DIY Live Photos From ISS 42
leighklotz writes "The international amateur satellite organization AMSAT is reporting live reception of TV images directly from the orbiting ISS via the ARISS-SSTV project. The images are said to be preparations for the upcoming visit to the ISS by Richard Garriot (W5KWQ), which will provide images from space as part of the Windows on Earth project."
I have a question... (Score:5, Interesting)
What would happen if a non-Governmental body - something like, say Wikipedia, only with money, or maybe a slightly eccentric billionaire - were to put ultra high resolution imagers into orbit, with the same capabilities as secret spy satellites and permitted anybody to look at anywhere on Earth - anywhere , at anytime, and pay nothing, or perhaps a token fee? Would the birds be shot down? Would the government (any government) pass legislation forbidding the use of the high-res imagery except by "approved" organisations?
Yeah, I know, not a particularly realistic scenario, but I am interested in any answers.
Re:I have a question... (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, with Google shooting (or at least helping out) stuff in orbit that scenario seems to be quite realistic. Nowadays it's just too expensive and not very cost effective to shoot a hunk-a-junk with a camera into space and let everyone have access to it (especially since it would most likely bankrupt the companies that rely on reselling their imagery) but I think Google and the like might actually be able to pull it off, if not just for a marketing stunt. The images would most likely also have to be post-processed so live-viewing is not really an option there. But if a government can do it, so can a private organization (with loads of money) and as far as the law goes, go somewhere where the law doesn't have such a fascist grip on what a free man (or corporation) can do in free space (Outer Space Treaty)