
NovaSAR: UK radar satellite to track illegal shipping activity - happy-go-lucky
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45523677
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helb
If you are interested in more details than BBC's article has:

\- some more detailed specs:
[https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-
missio...](https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-
missions/n/novasar-s)

\- launch report & video:
[https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/09/16/pslv-c42-mission-
statu...](https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/09/16/pslv-c42-mission-status-
center/)

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alex_hitchins
I wonder what the 'refresh-rate' is of a scan, as in how many times a
second/minute/hour is the image refreshed. I doubt such a wide area could be
real-time. Guessing it's enough that it's possible to track and locate rogue
ships.

~~~
thebooktocome
[https://www.sandia.gov/radar/video/index.html](https://www.sandia.gov/radar/video/index.html)

These videos are pretty old, IIRC.

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TwoQ
For once, news about the UK Government tracking things that DOESN'T look like
1984.

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jstanley
What's the problem with "illegal shipping" anyway? Surely it's not worth
launching a satellite just to stop the odd customs-evader?

What is this really for?

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mmjaa
To establish precedent for the UK policing the worlds oceans - a goal its had
on its roster for centuries now.

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gadders
Well, they did use it to stop slavery...

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mmjaa
.. and as well, exercise an iron grip over the third worlds' economy ..

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aerostable_slug
Many of you may remember past radar ocean surveillance satellites, perhaps
most notably the Soviet US-A series of RORSATs:

[http://www.astronautix.com/u/us-a.html](http://www.astronautix.com/u/us-a.html)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US-A](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US-A)

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dzhiurgis
FWIW Iridium already does the same thing on a global scale. Includes AIS and
ADS-B tracking (tho both can be switched off easily).

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danielvf
That’s not really the same thing at all - listening for a deliberate
transmission from a ship announcing its location is easy, required only an
antenna, and can be done from a cubesat.

This is an active radar in space.

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huffmsa
Why is it that basically every story coming out of the UK makes Orwell look
more and more like a prophet?

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pjc50
Maritime law enforcement is a rather traditional role of the Royal Navy and
hardly Orwellian. The radar-based satellite is arguably less worrying than the
traditional US military spy satellites.

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mmjaa
I don't remember voting for the UK to police my countries sovereign waters.

Fact is, the UK has no real place in the world if it isn't policing things
such as the worlds oceans, or its finances. This is a role it has granted
itself, un-democratically - one may even say, Imperiously...

~~~
sgt101
>Imperiously

We've even built a death star!
[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/12169051/Massive-
Dea...](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/12169051/Massive-Death-Star-
model-revealed-for-Legoland-Windsor.html)

No, really,

