got geoint?

We all know that launching and managing spy satellites is a major and challenging endeavor. Do you recall NRO Director Bruce Carlson discussing this at GEOINT 2009? Well, there seems to be a new breed of satellite technology that aims to provide the warfighter with instant real-time images of what awaits them at the other side of the ridge. Kestrel Eye, a system of multiple lightweight, low-cost imaging satellites that can be repositioned from the field, aims to be a soldier’s little eye in the sky that beams down some real time images of the surrounding landscape.

Kestrel Eye will be a network of 30 small satellites beaming images directly to troops on the ground to order. A mobile, backpack-ready ground receiver can link up with the satellites in real time, downloading two pictures a second covering five square miles in each shot. Those photos will then be stored on a central server so others operating in the area can take a look. Read more here.

So, is this the next generation of GEOINT? It certainly seems that Kestrel Eye is going to address one of the biggest GEOINT challenges: getting real time imagery and data to the warfighters precisely when they need it. What do you all think of this?

Tags: Bruce Carlson, DIY Spy satellite, GEOINT, geospatial intelligence, Kestrel Eye, Kestrel Eye Spy Satellite, NRO, USGIF, war, warfighter