NOAA Requires License For Photos of the Earth 311
Teancum writes "In an interesting show of the level of regulations private spacecraft designers have to go through, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has demanded that American participants of the Google Lunar X Prize obtain a license if their spacecraft are 'capable of actively or passively sensing the Earth's surface, including
bodies of water, from space by making use of the properties of the electromagnetic waves emitted, reflected, or diffracted by the sensed objects.' What prompted NOAA to ask for this license came from a visit by the XPrize staff to the NOAA offices in Maryland. What is going to happen when 'space tourists' bring their private cameras along for the ride?"
Absurd! (Score:5, Funny)
Naming rights (Score:5, Funny)
That's the Budweiser Moon© now, they paid for the naming rights.
It's a privacy thing. (Score:5, Funny)
Close your eyes! (Score:5, Funny)
That would seem to include eyesight. I guess everyone will need to fly blind.
Re:Wow (Score:3, Funny)
M-O-O-N, that spells Pepsi®!
I say screw em (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Absurd! (Score:5, Funny)
As if RIAA and MPAA weren't enough, now this NOAA: Who's come next, AAA?
That's why I'm in AA.
Re:Secrecy to the nth absurd (Score:5, Funny)
it's not ridiculous at all.
when you think about it, taking a photo of the earth from space isn't (conceptually) any different from walking into a store a stealing a CD.
Re:On what grounds... (Score:4, Funny)
He is Anonymous Coward (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Notice from NOAA to Lunar X Prize Participants (Score:5, Funny)
I, for one, never welcomed our road to hell paving overlords.
Re:Notice from NOAA to Lunar X Prize Participants (Score:5, Funny)
Saying "if other people make money doing X, we're going to pass a law preventing you from doing X for free" never has good intentions.
Of course it does! Outlawing designated drivers forces people to use taxis, which helps the economy. Only allowing only professional movers to take furniture in and out of houses prevents injuries to out-of-shape people. And of course, making every babysitter get registered as a state-certified child care provider would reduce the risk of harm to the children, and would also keep for-profit day cares in business, which means more jobs.
See, nothing but good intentions!
Re:Wow (Score:3, Funny)
Though to be fair most of those are innovative new ways to drop your pants. The rest are owned by the Chattanooga Bakery [wikipedia.org] for it's chocolate dipped gram cracker and marshmallow snacks.
Re:Absurd! (Score:5, Funny)
What the heck is the NOAA going to do to stop me from taking pictures from my spaceship? Try and arrest me, I'm in space, bitches!!!
Re:Secrecy to the nth absurd (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Absurd! (Score:1, Funny)
Oh, BTW, check out my sig... (Score:3, Funny)
Uhm, perhaps there's a bit of humour impairment you need treated? Note the parent was modded "funny." That would be as in absurd. There's no possible way that taking a picture from anywhere let alone from space could be equated with stealing a CD. The silly NOAA act being made fun of is largely to insure that no one takes high-res images of Israel from space. They don't want you to know what REALLY goes on in some of those kibbutzes (and yes, that was humorous in intent).
Re:Notice from NOAA to Lunar X Prize Participants (Score:1, Funny)