Indian Rocket Launches Israeli-Built Spy Satellite

India launched a closely-guarded Israeli-built radar spy satellite today to begin gathering valuable intelligence data from a 342-mile-high perch above the planet, regardless of lighting and weather conditions. More on this story at http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0904/20pslv/

And from Jonathan's Space Report at http://planet4589.org/space/jsr/latest.html

India's PSLV-C12 launch put the RISAT-2 satellite in orbit on Apr 20. RISAT-2 is a Tecsar-class radar imaging satellite that India bought from Israel to make up for delays in the Indian-built RISAT-1.

The PSLV took off at 0115 UTC from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on Sriharikota Island north of Chennai, and the first three stages placed the PS4 fourth stage with its payloads on a suborbital trajectory of about -1000 x 560 km x 20 deg. After a few minutes coast, the package reached apogee at 0130 UTC over the equator at 116 deg E, and the PS4 yawed to burn the vehicle into a 455 x 557 km x 41.1 deg orbit. The third stage reentered over the ocean east of Australia at around 0146 UTC.

RISAT-1 separated from the PS4 at 0132 UTC, and two minutes later Anusat, a small 40 kg imaging satellite from Anna University in Chennai, was also ejected from the stage.

US Planning Next Generation of Spy Satellites

Anne Flaherty and the Associated Press are reporting that after a very expensive flop, the US Government has initiated a new effort to upgrade its spy satellite fleet that will cost the American taxpayer more than $2 billion.

The U.S. is pursuing the new multibillion-dollar program to develop the next generation of spy satellites, the first major effort of its kind after the Defense Department canceled an ambitious and costly effort known as the Future Imagery Architecture two years ago, The Associated Press has learned.

The system, called "BASIC," would be launched by 2011 and is expected to cost between $2 billion and $4 billion, according to U.S. officials familiar with the program. They discussed details on condition of anonymity because the information is classified. You can read the rest of the story at this URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22046019/

I have a related story and commentary at
http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/2007/11/death-of-spy-satellite-program.html

Death of Spy Satellite Program

Truthout has reprinted a New York Times piece by Philip Taubman on the death of a US spy satellite program at http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111207P.shtml. How to spend $5 billion of taxpayer money and get absolutely nothing.

I have said this publicly before - the fact that they wrap these black space programs in secrecy to hide them from our enemies is a joke. So you Cold War warriors in DC think that the Russians, Chinese, North Koreans, etc, don't know or have any details on all these orbiting systems?

Hell, they know more than the US taxpayer.

Let's get to the real truth here. The government is, in fact, really hiding how much money they have spent and wasted on these black sat programs. And who is responsible for oversight on these programs- Congress. That is like asking a weasel to guard the hen house.

I bestow a "Golden Fleece" award on the NRO, Boeing and to the idiots in Congress who serve in the intelligence committees. It is time to fire the whole bunch and clean house (let's get that weasel off guard duty).