For decades, privacy experts have been wary of snooping from space. They feared satellites powerful enough to zoom in on individuals, capturing close-ups that might differentiate adults from children or suited sunbathers from those in a state of nature.
Satellite startup Albedo aims to provide commercial orbital imagery so detailed that the military kept its own version under wraps — until it was leaked a few years ago by Donald Trump. In 2019, then-President Trump tweeted a detailed image of a heavily damaged Iranian launch pad captured by a classified military satellite. The image, which was declassified in 2022, revealed what many in the commercial Earth observation industry suspected: that U.S. defense had the ability to capture images at a staggeringly sharp 10-centimeter resolution.
Albedo selects Aerospacelab products for its very-low Earth Observation (VLEO) satellite directionsmag.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from directionsmag.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Under a new grant, the company will demonstrate to the Air Force's National Air and Space Intelligence Center its ability to take very high resolution images at night using a thermal infrared sensor.