From: skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu To: skunk-works-digest@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V4 #67 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Friday, 19 November 1993 Volume 04 : Number 067 In this issue: Re: Groom Lake photos Re: Groom Lake photos Re: Groom Lake photos Satellite Imagery GroomLake.jpg Groom Lake map To: skunk-works@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the skunk-works or skunk-works-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: rakoczynskij@postoffice.agcs.com (Jurek Rakoczynski) Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1993 10:51:24 -0700 (MST) Subject: Re: Groom Lake photos I don't recall if someone mentioned the available resolution of the SPOT photos, but if I recall correctly, the Scientific American article from ~3-4 years ago that discussed optical spying from space stated that the maximum optical resolution from SPOT was ~5 meters. KELLEHER@hobbes.consilium.com writes: > > Photo enlargement quality will depend on the imagery source. Film original > is generally much more detailed and is best enlarged using conventional photo > enlargement processes. Digitally relayed information normally lacks some of > the detail, but is subject to better enhancement techniques. You'll have to > determine which format you will want from the provider. (9"x9" is pretty > standard photo negative size.) SPOT uses only(?) CCD cameras. What's available from the FUSSR is a guess. I wonder if you might be able to get the electronic data file instead of a print? ...or a high resolution JPEG/etc. file. (Hmm... can I ftp from there? :-) ) There's some nice image processing filters available. - -- Jurek Rakoczynski, AG Communication Systems, POB 52179, Phoenix, AZ. 85072-2179 Inet: rakoczynskij@agcs.com Voice: +1 602 581 4867 Inet: JUREK.RAKOCZYNSKI@gte.sprint.com Fax: +1 602 581 4022 ------------------------------ From: larry@ichips.intel.com Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1993 10:31:58 -0800 Subject: Re: Groom Lake photos John Kelleher writes: > Those of you who are ready to toss in on the photo opportunity, don't >forget some of the problems you might encounter. The picture that we're interested in is known. Anyone who wants to see it, buy or borrow an instruction sheet from the latest Testors SR-75 Penetrator model. The picture was taken 7/17/88 by a Russian KFA-1000 satellite. Image coloring is skewed to the infrared side of the spectrum, the image in the instruction sheet is B+W so it doesn't reproduce real well on the instruction sheet, compared to the color original, but you can see the nature of what you're getting. The same image was also shown on the CBS Aurora coverage last week, if I recall correctly. So it's possible to get a monitor version right now with a frame grabber or a PC TV card, but these resolutions are limited. > Whenever a particular target >is fragged or photo request is otherwise entered, there are several parameters >you have to incorporate. ... Thanks for the interesting information. > As for who is handling the XSSR recce photos, it used to be an arm of >Glavkosmos. I'll try to check my records for the precise office. Please do. >SPOT uses only(?) CCD cameras. What's available from the FUSSR is a >guess. I wonder if you might be able to get the electronic data file >instead of a print? ...or a high resolution JPEG/etc. file. (Hmm... >can I ftp from there? :-) ) There's some nice image processing >filters available. I'll ask. Larry ------------------------------ From: freeman@MasPar.COM (Jay R. Freeman) Date: Thu, 18 Nov 93 11:54:54 -0800 Subject: Re: Groom Lake photos It follows from elementary physical optics that the resolution obtainable from a 2-meter telescope in low Earth orbit (I used 200 Km for calculation) is on the order of a few centimeters in the near ("sunburn") ultraviolet. Based on my experience as an amateur astronomer, I suspect that one could actually do this well at least some of the time, the likely real limiting factor being atmospheric turbulence ("seeing"). Interferometry or certain kinds of image analysis might allow detection of certain kinds of detail at even finer resolution. Incidentally, I'm not asserting that SPOT or whatever used a 2-meter aperture; I picked that number because launch-vehicle payload-shroud sizes and shuttle-bay diameters suggest that it's a reasonable number for the upper range of current US equipment. -- Jay Freeman ------------------------------ From: tayler_k@med.wcc.govt.nz Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1993 09:14:07 EST Subject: Satellite Imagery I N T E R O F F I C E M E M O R A N D U M Date: 19-Nov-1993 09:05am NZT From: Keith Tayler TAYLER_K Dept: Corporate Services Tel No: 64-4-801 4077 TO: Remote Addressee ( _skunk-works-digest@ecn.purdue.edu ) Subject: Satellite Imagery Satellite Imagery You can contact the U.S. Agent for Russian imagery: SPOT Image Corp. 1897 Preston White Drive, Reston, VA @2091 Source: "Area 51" Viewers Guide by Glenn Campbell ------------------------------ From: tslage78@Calvin.EDU (Thomas Slager) Date: Thu, 18 Nov 93 15:41:08 EST Subject: GroomLake.jpg I took a look at the jpg of Groom that is in the pic directory at harbor. Using xv I was able to do a little zooming in of the image. What are the small white things in the foreground? My friend and I thought they looked like the lights you see for planes to line up on the runway. Also, has anybody taken a look at that little building on the mountain? - -- I seem to be lying in a dark hole. | Tom Slager jr. What does that remind me of? | tslage78@ursa.calvin.edu Ah yes, life. --Marvin | 'Ees just zis guy, You know? ------------------------------ From: Rich Thomson Date: Thu, 18 Nov 93 13:55:06 MST Subject: Groom Lake map The skunk works archvies contain a scanned map of the Groom Lake area. This has White Sides mountain marked on it as well as other features. If you haven't been able to find Groom Lake on your maps, I suggest looking at this image first. -- Rich - -- Between stimulus and response is the will to choose. ------------------------------------------------------------------ IRC: _Rich_ Rich Thomson Internet: rthomson@dsd.es.com Fractal Freak ------------------------------ From: s925609@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU ([ Firefox ]) Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1993 09:50:54 +1100 (EDT) Subject: To: skunk-works@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu unsubscribe skunk-works ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V4 #67 ******************************** To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "listserv@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-skunk-works": subscribe skunk-works-digest local-skunk-works@your.domain.net To unsubscribe, send mail to the same address, with the command: unsubscribe skunk-works-digest in the body. Administrative requests, problems, and other non-list mail can be sent to either "skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu" or, if you don't like to type a lot, "prm@ecn.purdue.edu". A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "skunk-works-digest" in the commands above with "skunk-works". Back issues are available for anonymous FTP from harbor.ecn.purdue.edu, in /pub/skunk-works/digest/vNN.nMMM (where "NN" is the volume number, and "MMM" is the issue number).