clouds at night. Seems to work pretty well.
- sandworm101 5y agoWeather-related sats see the clouds because IR is blocked by moisture, the stuff that clouds are made of. Spy sats generally want to see things that are not made of water.
- LargoLasskhyfv 5y agoYawn. https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/water-you-water-and-human-body https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/sci...
- LargoLasskhyfv 5y agoDepends? Humans are made out of water (mostly) ;->
- icefox11 5y agoIts not only in space, but very far away from the Earth and the Moon, so it doesn't become saturated with IR. That apart, there is a lot of important IR a spy satellite would search for. The heat signature from a fighter jet is much larger that its visual signature, for example.
- FredFS456 5y agoOrion is a spy satellite for radio frequencies ("sigint satellite"). While it is massive, it's not an optical spy satellite and certainly does not have <10cm resolution.
- etaioinshrdlu 5y agoI think its kind of amazing how little is known about Orion. Not even the manufacturer is publicly known. Impressive job keeping secrets.