What Did US Spy Satellites See in Ukraine?

[Judi Lynn]

What Did US Spy Satellites See in Ukraine?

July 20, 2014

Putin for the Malaysia Airlines shoot-down – the shoddy journalism has grown truly dangerous, says Robert Parry.

By Robert Parry

In the heat of the U.S. media’s latest war hysteria – rushing to pin blame for the crash of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin – there is the same absence of professional skepticism that has marked similar stampedes on Iraq, Syria and elsewhere – with key questions not being asked or answered.

The dog-not-barking question on the catastrophe over Ukraine is: what did the U.S. surveillance satellite imagery show? It’s hard to believe that – with the attention that U.S. intelligence has concentrated on eastern Ukraine for the past half year that the alleged trucking of several large Buk anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia to Ukraine and then back to Russia didn’t show up somewhere.

Yes, there are limitations to what U.S. spy satellites can see. But the Buk missiles are about 16 feet long and they are usually mounted on trucks or tanks. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 also went down during the afternoon, not at night, meaning the missile battery was not concealed by darkness.

So why hasn’t this question of U.S. spy-in-the-sky photos – and what they reveal – been pressed by the major U.S. news media? How can the Washington Post run front-page stories, such as the one on Sunday with the definitive title “U.S. official: Russia gave systems,” without demanding from these U.S. officials details about what the U.S. satellite images disclose?

More:
http://consortiumnews.com/2014/07/20/what-did-us-spy-satellites-see-in-ukraine/

[BillZBubb]

1. There is a very good chance the satellites saw nothing.

They don't just hover over a spot all day long. They are in orbit and pass through areas at regular intervals. Finding one, or a few SAM, batteries might just be a needle in a haystack operation.

[LiberalArkie]

2. And what has been done for years, is to move your equipment when

the satellite is not over head.

[5X]

4. Some of them do "hover",

geostationary satellites do sit in one spot. From what I hear, these are more likely to be used
for surveillance.

[BillZBubb]

6. But they are too far away to get detailed data. They can detect big events only.

The orbit must be over 22000 miles above earth. Say the best optics available can identify objects no smaller than 1" in size in low earth orbit (about 100 miles). At 22000, the object must be at least 220" = 18'. Due to weather and atmospheric interference, 18' is probably very optimistic.

The really hi-def satellites needed to get pinpoint information like a single missile launcher are much nearer earth.

[JayhawkSD]

9. You heard wrong

BillZBubb is entirely correct. Geostationary satellites are not used for surviellance. Sattelites in much lower orbits are used for that, and their orbits are known and predictable. Even nations like Ukraine know when they can be seen and are able to avoid revealing movements.

[jakeXT]

3. During this whole Ukraine situation, they have only released commercial satellite images from

DigitalGlobe

In 1992, as a computer scientist grounded with a broken foot, he founded DigitalGlobe with $3,000. A few years later they built their first satellite, Early Bird.

"The first satellite went up, then died four days later," Scott said. And as for the second try, "that went up and went down a lot faster."

Scott said what allowed him to continue after that was "boundless enthusiasm and a lack of common sense."

Good insurance and patient investors finally got the first successful satellite off the ground in 2001.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/advanced-satellite-company-digitalglobe-sets-sights-on-ukraine/

It's worse than the images made with U2 planes in the 60's, it looks like they don't want you to see how good NRO technology is


Empty site near Belgorod before current military buildup - 7 March 2014
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/ukraine/2014/ukraine-140411-nato-aco01.htm


This October 1962 photo is of a Cuba missile site taken during the "Cuba Missile Crisis".
http://www.jamesshuggins.com/h/u-2a/u-2_62_cuba_missile_base.htm



30 years ago the resolution was 2-3 feet for NRO satellites, while covering 370 miles and with the KH-8 it was 4 inch for a smaller area

Each 6-inch wide frame of HEXAGON film capturing a wide swath of terrain covering 370 nautical miles — the distance from Cincinnati to Washington — on each pass over the former Soviet Union and China. The satellites had a resolution of about 2 to 3 feet (0.6 to nearly 1 meter), according to the NRO.
http://www.space.com/12996-secret-spy-satellites-declassified-nro.html

[RobertEarl]

5. The fog of war

There will be no clearing of the air until a manufactured story can be assembled that places blame on someone who is established to be the best enemy for the continuance of hostilities and the selling of more weapons and making of more war.

[Judi Lynn]

7. It has always worked for them, hasn't it?

I imagine they also love to drag them out until they have the framework for the next war completed.

[RobertEarl]

8. It is also called

Disaster capitalism. Never allow any event to go to waste without making a big profit from it.

[FBaggins]

10. I guess that answers the question in your prior post

"Who’s the Propagandist: US or RT"

It's RT and Robert Parry's ConsortiumNews. As you were told at the time.

[jakeXT]

11. Russia released some

At the moment of the MH17 crash an American satellite was flying over the area of eastern Ukraine, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. It urged the US to publish the space photos and data captured by it.


http://rt.com/news/174412-malaysia-plane-russia-ukraine/