Hey gang, Trace here for DNews! There was a time when satellite imagery was conspiracy

talk, only available to high-level government officials, or, like, spies. But thanks to

Google Maps and Apple Maps, and Bing Maps, and Mapquest and the dozens of others out

there we can see satellite images every day! For FREE!

Though we just use them to find the nearest thai restaurant… the process of getting

them into your phone is INVOLVED, man. The first reconnaissance, or spy satellites were

the Corona satellites launched in the 1960s. They had film cameras on board, and to get

that film back to earth, they ejected it with a parachute and had to go pick it up! The

Air Force would try and snag it out of the air, or the Navy would sail over once it hit

the ocean.

These early experiments taught us how to take pictures from a moving satellite of a moving

planet while 100 miles up. For example, the lenses on the Corona satellites rotated constantly

to keep the shot steady. They even tried angling two cameras to capture a stereo image! Spy

satellites were so good at grabbing images without letting the spyees know what was up,

the United States and other nations continue to use them!

But when Google acquired satellite imaging company Keyhole in 2004, they changed the

whole game. Now anyone could look down on the planet and make comments. They still blur

sensitive areas, as required by world governments, but mostly the images we're seeing are WAY

better than the ones we used in the 60s to determine how to avoid World War Three.

Today, the actual satellite images are taken by companies like TeleAtlas, DigitalGlobe,

EarthSat, Skybox, and others. They're then sold or licensed to governments and companies

for geology, mapping, urban planning, shipment tracking… the applications are endless.

This is why some of the images on satellite maps are lower resolution than others. Each

company is working with different equipment and regulations keep the companies from scanning

faces, backyards or license plates.

A few months ago, regulators loosened restrictions on U.S.-based DigitalGlobe. So last week,

they launched the WorldView-3 satellite, their highest resolution sat ever. Which means,

in a few weeks, maps could see images with a resolution as high as 25 centimeters! Basically,

they'll be able to see a piece of paper, but not read it. They WANT to launch sats with

10 cm resolution, about the size of your phone screen. Google says the data on their maps

are updated as often as possible, so though they're not LIVE, some images are as new as

two weeks old, and none are older than three years. Which means this new, high-res 25 centimeter

imagery might be appearing soon. Each mapping company is in charge of stitching the images

into one, giant map, adding the locations of interest and keeping it regular.

But speaking of real time data; that stuff is notoriously locked up. Remember, the satellites

are moving, the planet's moving… viewers of live images can only see what the satellite

is looking at during any particular moment, and moving a sat to look at your ex's driveway

isn't really practical. But a NASA program called EarthKAM is letting students get access

to real time space cameras -- not via spy sats, but via a camera right on the international

space station!

Schools around the world are signing up students by the thousands to explore our planet using

live images, because there's just something about seeing this information in real time,

amirite? Students of the Sally Ride EarthKAM program can directly control the camera, taking

pictures of the Earth and analyzing human geography, geology, ecology, and global change!

They even learn about space operations and do flight control simulations! Sign me up!

How do you feel about satellites getting more accurate images? Freaked out? Excited?

Go on, let loose in the comments and be sure you subscribe for more DNews, seven days a

week. And as long as you're in a clicking mood, click here or on the link in the description

to RSVP for our next SpaceOut on August 27th at 4pm Pacific! Each month, Ian O'Neill and

I get together and hangout with experts from NASA/JPL to talk space. This month, it's about

Europa! Planned robotic missions, possibilities of alien life, and cutting through ice millions

of miles away! It's going to be awesome. RSVP now, so you don't get lost on the way. Thanks

for watching!