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Russian Company Strives to Commercialize Spy Satellite Technology
By Anatoly Zak
Staff Writer
posted: 03:51 pm ET
27 September 1999
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russian_spy_990927Ikonos II may be the world's first spy-quality Earth imaging satellite owned by a private corporation, but it's unlikely to be the last. In fact, even the Russians are getting into the act. Russian company NPO Mashinostroeniya is developing a commercial radar-imaging satellite derived from the Cold War-era military technology, according to sources in Moscow. Unlike Ikonos, which uses an optical telescope to produce high resolution photos of the Earth's surface using visible light, NPO Mashinostroeniya's satellites will use radar-imaging antennas, which are equally effective day and night, and can penetrate cloud cover, sand and foliage. Space-based radar technology has been used by both the US and Russian military for years, but its civilian applications have been somewhat limited. In 1978, NASA used a radio locator installed on the Seasat research satellite to create a global picture of the oceans' bottom. Powerful radar antennas have also flown short missions on board the Space Shuttle and at least one more flight is planned during the next few months. In Russia, NPO Mashinostroeniya pioneered the development of military spacecraft equipped with radar-imaging antennas. As the Soviet Union collapsed, the company tried unsuccessfully to adapt its giant 20-ton radar spacecraft called Almaz (Russian for diamond) for commercial use. These days, NPO Mashinostroeniya is marketing a more modest project -- a small space-based platform capable of carrying a radar antenna. The instrument would capture unobstructed views of Earth's surface with a 2 to 15 meter resolution -- close to, but not quite as precise as, Ikonos' 1-meter resolution imaging system. NPO Mashinostroeniya, which is struggling to make ends meet, designed the spacecraft (code-named Condor) as a commercial venture, and hopes to market radar-generated images around the world. The company plans to launch the instrument on an 800-kg satellite into 800-km polar orbit, which would allow global coverage of the Earth's surface. According to a spokesman from NPO Mashinostroeniya, the company envisions Condor as a part of a commercial system including Ikonos-type spacecraft. He hinted that the company was in touch with Lockheed Martin, the developer of Ikonos, about a possible joint venture.
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