um about those satellites

With technology available to go to Mars and to see the earth from a distance, why aren't satellites used to fight crime like abductions? I've heard that a satellite can zoom into a car license plate, why isn't it used for something that actually has more purpose like zooming into the car plate that just abducted a child?

Wouldn't this technology benefit mankind more if it were used to help fight crime? They say we are being spied on in other ways, why not from above the ground?

With technology available to go to Mars and to see the earth from a distance, why aren't satellites used to fight crime like abductions? I've heard that a satellite can zoom into a car license plate, why isn't it used for something that actually has more purpose like zooming into the car plate that just abducted a child?

Wouldn't this technology benefit mankind more if it were used to help fight crime? They say we are being spied on in other ways, why not from above the ground?

Assuming a properly-equipped satellite was in the right location at the right time, they'd still have to know which car to zoom in on. If they knew that, they wouldn't need the satellite to do it.

Quote from: charm on February 25, 2016, 01:43:16 PM

With technology available to go to Mars and to see the earth from a distance, why aren't satellites used to fight crime like abductions? I've heard that a satellite can zoom into a car license plate, why isn't it used for something that actually has more purpose like zooming into the car plate that just abducted a child?

Wouldn't this technology benefit mankind more if it were used to help fight crime? They say we are being spied on in other ways, why not from above the ground?

Assuming a properly-equipped satellite was in the right location at the right time, they'd still have to know which car to zoom in on. If they knew that, they wouldn't need the satellite to do it.

If a satellite is 50 miles (or whatever) above ground and can zoom into the area the child was last seen. It would need to constantly record but I don't see why it isn't possible.

Quote from: Alpha2Omega on February 25, 2016, 02:03:05 PM

Quote from: charm on February 25, 2016, 01:43:16 PM

With technology available to go to Mars and to see the earth from a distance, why aren't satellites used to fight crime like abductions? I've heard that a satellite can zoom into a car license plate, why isn't it used for something that actually has more purpose like zooming into the car plate that just abducted a child?

Wouldn't this technology benefit mankind more if it were used to help fight crime? They say we are being spied on in other ways, why not from above the ground?

Assuming a properly-equipped satellite was in the right location at the right time, they'd still have to know which car to zoom in on. If they knew that, they wouldn't need the satellite to do it.

If a satellite is 50 miles (or whatever) above ground and can zoom into the area the child was last seen. It would need to constantly record but I don't see why it isn't possible.

http://www.marefa.org/images/thumb/2/2a/Satellite_image_of_Lebanon_in_March_2002.jpg/300px-Satellite_image_of_Lebanon_in_March_2002.jpg

There are a few reasons.

If the area covered is very large, you won't be able to resolve detail as small as car tags. If the image is zoomed in enough to resolve a car tag, it doesn't show much area. How many license plates can you read in the sample image you posted?

You're not going to have satellites that orbit 50 miles above ground. The atmosphere is sufficiently thick at that height that the orbit would immediately decay. LEO (Low-Earth Orbit) satellites are 100 or more miles up, and even then, lower orbits in that range don't last very long. The ISS is in an orbit about 250 miles up, and it has to be re-boosted periodically to compensate for atmospheric drag.

Satellites can't hover over a single area except in the case of geostationary satellites which are 22,000 miles directly over the equator. This is too far away to resolve surface details the size of the lettering on license plates. Satellites that are in low-enough orbits to see such small details move quickly enough to circle the entire Earth in less than two hours.

Sorry.

There are a few reasons.

If the area covered is very large, you won't be able to resolve detail as small as car tags. If the image is zoomed in enough to resolve a car tag, it doesn't show much area. How many license plates can you read in the sample image you posted?

You're not going to have satellites that orbit 50 miles above ground. The atmosphere is sufficiently thick at that height that the orbit would immediately decay. LEO (Low-Earth Orbit) satellites are 100 or more miles up, and even then, lower orbits in that range don't last very long. The ISS is in an orbit about 250 miles up, and it has to be re-boosted periodically to compensate for atmospheric drag.

Satellites can't hover over a single area except in the case of geostationary satellites which are 22,000 miles directly over the equator. This is too far away to resolve surface details the size of the lettering on license plates. Satellites that are in low-enough orbits to see such small details move quickly enough to circle the entire Earth in less than two hours.

Sorry.

Thanks, still too bad they don't have the technology for something like this. Clouds would probably interfere too.

Quote from: Alpha2Omega on February 25, 2016, 02:47:10 PM

There are a few reasons.

If the area covered is very large, you won't be able to resolve detail as small as car tags. If the image is zoomed in enough to resolve a car tag, it doesn't show much area. How many license plates can you read in the sample image you posted?

You're not going to have satellites that orbit 50 miles above ground. The atmosphere is sufficiently thick at that height that the orbit would immediately decay. LEO (Low-Earth Orbit) satellites are 100 or more miles up, and even then, lower orbits in that range don't last very long. The ISS is in an orbit about 250 miles up, and it has to be re-boosted periodically to compensate for atmospheric drag.

Satellites can't hover over a single area except in the case of geostationary satellites which are 22,000 miles directly over the equator. This is too far away to resolve surface details the size of the lettering on license plates. Satellites that are in low-enough orbits to see such small details move quickly enough to circle the entire Earth in less than two hours.

Sorry.

Thanks, still too bad they don't have the technology for something like this. Clouds would probably interfere too.

They already have CCTV cameras pretty much everywhere,  Six million of them in the UK alone.  better angles for getting number plates,  the spy satellites are probably busy elsewhere.

Every big city in the world,  has thousands of CCTV cameras and traffic cameras.