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Re: AMOS

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AMOS

And some comments on this page for those too jaded to link:

"Possibly the most spectacular telescopic observations of any satellite were those rumored to have been made of the space shuttle Columbia during STS-1, by an orbiting Keyhole reconnaissance satellite. Supposedly to allay fears concerning detached thermal protection tiles on the underside of the orbiter (crucial in determining whether the vehicle would survive the heat of re-entry), the orbiting Keyhole was used to examine the belly of Columbia after tiles were noticed to be missing from the OMS pods at the rear of the craft. Subsequent analysis of the orbits of the shuttle and the known Keyhole satellites in orbit at the time of the mission indicate that only one possible photo opportunity arose. The two were several tens of kilometers apart at the time and traveling in different directions. Thus any image would have more than likely suffered significantly from motion blur.

Another source reports that surveillance of STS-1 was made by USAF ground based telescope, specifically at the USAF missle tracking annex in Valkaria, Florida (just south of Melbourne) by their 48" satellite imaging telescope. The photos were accidently released to the press after the NRO had turned them over to NASA for analysis. Subsequently, they were aired on a Saturday morning news program, but were very quickly pulled.

It is debatable as to whether use of a suitable image restoration technique could reclaim sufficient resolution so as to identify individual tiles or groups of them. In any event we are unlikely to see such pictures if they exist for many years yet, if at all. "

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