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Yes, it's a ballsy logo, but on the other hand... Wikipedia tells us that NROL-39's payload is actually a Topaz synthetic aperture radar (SAR) node, flying in

by mapt 13y ago

Yes, it's a ballsy logo, but on the other hand... Wikipedia tells us that NROL-39's payload is actually a Topaz synthetic aperture radar (SAR) node, flying in constellation with two others already in operation, and two more to come. This is essentially not-at-all-threatening to civil liberties, being a ground-elevation mapping platform (and to a second order, some degree of surface roughness), of not particularly good resolution, at a semi-polar low earth orbit. There are commercial counterparts to this that are presently in operation, like TanDEM-X, and an order of magnitude improvement on that constellation's capabilities would remain insufficient to track anything particularly interesting beyond the construction over time of large static structures, with a relatively long revisit time.

shill 13y ago
If there was Wikipedia in 1974 it would have told us that the Glomar Explorer was built to mine manganese nodules from the ocean floor.
- mapt 13y ago
  And what is it you suppose this satellite is tasked with? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NRO_Launches http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NRO_Launches This is an intelligence mission, it's just one of the least sinister of all the intelligence missions that can be performed from space. We are performing those missions - just not on this launch.
  - moocowduckquack 13y ago
    Given that is is a modern radar and part of an array, my guess would be deep subsurface 3d spectroscopy using ground penetrating radar technology, similar to what is now used in mining - http://adrokgroup.com/ http://adrokgroup.com/ , then you know where the distribution of elements are down to several miles below the surface, which means you then know where all the nuclear material in the world is and can spot when it moves. Oh and as a bonus, you have a huge edge on mineral rights.
dmix 13y ago
It should be noted Topaz was the only outcome of a failed $25 billion dollar project called Future Imagery Architecture: > the project was killed in what the Times report calls "perhaps the most spectacular and expensive failure in the 50-year history of American spy satellite projects." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Reconnaissance_Office#Future_Imagery_Architecture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Reconnaissance_Office... They spent more money than the entire GDP of about 90+ countries for a single spy satellite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nomi... A big portion of that money went to Boeing: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/washington/11satellite.html?pagewanted=all&_r=3&#step1 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/washington/11satellite.htm...
- jessaustin 13y ago
  Haha, no wonder that in the actual logo, the globe is turned so that the octopus is feeding on North America. The motto instead should have been "nom, nom, nom".
  - HillRat 13y ago
    :) Actually, the fact that China is turned to the viewer, with a tentacle overlaying it, is possibly indicative of its tasking. The octopus has five tentacles; three are visible, and this is the third of five TOPAZ satellites to be launched.
  - mcguire 13y ago
    Don't give them ideas.
dingaling 13y ago
Thanks The previous-generation Larcosse radint satellites were capable of vehicle-sized resolution and were also tasked with post-strike damage assessment. Before-and-after action radar imagery could be collected regardless of cloud cover.

by mapt 13y ago

shill 13y ago

If there was Wikipedia in 1974 it would have told us that the Glomar Explorer was built to mine manganese nodules from the ocean floor.

mapt 13y ago
And what is it you suppose this satellite is tasked with? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NRO_Launches http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NRO_Launches This is an intelligence mission, it's just one of the least sinister of all the intelligence missions that can be performed from space. We are performing those missions - just not on this launch.
- moocowduckquack 13y ago
  Given that is is a modern radar and part of an array, my guess would be deep subsurface 3d spectroscopy using ground penetrating radar technology, similar to what is now used in mining - http://adrokgroup.com/ http://adrokgroup.com/ , then you know where the distribution of elements are down to several miles below the surface, which means you then know where all the nuclear material in the world is and can spot when it moves. Oh and as a bonus, you have a huge edge on mineral rights.

dmix 13y ago

It should be noted Topaz was the only outcome of a failed $25 billion dollar project called Future Imagery Architecture: > the project was killed in what the Times report calls "perhaps the most spectacular and expensive failure in the 50-year history of American spy satellite projects." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Reconnaissance_Office#Future_Imagery_Architecture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Reconnaissance_Office... They spent more money than the entire GDP of about 90+ countries for a single spy satellite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nomi... A big portion of that money went to Boeing: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/washington/11satellite.html?pagewanted=all&_r=3&#step1 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/washington/11satellite.htm...

jessaustin 13y ago
Haha, no wonder that in the actual logo, the globe is turned so that the octopus is feeding on North America. The motto instead should have been "nom, nom, nom".
- HillRat 13y ago
  :) Actually, the fact that China is turned to the viewer, with a tentacle overlaying it, is possibly indicative of its tasking. The octopus has five tentacles; three are visible, and this is the third of five TOPAZ satellites to be launched.
- mcguire 13y ago
  Don't give them ideas.

dingaling 13y ago

Thanks The previous-generation Larcosse radint satellites were capable of vehicle-sized resolution and were also tasked with post-strike damage assessment. Before-and-after action radar imagery could be collected regardless of cloud cover.