As a defense analyst I focus primarily on offensive military systems, weapons and strategies. As a defense enthusiast, I also like to follow the big picture... and get a better view of the forest (not just the trees.)
So when the US National Reconnaisance Office "gifted" two large surveillance telescopes to NASA to use in research, I was immediately intrigued. The news stories seem to focus on how fortunate NASA will be to get not one, but two of them. These space telescopes are touted at being better and more sophisticated than the Hubble telescope. The small print in the articles said something like: "since the NRO no longer needs them, they are presenting them to NASA."
That seeemed the much more intriguing story. "No longer needs them?" What, exactly, does that mean? These telescopes were designated for military earth surveillance. If they are both no longer needed... does this mean the NRO (and perhaps even the NSA) have developed significantly more advanced surveillance capabilities that these offer? Or is the NRO abandoning such surveillance? Or are military budgets kicking these scopes to the curb?
Anybody out there have a notion on why NRO would drop two extremely high end telescopes... in favor of what?
So when the US National Reconnaisance Office "gifted" two large surveillance telescopes to NASA to use in research, I was immediately intrigued. The news stories seem to focus on how fortunate NASA will be to get not one, but two of them. These space telescopes are touted at being better and more sophisticated than the Hubble telescope. The small print in the articles said something like: "since the NRO no longer needs them, they are presenting them to NASA."
That seeemed the much more intriguing story. "No longer needs them?" What, exactly, does that mean? These telescopes were designated for military earth surveillance. If they are both no longer needed... does this mean the NRO (and perhaps even the NSA) have developed significantly more advanced surveillance capabilities that these offer? Or is the NRO abandoning such surveillance? Or are military budgets kicking these scopes to the curb?
Anybody out there have a notion on why NRO would drop two extremely high end telescopes... in favor of what?