Imaging Satellites and their Role in the Decision Making Process

Published on Tuesday, 01 June 2010 12:41

by Ayman Mahmoud

With increasing number of satellites launched by governmental and non-governmental bodies around the world, space has been opened up thus giving access to what’s out there. Satellites are forms of spacecrafts put in space to work remotely and they have been used to carry out many tasks such as imaging of the earth's surface, imaging other planets, facilitating communication between two very far points in the earth, helping in allocation of moving points in the earth (GPS) amongst many other applications. The launch of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite, started the Space Age in 1957. Conceptually, its origins date back to the early 20th century to the works of the Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovskiy who came up with the first mathematical considerations on the possibility of space travel using liquid propellant rocket engines.

There was, however, a great deal of gap between theory and practice, and it wasn't until the late 1940s that rocket technology was mature enough to be considered as a solution to the goal of spaceflight.

At the end of World War II, Soviet recovery teams had captured a large amount of technical material and documentation from the infamous German A4 (more widely known as the V2 or 'vengeance weapon' by the Nazis). The missile had a range of about 270 kilometers. Study of the A4 ballistic missile jump-started Soviet efforts to develop more powerful indigenously developed rockets. By combining A4 technology with domestic expertise, by 1955, Soviet rocket engineers were able to produce the R-5M strategic ballistic missile with a range of 1,200 kilometers. Most of the work on long-range ballistic missiles was concentrated at a secret institute.

The R-7 was a strictly military project. It had a singular goal, to deliver a nuclear warhead to the continental United States. However, it’s utility, as a satellite launch vehicle was not unnoticed, especially by space enthusiasts such as Korolev, rocket engine designer Valentin Glushko, and others. At a scientific conference in March 1950, Tikhonravov had argued that it was technically feasible to launch a satellite and that the Soviets should begin a program to develop one. At the time, few recognized the utility of a satellite. But within a couple of years there was a consensus that a satellite could have potentially important military and intelligence applications.

A team under Tikhonravov studied a variety of engineering problems such as placing a satellite in orbit, changing the satellite's orbit, returning to Earth, radio communications, and tracking the satellite from the ground. They developed a model of a satellite called the "simplest satellite". Tikhonravov suggested building a simple object with a radio transmitter and power source, something that would be relatively light and uncomplicated. This was the birth of the satellite that actually became the first Sputnik.

Nowadays, Imaging satellites are the most desired kind of spacecraft most countries would like to have. This is primarily because when adopted, it enables a country to watch its territory thus providing alerts for disaster monitoring and decision makers are able to make accurate decisions at the right time. Images taken by satellites from space have affected the political negotiation process between two countries and have provided valuable information to decision makers about the actions of their counterparts. Countries such as Russia and America realized these facts, and started the race to own space thus giving rise to the famous statement "if you are out of space you are out of the race".

Imaging satellites since it carries an optical camera can "see" in visual bands like the human eye. The view from the top, which it provides and is achievable from space, makes a nation free to control its own resources. The application of satellite images which started early for military purposes has since spread to vegetation control monitoring, desert exploration, urban planning, water resources management, crises management and weather forecasting.

In the present era, satellite development, operation and launching are not restricted to a few countries as it was some decades ago. Some African countries such as Nigeria is scheduled to launch the NigeriaSat-2 satellite in October 2010 which will be used for resource management and mapping of the Nigerian territory. Countries, which make use of satellite images, have to think strategically, in order to own control of their own "space" and use it for the best purpose.

Images taken by satellites often aid international conflict and negotiation as seen in the case of the nuclear situation between Iran and North Korea. Here, satellite images were used to identify the location of nuclear assets and underground facilities. Most countries are now aware that anyone can view their territory simply by having an imaging satellite in orbit. Currently, satellites that can image using radar device that have the ability to penetrate the ground surface have been created thus making it possible to view a country’s underground devices.

The process is endless and mankind will never stop using the technology for its benefits.

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