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2003-09-27 Africa: Central

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Posted by Frank G 2003-09-27 3:06:15 PM|| || Front Page|| [6 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Actually, we do much the same. Most of the pipelines in the US are patrolled either in small planes or from satellites. Satellites can also keep track of the health of cropland, the density and quality of forests, the amount of debris washing into rivers, and literally thousands of other things. What's most important, all this can be done by a handful of people. We were doing crop estimates in the old Soviet Union in the 70's that were within 1% of actual production. New imaging systems can provide reams of information from a handful of images taken over succeeding days.

I'm not sure Nigeria has the expertise to do that caliber of information extraction, but if they do, it could be a gold mine for them.

Not to mention that you can also watch your neighbors at the same time - which may be the real reason Nigeria launched this satellite.

Posted by Old Patriot 2003-9-27 4:11:14 PM|| [http://users.codenet.net/mweather/default.htm] 2003-9-27 4:11:14 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 Wouldn't it of just been cheaper to buy time on a commercial bird. Of course IIRCC the launch site is the one the Russians use for polar orbits so maybe the Nigerians are thinking of getting into the Rent-a-Spysat business. Who built it for them

Posted by Cheddarhead 2003-9-27 4:56:32 PM|| 2003-9-27 4:56:32 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 OP - I was questioning their priorities first. The practices you noted for satellites are good, and considering that we get quite a bit of black gold from them, I'm sure we could've tasked sats as needed for the Agri/erosion/etc. uses if asked, along with analysis. The CIA watches all these conflicts, and could provide intel, especially on pipeline watch, good points in your post...but, what next? Somalian astronauts?

Posted by Frank G 2003-9-27 5:01:16 PM|| 2003-9-27 5:01:16 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Frank, re-read the last part of my post. Can you say, "Al Qaeda Spy Satellite"? I knew you could! Nigeria has the oil money, but have a problem with an over-zealous Islamic minority in the north. They may be trying to find a way to put some pressure there to ease the problems they're having. Nigeria's a good place to pull this kind of deal - they're still in the Commonwealth, they have gobs of oil money (that sadly disappears into bottomless pits somewhere, and does nothing for their people), they have good connections with both Islamic and non-Islamic nations, and they're not on any terror-alert board.

That doesn't mean it can't be for purely speculative reasons, or for actually doing what they've announced. There are places in Nigeria where roads CAN'T BE BUILT - at least, none that will last more than a year or two.

There's also the possibility they're fronts for other interests, looking for the next mother load, in Chad, Somalia, Sudan, Congo, or wherever. You can get a LOT of data from a satellite, and it doesn't have to be just from your nation. Consider how much better we manage Alaskan resources, thanks to satellites! Not much movement during at least six months of the year up there!

Try to remember that we've been imaging the Earth since at least the mid-1960's. The systems have gotten better and better. LandSat has resolution of a meter or less - more than enough to meet most non-military needs. SPOT, the French satellite, does equally well, if not better. The Russians have begun selling their imagery on the open market, for whatever it will bring. The US has declassified thousands of images, and they're available. Not much of this world's surface that hasn't been covered - I know, I've seen a large percentage of it!

I'd say the reason Nigeria wants its own satellite is because that way, no one can control - or even know - what they take pictures of, or how they use the imagery. Whether that's good or bad, I leave up to you.

Posted by Old Patriot 2003-9-27 5:24:06 PM|| [http://users.codenet.net/mweather/default.htm] 2003-9-27 5:24:06 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Some friends of mine just moved to Nigeria from Texas. Check out www.anthisfamily.com, especially the link to their blog for some first hand accounts of how "interesting" life is there.

Posted by lkl 2003-9-27 5:27:42 PM|| 2003-9-27 5:27:42 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 How in the hell can a diesel operate in outer space?

Posted by Shipman 2003-9-27 6:13:45 PM|| 2003-9-27 6:13:45 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 It's kind of funny, they make a big deal about 'ooo we're in space now!' Yet the British built the satellite and Russia put it in orbit. Yeah, great technological leap for Nigeria, they learned how to wire money.

Posted by Swiggles 2003-9-27 9:37:13 PM|| 2003-9-27 9:37:13 PM|| Front Page Top

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