Spy satellites can penetrate clouds to take "crystal-clear" photos
Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, December 22 (Reporter Feng Weidong) According to the British "Daily Mail", a new satellite orbiting the earth can use radar to produce high-resolution images anywhere on the earth, regardless of whether it is cloudy or sunny. It is powerful enough to penetrate the walls of buildings.
The spy satellite named "Kepera-2" designed by Kepela Space Company uses the synthetic aperture radar technology that NASA has been using since the 1970s, regardless of air visibility, Cloud cover or any time of the day, it can observe the earth.
Synthetic Aperture Radar will emit a powerful radio signal to "illuminate" a point of interest, and collect the reflected pulse echo data, analyze it to create a detailed image.
The Kepera-2 satellite has an imaging capability with a resolution of 50 cm × 50 cm. Its latest "spotlight" mode can carry out a long-term exposure of up to 60 seconds in the area of interest to obtain "crystal clear" image.
50 cm x 50 cm is the highest synthetic aperture radar imaging resolution currently available on the commercial market allowed by US regulations.
Because of its so powerful function, people questioned that the satellite could be used to image people in buildings.
However, Kepela insists that the technology cannot be used to monitor people in buildings. Although radar waves can penetrate walls, it cannot image anything indoors.
In the photo of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan taken by the Kepela-2 satellite, the image of the skyscraper looks transparent. This hollow effect is caused by "image distortion makes the building appear ghostly."
According to Kepela, what looks like a black-and-white optical satellite image is actually a visual expression of radar data (radio wave reflections on the surface of the earth and man-made objects).
Ordinary commercial satellite cameras cannot penetrate clouds or capture fine target images at night, but Kepela-2 satellites using synthetic aperture radar technology can capture images without being affected by weather or lighting conditions.
Kepela said it is working to create a satellite cluster of 36 devices that can be combined to monitor any part of the world around the clock.
Kepela has currently signed contracts with the National Reconnaissance Agency and the US Air Force.