Disposable?

This is coolbert:

From Forbes magazine:

“Disposable Cameras’”

“Hide The Satellite”

The spy in the sky satellite currently used by the U.S. military and “spy agencies” is not adequate?

“it’s getting hard to detect mischief by rogue states such as North Korea . . . And billion-dollar spy satellites aren’t as effective as they might once have been . . . Also, China, North Korea, Iran and other powers have figured out the orbit of a number of pricey photoreconnaissance satellites and can hide assets when they know they’re being watched.”

[please keep in mind that with sophisticated opposition you are denied seeing "things" you want to see while at the same time ARE BEING ALLOWED TO SEE "THINGS" AS PART OF A DECEPTION PLAN!!]

An alternative has been found?

“one answer to all this is a plan that might be called satellite-lite . . . the Air Force is working with a small company called AirLaunch . . . that would strap a lightweight, 100-850 pound satellite onto an inexpensive rocket. The rocket would be released from a cargo aircraft flying at 32,000 feet and carry the satellite into orbit . . . Twenty or so of these satellites would be put in orbit each year.


This sounds similar to the Pegasus type rocket launcher that DOES the same thing?

This will confound the opposition?

“The advantage is that a midflight launch without warning would make the satellite extremely difficult to track, a crucial benefit”

Cost is a huge factor here also. NOT just the surveillance capability.

“AirLaunch says it can meet a Defense Department requirement to launch a rocket at a cost below $5 million . . . (a cheap one might cost only $1 million). Right now it takes at least $25 million . . . to launch a satellite of similar size from the ground . . . the largest military spy satellites can top $2 billion and take a year.”

"Affordable Space Lift (less than $5 million per flight)"

"Launch within 24 hours from notice"

Have a satellite in orbit by the end of 2007 is the goal!

coolbert.