Originally Posted by
Bing
Oh I'm certain if you wanted to invest in an actual spy satellite to do the job you could do that today, you're just listening out for transmissions in certain areas of the frequency spectrum which is what a radar warning receiver does. Orbital mechanics makes it difficult trying to maintain 24/7 coverage but you wouldn't need to faff around looking for weird interference patterns building up. I just don't think being able to do it with several days worth of open source data is anything to worry about.
https://www.space.com/34324-cubesats.html
CubeSats are miniature satellites that have been used exclusively in low Earth orbit for 15 years, and are now being used for interplanetary missions as well. In the beginning, they were commonly used in low Earth orbit for applications such as remote sensing or communications. As of mid-2018, a pair of CubeSats has been deployed on a mission flying to Mars, and other CubeSats are being considered for the moon and Jupiter.
The CubeSat design was first proposed in the late 1990s by two professors: Jordi Puig-Suari of California Polytechnic State University and Bob Twiggs of Stanford University. They were trying to help students gain engineering experience in satellites, which are traditionally expensive to build and launch. The idea for the CubeSat came in part from the miniature toy craze of the day, Beanie Babies,
according to Spaceflight Now. Inspired by the individualized stuffed animals, Twiggs' idea was to allow students to build their own miniature satellites.
The basic design of a CubeSat is a 10-centimeter (4-inch) cube with a mass of less than 1.33 kilograms (2.93 lbs.), the article added. But variations on the theme are possible. CubeSats can also be designed to encompass two, three or six 10-centimeter units for more complicated missions.
CubeSats reduce launch costs in two fundamental ways. They don't weigh that much, which means a rocket doesn't need a lot of fuel to heft them. In most cases, they also share a rocket with a larger satellite, making it possible to get to space on the coattails of the heavier payload.
There are some design challenges with CubeSats, however. The electronics are smaller and are therefore more sensitive to radiation. Because they are small, they cannot carry large payloads with them. Their low cost also means they are generally designed to last only a few weeks, months or years before ceasing operations (and for those in low Earth orbit, falling back into the atmosphere.) ....