Free Republic

If all goes well, the UrtheCast dual camera system will blast off in a Progress supply ship on Nov. 25, 2013. This will be the world’s first ever high definition, live-streaming video platform of planet Earth from the International Space Station. “Imagine you have a nearly live Google Earth, but it isn’t four year old data – you have data that is being refreshed all the time, with videos coming down over interesting areas where interesting events are going on, showing you what is changing, what is going on,” said George Tyc, the Chief Technology Officer at UrtheCast, in an...

THE government has advised council-tax inspectors to use “spy in the sky” satellite cameras to snoop on people’s homes to see if they have added extensions, conservatories and even sheds that could boost the value of their property, writes David Cracknell. The Tories have unearthed official documents which show that John Prescott, the deputy prime minister, plans to use pictures from space as part of his revaluation of homes across England. The data will be used to reband people’s homes over the next few years, meaning that property owners whose houses have shot up in value face higher council tax...