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While so-called "spy satellites" are well known for their military functions, their use by industry and scientists in ways from exploration and mapping to search and rescue, make these some of the most useful implements of this or any other age.
They found major gold deposits in Brazil; they track weather systems; oil companies use them to find potential sites. While the main reason they were developed is no longer the main use for them “spy satellites” have re-invented whole industries. The world has been mapped in detail that would have been impossible for man to ever achieve. Resources are now found first by measurements made from space by these satellites. They have changed the way that people view the weather and the ability to predict the movement of storms and weather systems. Law enforcement uses them to do any number of things from finding the site where illegal drugs are being grown to finding the location of suspected smugglers. The system and technology of these satellites are complex and use the latest technology, but the idea is basic and as old as civilization. The easiest way to observe anything is to do it from the highest ground available.
These satellites create the ultimate “high ground” for observation. Looking down from space they became so effective that they made the use of airplanes for reconosance almost obsolete. As technologies improved it became clear that these satellites could be used to measure and observe the same way airplanes had been, but much more effectively. It also became clear that these satellites covering a much larger area much quicker and effectively could make many geological measurements. This made them especially useful for the prospecting of oil, and mineral resources. Many of today’s mineral discoveries are a direct result of measurements made by these satellites.
The use of these satellites for agriculture allows for detail mapping and surveying of crops in any area. The potential for estimating production and therefore impact on markets can’t be overstated. There is also the use of these satellites to find the source of disasters such as the location of forest fires, downed airplanes, and the like. “Spy Satellites” can still be used to spy, but now that spying is looking to help.
One of the most interesting uses for these satellites is in law enforcement. Polluters have had their pollution traced to them and documented by these satellites. Their use by the DEA and FBI have just about made it impossible to hide marijuana plants form these eyes in the sky. There is no location too remote to be found and observed. The use of infrared photography, and other imaging makes even the job of finding a fugitive in a remote area much easier.
The problem with these satellites and their technology is that they probably see too much! There are a number of satellites in space taking a number of pictures often “see” things that are of no significance to the satellite’s user at the time. For an example, a satellite making observations of local weather in Texas may also be seeing a number of airplanes crossing the border, the polluting of a river by a local company, and a number of illegal marijuana fields. The data may be there for all those things, but unless you were specially looking for any one of them, you would see nothing. As these satellites are used more for specific jobs, and more satellites are applied to law enforcement, certain crimes and criminal activities will become more difficult.
Weather, mapping, crime, search and rescue, all are affected by the technology of what once were called spy satellites. Their ability to combine modern technology with the ancient idea of making observations from the highest ground has transformed the way we observe what is going on.
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