Creepy new satellite allows spy agencies to see through clouds and at night
A SATELLITE that can be used to spy at any time of day has been launched.
The space tech takes clear radar images even when the weather is bad or if it's pitch black.
Capella Space is the company behind the satellite.
Its Capella 2 satellite stands out from other surveillance or observational spacecraft because it can take clear pictures in any weather at anytime.
This means rain and darkness won't be able to stop it from zooming in on you.
This is thanks to something called synthetic aperture radar (SAR), an imaging technique that can be more effective than optical imaging.
"When you combine those two together, about 75% of Earth, at any given time, is going to be cloudy, nighttime, or it’s going to be both.
"If it’s cloudy, you’re going to see the clouds, not what’s happening under the clouds.
"And if there’s not much light, you’re going to have a really hard time getting an image that is useful."
The SAR technique of the satellites works like echolocation.
Radio signals are beamed onto the target area and then when they bounce back an image is interpreted.
It's a bit like the satellite having X-ray vision and means it can penetrate its gaze through things other satellites cannot like fog.
Capella claims to be the first company to offer SAR tech in this way despite not inventing it.
Capella hopes to improve its tech further but will of course have to abide by privacy laws.
One US law is said to prevent the company from making the resolution of images too high quality.
This law applies to all SAR providers.
The tech in it's current state is still very useful for things like government agencies or scientists wanting to observe deforestation rates.
In other news, China's Moon capsule landed on Earth on Thursday carrying the first lunar samples in over four decades.
Photos of 'alien soil' from a huge asteroid have been revealed by Japan's space agency.
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And, Britain is to launch a spacecraft next year in a mission to ambush a comet and unlock mysteries of the universe.
What do you think of the high resolution satellite? Let us know in the comments...
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