🚀 go-pugleaf

I may be off-base on this observation (and I'm sure I will find out if I am),
but I seem to recall that one of the reasons for leaving ambiguity in the
launch time of a classified mission was to prevent the Soviets from being able
to maneuver any surveillance satellites into position to be able to observe
the *deployment* of the payload.  If the exact time of the mission is
announced too far ahead of time, they could perform the orbit calculations and
move a satillite into position.  A four hour ambiguity combined with the
complexity of the calculations and the time it would take to modify the orbits
of their spy satellites provides reasonable assurance that details of the
deployment will be unobserved.

However, if the satillite remains in low-earth orbit, they could observe  it
at any time in the future..so it is unclear what the ambiguity gets them in
that case.

Does anyone know whether the equipment on spy satellites (either low orbit or
geosynch) has sufficient focus range to be able to shoot pictures of other
satellites?  one can only assume that this would be a desireable capability.


Ken Hoyme                    Honeywell Systems and Research Center
(612)782-7354                3660 Technology Dr., Minneapolis, MN 55418
Internet: hoyme@src.honeywell.com