NASA gets two military spy telescopes for astronomy, page 1


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ATS Members have flagged this thread 12 times
Topic started on 4-6-2012 @ 11:26 AM by Dolby_X
So the "Secret space program got some new toy and give some old stuff to NASA www.washingtonpost.com....

First question i got when they will up here working. And what this secret program got better to leave these telescope to NASA


reply posted on 4-6-2012 @ 11:59 AM by Silcone Synapse
reply to post by Dolby_X



Good catch Dolby!!

This first quote from your link is priceless IMO:

The U.S. government’s secret space program has decided to give NASA two telescopes as big as, and even more powerful than, the Hubble Space Telescope.


That confirms two things-That there is a secret space program?(ok we knew that).
And that their tech is ahead of the stuff civilians build.
Better that Hubble?
Wow...I can but imagine.

Many whistle blowers and researchers have long stated that secret black budget tech is way ahead of our civilian tech.
Interesting stuff...makes you wonder what they have replaced it with-it must be uber amazing if they are just giving these scopes to NASA.

S+F



reply posted on 4-6-2012 @ 01:31 PM by Arken
reply to post by Dolby_X



This News is Huge!

The U.S. government’s secret space program has decided to give NASA two telescopes as big as, and even more powerful than, the Hubble Space Telescope.

Designed for surveillance, the telescopes from the National Reconnaissance Office were no longer needed for spy missions and can now be used to study the heavens.

They have 2.4-meter (7.9 feet) mirrors, just like the Hubble. They also have an additional feature that the civilian space telescopes lack: A maneuverable secondary mirror that makes it possible to obtain more focused images. These telescopes will have 100 times the field of view of the Hubble, according to David Spergel, a Princeton astrophysicist and co-chair of the National Academies advisory panel on astronomy and astrophysics.


S&F


reply posted on 4-6-2012 @ 02:19 PM by wmd_2008
Originally posted by Arken
reply to
post by Dolby_X



This News is Huge!

The U.S. government’s secret space program has decided to give NASA two telescopes as big as, and even more powerful than, the Hubble Space Telescope.

Designed for surveillance, the telescopes from the National Reconnaissance Office were no longer needed for spy missions and can now be used to study the heavens.

They have 2.4-meter (7.9 feet) mirrors, just like the Hubble. They also have an additional feature that the civilian space telescopes lack: A maneuverable secondary mirror that makes it possible to obtain more focused images. These telescopes will have 100 times the field of view of the Hubble, according to David Spergel, a Princeton astrophysicist and co-chair of the National Academies advisory panel on astronomy and astrophysics.


S&F



Take whats said with a pinch of salt, 100 times field of view means it could photograph the sky in a fewer number of pictures. It would speed up whole sky surveys etc but what you see depends on the instruments at the end of the telescope.


reply posted on 4-6-2012 @ 02:21 PM by Phage
reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL


It sounds like the only real difference between Hubble and the spy telescopes is the ability to change the location of the secondary mirror and thus change the focal length, giving them a "zoom" ability (that would be the "more powerful" part of the description). However, as you point out, since the primary mirror is the same size as that of Hubble they won't really be any better at astronomical observation. Just nice replacements or supplements.


reply posted on 4-6-2012 @ 02:26 PM by THE_PROFESSIONAL
reply to post by Phage



Great observation, yea added zoom ability is a great addition. We will have to wait till they release the first sample images. I hope they don't down-sample on purpose to give us false information hehe


reply posted on 4-6-2012 @ 02:33 PM by THE_PROFESSIONAL
reply to post by Phage



Plus I guarantee you that it also has image stacking capability built into the system since it was originally designed to see through the atmosphere so we are thinking software enhanced resolution..


reply posted on 4-6-2012 @ 07:32 PM by Phage
reply to post by sevensheeps


Not really. Hubble was not cheap. I doubt these telescopes cost much more.

Hubble is "fixed" with a zoomed in view for maximum resolution. This means that it has a narrow field of view.
The spy satellites can "zoom" out for a wider field of view at lower resolution.


reply posted on 4-6-2012 @ 10:05 PM by nataylor
Originally posted by THE_PROFESSIONAL
reply to
post by Phage



Plus I guarantee you that it also has image stacking capability built into the system since it was originally designed to see through the atmosphere so we are thinking software enhanced resolution..
Actually, it doesn't have any capability. What they're offering is essentially the optical tube and mirrors. It's up to NASA to come up with the imaging sensors. It would be like someone giving you a camera lens. You still need a camera body to do anything with it.


reply posted on 5-6-2012 @ 03:47 AM by wmd_2008
Originally posted by THE_PROFESSIONAL
reply to
post by Phage



Plus I guarantee you that it also has image stacking capability built into the system since it was originally designed to see through the atmosphere so we are thinking software enhanced resolution..



Well telescopes on the ground HAVE to look through the atmosphere any software linked to this will most likely be on the ground after pictures have been received.
edit on 5-6-2012 by wmd_2008 because: (no reason given)

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