France Puts a Spy Satellite in Space
December 20th, 2004 Leave a comment Visited 266 times, 1 so far today
France Puts a Spy Satellite in Space
France enhanced their arsenal for their internal security when they launched a surveillance satellite from a launch pad in French Guyana. This would give them new capabilities in spying over suspicious territories. It took an hour for the rocket to place the satellite and related equipment in the orbit over the earth. They have named it Helios 2A and it is supposed to rotate in sun-synchronous orbit. The altitude for the satellite is around 430 miles above the planet.
France would now gain better facilities to monitor possible weapons proliferation locations which can be a possible threat. And their military can now use it to digitally map terrain for cruise-missile guidance. They also would now be able to make better military plans by continuously monitoring enemy locations.
The satellite is powerful enough to spot on extremely small objects anywhere on the earth. For night times, they would have the option to use infra-red technology to monitor the targeted areas. This is the third reported launch from France related to spying purposes. While Helios 1A, launched in 1995 is still working fine… Helios 1B had power problems and got destroyed 2 months back. It was launched in 1999.
|
TechWhack on Facebook
|
December 20th, 2004 at 4:14 am
These satellites cost billions of dollars to put into space. It is difficult not to ask oneself how that money could have otherwise been put to use; feeding the starving, aiding the sick, educating the unfortunate…
December 20th, 2004 at 4:24 am
I KNOW why they did it! that way the french can use their brand new spy satellite to see where the trouble is… and sttay away from it!
December 20th, 2004 at 4:26 am
yeah…everyone knows france is that big military power (Keep ww1 and 2 in mind),…and now w/ this in the sky it strikes fear into everyone.
December 20th, 2004 at 4:33 am
Aside from from feeding the hungry, educate the uneducated, and giving aid to the unhealthy; the french could have just bought a pair of testicles for themselves with all that money that they used on the satellite.
December 20th, 2004 at 4:39 am
Bridges…Spy satellites…what next?Let the world unite!Against the French.
December 20th, 2004 at 4:41 am
We’ll soon see: For sale, spy satallite only used once. Previous owners too afraid of seeing the truth, prefer their own wool obscured view of the world.
December 20th, 2004 at 4:48 am
This puts an end to the strongly held belief that that French don’t know which end is up. At least they fired it in the right direction.
December 20th, 2004 at 4:48 am
Let the French do their thing…they are trying to keep up with the so called “super power(s)”.
December 20th, 2004 at 4:53 am
bacon is tasty.
December 20th, 2004 at 4:59 am
I noticed a lot of sarcastic comments about France and their new spy capability. I think we need to remember something…they have many nuclear warheads, many missles capable of delivering them, anywhere in the world, and now…the means to monitor exactly where to place them in real time. This is not the France with all the white flags in WWII…they now have the capacity to wipe out all our major cities in one sweep, in less than 15 minutes. When they were our friends, I wasnt worried.
December 20th, 2004 at 5:06 am
All the comments listed so far are babbling rhetoric from uneducated propaghanda accepting dumbasses. With one caveat, which is the first comment. All of Europe has had to deal with terrorism for decades, and America finally has a taste of it and it goes ape shit and attacks Afganistan after we put the taliban in place, and then attacks Iraq for some old vedetta. If we really wanted to fight terrorism we would have gone to Iran or North Korea. Americans are dying for no reason! The French, the Germans and most of the rest of the world agree that terrorism is horrible, but one must combat the problem correctly or else you are making the problem worse, (see note that most of the casulaties are after major combat operations were over, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!). SO why don’t you guys get a clue and read your news or watch from someone esle besides FOX, Try the economist, or even the NYC times, or even the house and congess that say this wasn’t such a hot idea. Or even president Bush himself has said that things are going bad. And as for the first comment, these are valid points, but satellites have numerous other purposes that can benifit the populous, so I do feel it is a valid use of resources. So before we go tirading on other people , take a good fuc@$% hard look at yourselves.
December 20th, 2004 at 5:16 am
Have you all gotten out of your mind? The French are our friends. You (and I) were wrong on Iraq, now get over it. The French (who had enough balls to actually free us from the British) tried to tell us what a bad idea it was to attack Iraq. And btw, Arian rockets are much more successful than many projects with NASA.
How about feeding the poor with all the money that the unecessary Iraq war costs every month?
December 20th, 2004 at 5:19 am
Hurray for France!! They cost billions of dollars and no one is complaining the United States has how many? Russia and the US have about 2000 nuclear war heads… France… like 500. Someone needs to keep the United States in check.
France was the first country to accept America as a country. They were the first to formally recognize us Americans. This was way back when America was a terrorist nation. A renagade bunch of people who over through their government.
December 20th, 2004 at 5:19 am
Way to go guys! Way to keep up with pop culture and bash the French! How can you possibly criticize the French for spending money to help monitor weapons proliferation (weapons that could end up being used in the US) when our own government has wasted billions and billions of dollars on a useless war in Iraq. Don’t you agree that that money would be better spent here on education, the sick, etc? And yes, the US has some major balls for bombing the living hell out of everything before heading. Civilians (the people we’re supposedly liberating) be damned!
And another thing, I think it took a big pair of balls to tell the US to go screw themselves when they were trying to round up country’s for the coalition of the “willing”. More the like the coalition of the coerced. Bribed with free-trade agreements, money, intimidation, and pussy nations looking to be in good grace with the US. Nice. Did you know that French forces are doing some real work in Afghanistan? They are there going after the real enemy, which is Bin Laden in case of forgot. Not little fantasy adventures in what might as well be Belgium it’s so pointless.
It is you who are blind, my friends. Remove the flag from your eyes and put it back where it belongs. And it isn’t on your damned car.
Fact Sheet: http://www.consulfrance-atlanta.org/forces_francaises.htm
December 20th, 2004 at 5:21 am
Americans resent any country that dares to think and act independently. Since France is one of the few serious arms producers in the world outside the US, naturally it brings out jealousy, as noted in the previous comments. However, real best friends don�t just tell you what you want to hear. And don�t forget, without the French, George Washington would never have defeated the British at Yorktown, and America as we know it would not have been born.
Osama Bin Laden�s efforts on September 11 stripped away the myth of American invulnerability. We are headed into a multi-polar world where world power will be shared among regional power players. France will excel in that sort of an environment, and America must move beyond xenophobia and self-righteousness or they will fritter away what real superiority they possess. A self-serving high-school-mentality focus on the importance of being number one is not a sound basis for deciding which world powers are America�s friends. America will have problems enough when the American masses start realizing just how much they have been exploited by the elites they serve. America�s true friends will then emerge, and I have no doubt that the French are among these.
December 20th, 2004 at 5:22 am
When they were our friends???
The average Frenchman doesn’t have any problems with US – they were only against dumb US foreign policy. And it turns out they were right after all.. All these WMD, what a joke.
December 20th, 2004 at 5:26 am
The Frogs need spy satellites so they can know ahead of time who to surrender to. It will give them time to get the railroad car ready. France is truly pathetic.
December 20th, 2004 at 5:30 am
There are many useles comments on here, only god knows how many satellites buzzing around the world are US owned, and the person named “Frenchmen R. Pussies” I assume is American, and all I have to say to the sarcastic named person is that the French Prime Minister (unlike our Prime Minister, Mr Blair and President Bush who strung him along) did the right thing, they didn’t go to war for Oil and the French are merely protecting their country from the terrorist threat of which the US has increased.
December 20th, 2004 at 5:33 am
The French are just trying to keep an eye on what’s going on in Haiti….(mangeurs de grenouilles!!!!)
December 20th, 2004 at 5:34 am
my dear right wing americans. You are on top,well done, it didn’t used to be like this and it won’t stay like this either. Every dog has his day. Enjoy it and be a little more peaceful – if you get the chance visit a 3rd world country, stay a little, you’ll become a much better person for it.
December 20th, 2004 at 5:44 am
Who really cares if the french have a spy satellite? Who doesn’t these days? They can look down on me flipping them off… the french – who don’t support regime change, unless it’s in africa, the french – #3 exporter of weapons in the world… and countless other hypocrisies. Kamtoo, you think it’s just the right blasting the french, but the left is just siding with whoever they can get. If they opened their eyes just a little, they’d see that the french are NO friend of liberal america either. =)
December 20th, 2004 at 5:50 am
Check ChinaDaily.com. “Satellite observation and control networks in China and France yesterday successfully tracked the orbiting of a satellite launched by the French Government.”
Hmm. The chinese helped the french track this bird? Should you worry that the french are collaborating with communists? It has been long known that the french try to steal American Technology and Secrets. Be very aware – They ARE NOT America’s friend. They just don’t have the sack to be our enemy.
December 20th, 2004 at 5:53 am
The French can finally the heavy water reactor that in being built for uranium enrichment in Iran…by them. They need it to ensure that their project of giving the Iranians the bomb are going to plan. Nothing is scarier than an Arab bomb. Iran is a country that chops off the hands of people who steal a loaf of bread for their starving family.
Seems fitting since the frogs chopped off the heads of people in 1848.
France: 5th try at democracy.
December 20th, 2004 at 5:53 am
ze French spies must not hav bean vierry gud at desgising zeir aksents.. zo now zey need dis machine. Seriously though, this is most likely not for military purpose, but for economic espionsionage.. after all the war in Iraq was only for petrol.. certainly not to bring the price down for consumers but profit up for owners..
December 20th, 2004 at 6:03 am
Let’s NUKE the French bastards!
December 20th, 2004 at 6:23 am
Terrorist Alert in France.
AP and UPI reported that the French Government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from
“run” to “hide.”
The only two higher levels in France are
“surrender” and “collaborate.”
The upward change was precipitated by a recent fire which destroyed France’s white flag factory, thereby disabling its military forcing the launch of said “Spy” satellite whose
rumored mission is to seek out and find “Places to Hide”.
December 20th, 2004 at 6:27 am
This sattelite just keep the french away from american and english lies ! God bless France, the only place where you are free on the earth ;-)
December 20th, 2004 at 6:28 am
It’s interesting that Americans seem to feel that the only appropriate behaviour in the world is to be the friend of the USA. France is actually a sovereign nation (not that your President knows what that word means) and has every right to put up their own satellite. What, should they rely on the USA to be the world’s policeman? Yeah right, the world’s alcoholic professional bowler, more like. On the other hand, I do agree that the money could have been better spent on other, more socially responsible things, as other posters have noted previously here. But you see, that’s a complex, subtle argument, and thus not comprehensible to Americans. How much money does the USA spend on kicking the collective asses of foreigners? Not enough, apparently.
December 20th, 2004 at 6:29 am
Another sat for Europe and it’s friends. Good on France. Europe will eventually crush america and it’s pathetic right wing following.
December 20th, 2004 at 6:36 am
the French are on cracks
December 20th, 2004 at 6:38 am
Wow, people on the internet really are a bunch of dumb idiots.
December 20th, 2004 at 6:40 am
Oh wait, It appears it’s just the Americans who who are interlectually challenged. Qu’elle Suprise…
December 20th, 2004 at 6:45 am
The satellite will most likely be used to track the ships of France’s #1 enemy, Greenpeace… Remember when they sank the Rainbow Warrior in the Pacific?
December 20th, 2004 at 6:49 am
Bonjour, je suis la France et j’ai honte très de mon pays. Nous vendons des missles et des armes àn’importe qui qui payera l’argent, notre chef est un lâche et ainsi est nos militaires, nous ne sommes pas aussi intelligents que les Américains. Nous aimons l’Amérique. La majeure partie du souhait français de personnes vraiment nous pourrions devenir un état américain, nous n’avons aucune conduite. Personne ne sait vraiment pour ce que ce satellite est, nous pense que c’est un leurre pour notre technologie est tellement très pauvre. Dieu Bénissent L’Amérique !
December 20th, 2004 at 6:53 am
you guys are a riot lol
December 20th, 2004 at 6:54 am
I am suprised at the negative comments against the French. They are our first and naturally oldest allies. And, I would think that after all of the lies propagated by the Bush Administration to get us into an unnecessary war, another source of intelligence that is not under his control would be welcome by the world.
December 20th, 2004 at 7:05 am
If your neighbor had their camera pointed at your front window, where would you place yours? It’s a “Watch out, I’m going to catch you in the act” game, that’s all. It’s to keep the peace…really…a game of checks and balances.
December 20th, 2004 at 7:16 am
“To secure peace, is to prepare for war…”
December 20th, 2004 at 7:46 am
So another Western nation tries to assert its power on the world… I suppose the French need the spy satellites unlike the Americans and the British who have actual agents in the lands which are the target of imperial activity… namely the bunch of brutes known as the Muslim Rulers….
December 20th, 2004 at 8:15 am
Whats’s the French word for surrender? Bonjour…
December 20th, 2004 at 8:17 am
Jon Bertrand – Judging from the number of grammar and spelling mistakes in your message, you must not be one of France’s brightests.
Seriously though, it is scary to see how many people buy into the Bush propaganda. Face it guys, if France didn’t want to go to Irak to remove the weapons of mass destruction, it is because there were… NONE! And the whole world new it BEFORE the war. It is funny because I remember back then reading a paper from AP that said that Colin Powell had to pull out a lot of “evidences” from his UN presentation after French diplomats had said that they would compare his data with theirs. I hope this new spy sat will catch 10 times as many lies from the Bush administration. France has always been America’s friend. Screw the rednecks…
December 20th, 2004 at 8:18 am
What about echelon, the worldwide American/British spy network! If you guys what to whine about spying, try to look in the mirror!! Apparently many Americans recent France because they didn’t support the war in Iraq, but none of them realize that France, Germany and so on actually had it right from the beginning. Where were the weapons of mass destruction? Was Sadam a tread to the world? Maybe it is America who needs a spy satellite (more) so they can see whatâ??s going on…
December 20th, 2004 at 8:21 am
Comment by Changleen: “…interlectually challenged.” LOL! Friggin’ Eurodopes…
December 20th, 2004 at 8:34 am
“that after all of the lies propagated by the Bush Administration to get us into an unnecessary war”. Right, and the Oil for France, I mean Food program was both humanitarian in nature and an unqualified success. Friggin’ uber-liberals…
December 20th, 2004 at 8:40 am
Now we know where the oil for food money really went!*-^
December 20th, 2004 at 8:47 am
Little Nap says: “Europe will eventually crush america and itâ??s pathetic right wing following.”. Zeig Heil, brother. Pass the crack pipe…
December 20th, 2004 at 8:47 am
Why are the streets of paris tree-lined and shady?
Because Germans don’t like to march in the sun.
Le francais deteste les Etats-Unis. Viva l’America!
December 20th, 2004 at 8:51 am
“Now we know where the oil for food money really went!*-^”. And your point is?
December 20th, 2004 at 8:53 am
The French have a great sense of style. Paris is wonderful. Lets be honest on both the good and bad. Breaks my heart that they sold out to Saddam for cash and are trying to take over the Ivory Coast(initially went in without a UN Resolution). France though is lovely and cool and the people are great. They will live up to the wonderful Marquis de Lafayette one day again.
December 20th, 2004 at 8:58 am
“They will live up to the wonderful Marquis de Lafayette one day again.”. More likely Jean Lafitte…
December 20th, 2004 at 9:01 am
I have a bit of hope…not that much, but a bit. In any event the food is great and the women are pretty.
December 20th, 2004 at 9:27 am
Sometimes I’d really like having a button in my browser to filter out all US comments. Sure would make the net more reasonable.
December 20th, 2004 at 9:33 am
Share your ideas and thoughts friend. Censorship is not the answer. Debate!
December 20th, 2004 at 9:33 am
Share your ideas and thoughts friend. Censorship is not the answer. Debate!
December 20th, 2004 at 9:33 am
Share your ideas and thoughts friend. Censorship is not the answer. Debate!
December 20th, 2004 at 9:34 am
sorry my comment was repeated. I only posted it once.
December 20th, 2004 at 9:41 am
Out friends,the French, quit NATO. Now they think that they can be one of the BIG BOYS. One satellite and few nuclear bombs don’t make you a contender Frenchie.The USA will bankrupt them just like it did the USSR.The EU is not going to make it,which includes the Frogs.
December 20th, 2004 at 9:43 am
And by reasonable you mean what, exactly? The same conclusions and perceptions as you? Interesting world you’ve formed for yourself buddy, but I think I’d like a little more diversity in my life, the thought police notwithstanding…
December 20th, 2004 at 9:57 am
Who’s mocking whom: over 1,300 Americans dead, 10,000 injured (with 5,000 seriously so). $200 billion spent so far–and climbing. Many in the US are so apathetic and self-absorbed these startling statistics are of little importance.
France excercises its right to disagree (a fundamental principle of democracy, no?) and they are slammed for not falling inline. Maybe the US forgets that dissension is healthy, and not to be ridiculed.
Might it be that most Americans who lambaste France’s independence of the US do so because they view Democracy as a necessary inconvenience to support Consumerism. I wonder it, when Democracy starts to interfere with Consumerism, they will seek out the next ism. Might I suggest despotism or authoritarianism as suitable alternatives. Of course so long as it won’t stop Americans from racking up their credit card balance for frivolous and shallow consumer products.
So, France has a spy satellite that can identify objects the size of a textbook from space. Let’s hope they learn from the US misstep and don’t use it to allow “Intelligence” to usurp diplomacy.
December 20th, 2004 at 9:57 am
I’m sure all of your opinions about France have been generated by the moronic American media. American’s should really try to judge for themselves. Doesn’t it make sense that the people make the mandate, and not that idiot you call a president?
December 20th, 2004 at 9:59 am
Jon Bertrand (#29) — interesting French, that. At best it reads like a Babelfish translation.
My suspicion is that the satellite will be used to no small degree to keep the Chinese up-to-date (for a fee, of course) on the whereabouts of the US Navy in the Pacific, as well as the increasingly powerful Indian Navy.
At 430 miles it is within range of the US Air Force’s preferred space shuttle, Atlantis. If things get seriously squirrely … PAF! il ne sera plus la.
December 20th, 2004 at 10:00 am
You people need to learn your history! The French only aided the American Revolution at the end of the war, and only then as a way of hurting their traditional enemies, the British. They immediately turned around and became a regional nuisance for the next 50 years.
The ungrateful Vichy French soldiers shot at Americans who tried to liberate them in northern Africa. They turned on us after the war, often taking the Soviet side in mediating disputes.
Fortunately for all of us, their lazy 35 hour work weeks and addiction to social welfare means their GDP is rarely better than 1% and their economy is always stagnant.
December 20th, 2004 at 10:05 am
By the way: for sale, one French WW2 rifle. Never fired, dropped once.
December 20th, 2004 at 10:14 am
I am struck by the hypocrisy of (#2) “Frenchmen R. Pussies”. He has demonstrated ultimate cowardice by hiding behind a phony name. Maybe he feels a close kinship with cowardly folk. With respect to diverting funds to feed the poor: these types of projects are all part of an infrastructure and system that needs to exist to be able to tackle poverty and hunger. These satellites are among many ‘necessary evils’.
Of course the US has no dealings whatsoever with China. China is, of course, not responsible for the bulk of products US consumers find on their stores. But of course, if the US did decide to import billions of dollars of goods from China annually, it would naturally be a Communist sympathizing lap dog.
Without wishing to generalize too much, Americans often appear to be the most ill-informed, myopic and nationalistic (no, not patriotic) people in the Western Hemisphere.
December 20th, 2004 at 10:31 am
Without wishing to generalize too much, Americans often appear to be the most ill-informed, myopic and nationalistic (no, not patriotic) people in the Western Hemisphere.
Ah, the voice of reason and intellect! Thanks for not generalizing, although you must be damn near apoplectic that the great unwashed that live, nay infest, this land are part of, arguably, the greatest power the world has ever known. Be nice, and we may let you join use, dumb SOB’s that we are…
December 20th, 2004 at 10:35 am
Everyone here seems to be criticizing the US for its push to war, yet not condemn the French for giving the Iraqis missile technology in the 1980s that America went to war to obliterate.
Does everyone not recall March 22, 2003 when the American 3rd Infantry found 34 long-range Ketusha rockets in Karbala. You know who taught the Iraqis how to make them? Thats right, the French.
America might to questionable things, but if America went into isolation (like the liberals want) the world economy would collapse.
Does anyone know that America controls the world’s grain supply, and if we cut it off, we can starve any nation on earth. It may be the wrong thing to do, but it is within our power and our rights. All it takes is an executive order.
So, stop criticizing the US until you can match it militarily and economically.
And by the way, all of those people with the Soviet sounding names, you can thank our “right-wing” President Reagan for ending the communist rule, and allowing you to post your liberal, hypocratic, fantasy-world posts on the American created internet.
December 20th, 2004 at 10:41 am
Without wishing to generalize too much, Americans often appear to be the most ill-informed, myopic and nationalistic (no, not patriotic) people in the Western Hemisphere.
Ah, the voice of reason and intellect! Thanks for not generalizing, although you must be damn near apoplectic that the great unwashed that inhabit, nay infest, this land are part of, arguably, the greatest power the world has ever known. Be nice, and we may let you join us, dumb SOB’s that we are…
Sorry for the repost. Had to correct some typos.
December 20th, 2004 at 10:55 am
Josh: Yeah, that’s real smart to criticize France for selling weapons to Irak. It was only the #3 seller though, after the U.S. #1 and the Brits #2. The US and France and the West in general have always worked together, especially to sell weapons to dictators. The “propagate freedom” speech is a lie no matter if it comes from the US or France or others.
Now about Reagan, sure he destroyed USSR, but he also almost destroyed the US economy. Took 8 years of Clinton to recover, and now a new idiot is gonna do it all over again. When the crisis hits and there is not enough money even for defence who’s gonna look like an idiot?
December 20th, 2004 at 10:58 am
Well done for the French.
Many narrow minded American are looking for trouble. Bad mouthing others is their expertise. What did the French did to them? By not joining in and invade Iraq? I think the Iraq people should sue the US in the US courts and in the UN.
Oh, did the Communist China said they will attack the US? I think the Americans are afraid they will step over them.
Those idiots Southern States, their President is selling them short to make money on the side.
Don’t join a mob (gangster) when its the wrong thing to do.
Lives are at stakes. This is not a video game.
December 20th, 2004 at 11:07 am
Well said Paul on the Prez.
December 20th, 2004 at 11:55 am
Everyone, while this may pain all of you liberals we must determine the value of Iraqi lives using the common Utilitarian Formula. Here it is:
Value of an Individual = (I.Q./100) * (Annual Income/(Country’s GDP/population)) * ((Country’s GDP/population)/AVG(World’s Country’s GDP/Population))
When you plug the data in for the average Iraqi laborer, and an average American laborer, you get 119 Iraqis is worth 1 American life.
So, what does this mean? 1,346 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq. So, until American soldiers kill over 160,174 Iraqis (1346*119), liberals should shut the hell up.
December 20th, 2004 at 1:20 pm
I loved this comment so much I had to post it again for the ignorant and naive people out there who don’t know the truth. Shut up and read this again!
You people need to learn your history! The French only aided the American Revolution at the end of the war, and only then as a way of hurting their traditional enemies, the British. They immediately turned around and became a regional nuisance for the next 50 years.
The ungrateful Vichy French soldiers shot at Americans who tried to liberate them in northern Africa. They turned on us after the war, often taking the Soviet side in mediating disputes.
Fortunately for all of us, their lazy 35 hour work weeks and addiction to social welfare means their GDP is rarely better than 1% and their economy is always stagnant.
Comment by Skaven Q. Blight
December 20th, 2004 at 11:35 pm
this is a reply to josh”do ya need to know that the american @$$holes aquire ther so called food supply frm other nations and do ya know what they donate, they donate nations the shit wheat which is infected and bcoz of this people in poor country die. and whoa who thinks american r intelligent , nasa is amde up of 70% indians , and these r the people who stole germans knowledge to build ther jet powered aircraft’s.
and to sum it all up these american’s the brave people r so scared that if someone even gets up to piss in the mid of flight then these people grnd the flight.lol
for indian’s ( i think of all americans no more than a katua (;=P))lmao
December 21st, 2004 at 4:34 am
Actually it will probably be used more for industrial espionage. France spies on US companies more than any other country in the world.
December 21st, 2004 at 6:03 am
Hey Skaven,
I suppose you prefer Israel for a friend, that soaks up $4 Billion plus each year in “aid”, with nothing in return for the supposed US ally except grief, that prefers to see the US remain dependent on oil so that we’re stuck with them as an “ally.” Better to have an ally like the French who say in the open what they think of America’s stupid Iraq-war policy than the stab-you-in-the-back, behind-the-scenes manipulation of the Israelis.