4 ms·

My guess is that the US, Russian, and Chinese militaries have the interest, and operational ability, to track every in-flight commercial jet all over the world.

by rphlx 13y ago

My guess is that the US, Russian, and Chinese militaries have the interest, and operational ability, to track every in-flight commercial jet all over the world. The IR signature alone makes a commercial jet obvious at any altitude as long as the engines are running. So MH370 is probably not lost; its final position is just being concealed by military protocol to avoid confirming satellite capabilities that have, in all likelihood, existed since the 1960s.

alexeisadeski3 13y ago
Why would the US deploy such satellites to view the southern Indian Ocean? I could understand deployment in potential areas of interest, but that particular area is about as boring as it gets. My point is that even if those capabilities exist, it's not clear that they would be able to help in this particular case.
- adamcanady 13y ago
  Unless the satellites are in geosync, it's likely they are orbiting and could just randomly come across the correct area at that time. If not, I'm wondering why people like Skybox [1] didn't deploy resources immediately to start covering ground. It seems like that approach would be much more effective than ships in the ocean? [1] http://skyboximaging.com/ http://skyboximaging.com/
  - Maxious 13y ago
    There is a protocol to task satellites to cover emergencies which was used in this case http://www.disasterscharter.org/web/charter/activation_details?p_r_p_1415474252_assetId=ACT-482 http://www.disasterscharter.org/web/charter/activation_detai... Skybox is also contributing and has this visualisation of the Search Efforts with Satellites to date including those that are needed to cover the expanded search area http://www.skyboximaging.com/news/in-search-of-malaysia-airlines-flight-370 http://www.skyboximaging.com/news/in-search-of-malaysia-airl...
- sigterm 13y ago
  I would think nuclear submarines can just pop up anywhere in the ocean.
- rphlx 13y ago
  It's quite likely that the people in charge of military surveillance will prefer, and succeed, in getting continuous coverage of the entire Earth. Really want to avoid a "Sorry, Mr. President, we don't have coverage there" situation. And anyway, it's State-funded; cost is rarely a key constraint for these systems.
- notfoss 13y ago
  > Why would the US deploy such satellites to view the southern Indian Ocean? I could understand deployment in potential areas of interest, but that particular area is about as boring as it gets. China has been venturing in the Indian Ocean, and the United States probably wants to keep an eye on their activities.
Someone 13y ago
How paranoid would the U.S. have to be to keep those capabilities that have, in all likelihood, existed since the 1960s secret? And they don't even to acknowledge their existence. "By chance, a satellite overflew the area. Here's what it saw" plus a blurred picture could be enough.
- rphlx 13y ago
  Well, it's a cold, calculated national security decision made by people who are naturally very secretive. They have nothing to gain (in their view), and something to lose, by revealing capabilities beyond those that are already public.
deleted 13y ago
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by rphlx 13y ago

alexeisadeski3 13y ago

Why would the US deploy such satellites to view the southern Indian Ocean? I could understand deployment in potential areas of interest, but that particular area is about as boring as it gets. My point is that even if those capabilities exist, it's not clear that they would be able to help in this particular case.

adamcanady 13y ago
Unless the satellites are in geosync, it's likely they are orbiting and could just randomly come across the correct area at that time. If not, I'm wondering why people like Skybox [1] didn't deploy resources immediately to start covering ground. It seems like that approach would be much more effective than ships in the ocean? [1] http://skyboximaging.com/ http://skyboximaging.com/
- Maxious 13y ago
  There is a protocol to task satellites to cover emergencies which was used in this case http://www.disasterscharter.org/web/charter/activation_details?p_r_p_1415474252_assetId=ACT-482 http://www.disasterscharter.org/web/charter/activation_detai... Skybox is also contributing and has this visualisation of the Search Efforts with Satellites to date including those that are needed to cover the expanded search area http://www.skyboximaging.com/news/in-search-of-malaysia-airlines-flight-370 http://www.skyboximaging.com/news/in-search-of-malaysia-airl...
sigterm 13y ago
I would think nuclear submarines can just pop up anywhere in the ocean.
rphlx 13y ago
It's quite likely that the people in charge of military surveillance will prefer, and succeed, in getting continuous coverage of the entire Earth. Really want to avoid a "Sorry, Mr. President, we don't have coverage there" situation. And anyway, it's State-funded; cost is rarely a key constraint for these systems.
notfoss 13y ago
> Why would the US deploy such satellites to view the southern Indian Ocean? I could understand deployment in potential areas of interest, but that particular area is about as boring as it gets. China has been venturing in the Indian Ocean, and the United States probably wants to keep an eye on their activities.

Someone 13y ago

How paranoid would the U.S. have to be to keep those capabilities that have, in all likelihood, existed since the 1960s secret? And they don't even to acknowledge their existence. "By chance, a satellite overflew the area. Here's what it saw" plus a blurred picture could be enough.

rphlx 13y ago
Well, it's a cold, calculated national security decision made by people who are naturally very secretive. They have nothing to gain (in their view), and something to lose, by revealing capabilities beyond those that are already public.

deleted 13y ago

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