There is renewed concern in some quarters about the easy availability of  high-resolution satellite photography. Although these concerns have existed for quite some time, with the recent launching of a new satellite partially sponsored by Google and a similar launch on the horizon in 2009, the issue is ramping up again along with the quality of the images.

The launch of GeoEye-1 last month, as noted in a column here, ushered in a new era of commercial imaging quality. Part of the yield from GeoEye-1 will be going to Google, for use in Google Earth application. Much of it will be going to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Google cannot publish the highest quality images in Google Earth, which are reserved for use by the government agency. A similar launch is planned for mid-2009. It is not generally known how the new images compare with those taken by government and military satellites.

There are hundreds of commercial uses for satellite imagery. They can be used for applications as mundane as finding new decks or pools built without a permit, or for uses as important as calculating the damage from natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes. If nothing else, Internet users seem to have a penchant for looking at their own houses from the air or surfing through both local and exotic locations via applications like Google Earth.

But, as an article in USA Today points out today, there are more sinister uses for satellite imagery. As an example, in 2006, the Islamic Army in Iraq posted instructions for using Google Earth as a targeting tool for rockets on a jihadist Web site. And, of course, many nations use such imagery to locate and estimate the military assets of their enemies.

Like many other technologies, this one can be used for both good and evil. Worse, much of the “evil” end of the spectrum depends greatly on which side you are on. Like most technologies, this one is proving hard to hold back. Despite safeguards, there is always room to use satellite imagery for military and other possibly damaging purposes. The imaging tools are there, and are not going away. We just need to learn to use them wisely and safely.

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Entry was posted on Sunday, November 9th, 2008 at 4:01 pm under Google, Science and technology, Security.  Print This Post

Read more entries by Michael W. Jones.
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