Ben Franklin and the seeds of a Shadow Government

In the preceding article on the Roswell crash, Hillary Clinton is quoted as saying “There is a government inside the government, and I don’t control it.”  Of course, Hillary herself does not control the visible government either,  but that aside, to some people this is a very surprising statement. It may sound like a conspiracy theory, but the evidence for secret groups within the government goes all the way back to Ben Franklin.

History

Franklin organized a group of friends to provide a structured forum for discussion about money. The group, initially composed of twelve members, called itself the Junto (the word is a mistaken use of the masculine singular Spanish adjective “joined”, mistaken for the feminine singular noun “junta”, “a meeting”. Both derive from Latin “iunct-”, past participle of “iungere”, “to join”). The members of the Junto were drawn from diverse occupations and backgrounds, but they all shared a spirit of inquiry and a desire to improve themselves, their community, and to help others. Among the original members were printers, surveyors, a cabinetmaker, a clerk, and a bartender. Although most of the members were older than Franklin, he was clearly their leader.

At just 21 he oversaw five men, including Hugh Meredith, Stephen Potts, and George Webb, who were soon to form the core of the Junto. Franklin was an outgoing, social individual and had become acquainted with some of the businessmen at a club called the Every Night Club. This gathering included prominent merchants who met informally to drink and discuss the business of the day. Franklin’s congenial ways attracted many unique and learned individuals, and from these, he selected the members for the Junto.

All members lived in Philadelphia and came from diverse areas of interest and business. Along with Meredith, Potts and Webb, they included Joseph Breintnall, merchant and scrivener, who also loved poetry and natural history. Thomas Godfrey was a glazier, mathematician and inventor, and Nicholas Scull and William Parsons were both surveyors. Scull was also a bibliophile and Parsons a cobbler and astrologer. William Maugridge was a cabinetmaker, William Coleman a merchant’s clerk, and Robert Grace a gentleman. Grace’s wealth meant he did not have to work, but apparently he brought an intellectual element to the group, plus a fine library. The twelfth member of the Junto remained a mystery until 2007, when Professor George Boudreau of Penn State discovered a long-forgotten account of the club’s refreshments, and verified that shoemaker John Jones, Jr. was an original member. Jones was a Philadelphia Quaker, a neighbor of Franklin’s, and later a founding member of the Library Company of Philadelphia. The club met Friday nights, first in a tavern and later in a house, to discuss moral, political and scientific topics of the day.

Franklin describes the formation and purpose of the Junto in his autobiography:

I should have mentioned before, that, in the autumn of the preceding year, [1727] I had form’d most of my ingenious acquaintance into a club of mutual improvement, which we called the Junto; we met on Friday evenings. The rules that I drew up required that every member, in his turn, should produce one or more queries on any point of Morals, Politics, or Natural Philosophy, to be discuss’d by the company; and once in three months produce and read an essay of his own writing, on any subject he pleased.

Our debates were to be under the direction of a president, and to be conducted in the sincere spirit of inquiry after truth, without fondness for dispute or desire of victory; and to prevent warmth, all expressions of positiveness in opinions, or direct contradiction, were after some time made contraband, and prohibited under small pecuniary penalties.

The Questions

The Junto’s Friday evening meetings were organized around a series of questions that Franklin devised, covering a range of intellectual, personal, business, and community topics. These questions were used as a springboard for discussion and community action. In fact, through the Junto, Franklin promoted such concepts as volunteer fire-fighting clubs, improved security (night watchmen), and a public hospital.

This is the list of questions Franklin devised to guide the discussions at Junto meetings (from Franklin’s papers, dated 1728, and included in some editions of his autobiography):

1. Have you met with any thing in the author you last read, remarkable, or suitable to be communicated to the Junto? particularly in history, morality, poetry, physics, travels, mechanic arts, or other parts of knowledge?
2. What new story have you lately heard agreeable for telling in conversation?
3. Hath any citizen in your knowledge failed in his business lately, and what have you heard of the cause?
4. Have you lately heard of any citizen’s thriving well, and by what means?
5. Have you lately heard how any present rich man, here or elsewhere, got his estate?
6. Do you know of any fellow citizen, who has lately done a worthy action, deserving praise and imitation? or who has committed an error proper for us to be warned against and avoid?
7. What unhappy effects of intemperance have you lately observed or heard? of imprudence? of passion? or of any other vice or folly?
8. What happy effects of temperance? of prudence? of moderation? or of any other virtue?
9. Have you or any of your acquaintance been lately sick or wounded? If so, what remedies were used, and what were their effects?
10. Who do you know that are shortly going [on] voyages or journeys, if one should have occasion to send by them?
11. Do you think of any thing at present, in which the Junto may be serviceable to mankind? to their country, to their friends, or to themselves?
12. Hath any deserving stranger arrived in town since last meeting, that you heard of? and what have you heard or observed of his character or merits? and whether think you, it lies in the power of the Junto to oblige him, or encourage him as he deserves?
13. Do you know of any deserving young beginner lately set up, whom it lies in the power of the Junto any way to encourage?
14. Have you lately observed any defect in the laws, of which it would be proper to move the legislature an amendment? Or do you know of any beneficial law that is wanting?
15. Have you lately observed any encroachment on the just liberties of the people?
16. Hath any body attacked your reputation lately? and what can the Junto do towards securing it?
17. Is there any man whose friendship you want, and which the Junto, or any of them, can procure for you?
18. Have you lately heard any member’s character attacked, and how have you defended it?
19. Hath any man injured you, from whom it is in the power of the Junto to procure redress?
20. In what manner can the Junto, or any of them, assist you in any of your honourable designs?
21. Have you any weighty affair in hand, in which you think the advice of the Junto may be of service?
22. What benefits have you lately received from any man not present?
23. Is there any difficulty in matters of opinion, of justice, and injustice, which you would gladly have discussed at this time?
24. Do you see any thing amiss in the present customs or proceedings of the Junto, which might be amended?

Any person to be qualified as a member was to stand up, lay his hand upon his breast, and be asked the following questions, viz.

1. Have you any particular disrespect to any present members? Answer. I have not.
2. Do you sincerely declare that you love mankind in general, of what profession or religion soever? Answer. I do.
3. Do you think any person ought to be harmed in his body, name, or goods, for mere speculative opinions, or his external way of worship? Answer. No.
4. Do you love truth for truth’s sake, and will you endeavor impartially to find and receive it yourself, and communicate it to others? Answer. Yes.- wikipedia

After my grandfather passed away, I learned that he was a member of  a secret society and some of the things he told me privately remind me of the above questions. I do think Franklin was brilliant and I can’t help but admire the way he set things up. Even today, the questions make a powerful blueprint for anyone wanting to start a secret  club.

Dick D’Amato Unveiled as The Government Offical Who Met with Jesse Marcel Jr; Verifies Roswell Event & Government Cover-Up!

POLITICIANS DROP HINTS: ROSWELL WAS ET by Anthony Bragalia

Many politicians and office holders -especially today- are held in public disdain for their lies about so many things. But some rise above the rest as genuine public servants. They have spoken of the need for truth about the ultimate deceit- the coverup of fallen extraterrestrials at Roswell. A review of their telling statements and actions -and a newly uncovered revealing photo- show a deep concern about the event throughout the years. From Senators and DC insiders to U.S. Governors – up to the highest office- there have been those who are in power who wish to empower us with the knowledge that we are not alone in the Universe. They provide clues to the greatest secret: that craft and bodies from another world were made known to man many decades ago.

Of course the politician most closely associated with investigation into the crash is the late New Mexico US Congressman Steven Schiff. Schiff pressed the US GAO (General Accounting Office) to conduct an independent audit of any extant records or materials that the govenment may have had that related to the crash. Though he passed in 1998, his call to truth on Roswell continues to echo through the hintful voices of several prominent and valiant civil servants:

Multi-term US Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico was the former US Energy Secretary. He was also a former US Presidential Candidate. Most recently Richardson was offered a U.S. Cabinet role with the Obama Administration, though he declined. Popular and a populist, Richardson is an affable man that is personally liked by many on both sides of the aisle. Richardson arrived in New Mexico in the late 1970s when the first mentions of Roswell were rumbling. He is very serious about Roswell and is very candid when he says that the government continues to lie to the public about the incident. Richardson is surely privy to many things that many are not. He has carefully considered the history and evidence of Roswell. And he may well himself be privy to the ET nature of the event.

So compelled is Richardson on the subject that he even wrote the foreward to a book on the subject. Richardson has stated publicly that “it would help everyone if the U.S. Government disclosed everything it knows.” He adds, “The American people can handle the truth.” Richardson believes that “with full disclosure” that “we should be able to find out what happened that fateful day in July 1947.” This is an extraordinary choice of words. …

According to a 2007 AP news story, when Richardson was asked by a Dell employee in TX about Roswell, Richardson responded that he understands that “the data on Roswell remains classified” and that he was not happy about it.

And still another New Mexico Governor, Gary Johnson, gave hints about the true nature of the Roswell crash. On June 22, 1997 on a local Albuquerque, NM evening broadcast program, Johnson indicated that Roswell was not ours, that he is privy to information that the general public is not- and that more than that he could not say. …

Dick D’Amato (C. Richard D’Amato) is -by any standard- a classic “DC insider.” He apparently also knows far more about what happened at Roswell than most in DC. After attending Cornell and the Fletcher School of Diplomacy, D’Amato earned his JD from Georgetown. He was a Professor at the US Naval Academy. Entering the world of politics, he rose quickly through various appointments. He served on many high-level US congressional advisory bodies (including on defense appropriations, national security and on international relations matters) and attained Top Secret clearances. He was named the Chief Counsel and Investigator to the US Senate Appropriations Committee. He later became National Security Specialist for Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd and a liasion member of the National Security Council. Today a private consultant, D’Amato remains active in politics in Maryland.

Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr. has a strange story to tell about Dick D’Amato. Dr. Marcel is the namesake son of Major Jesse Marcel, Army Intelligence Officer who was the first to reveal the ET truth about Roswell. Dr. Marcel relates that in 1991 he received a call from D’Amato out of the blue. D’Amato knew that Marcel had planned to attend a meeting in D.C. He invited Marcel to meet with him to discuss the Roswell event in what D’Amato called a “Secure Room” at the Capitol. Dr. Marcel (who as a child himself saw some of the ET debris) told D’Amato that would not be necessary -he had already said all that he… knows- and that he was not going to say anything that he hadn’t said before. But D’Amato explained to Marcel that the fact was that he himself wanted to relate to Marcel something important about the crash incident. Marcel agreed to meet. What would this DC insider tell him?

Marcel said that he was told to meet in the Capitol Building, Room 228. Marcel indicates that D’Amato greeted him warmly. Marcel then noticed something displayed in the room. D’Amato had prominently placed on his desk a book on Roswell that explained it as an ET event. D’Amato pointed to the book and told Marcel: “This is not fiction.” Marcel replied that of course he knew it was not fiction. He then looked at D’Amato and directly asked: Why doesn’t the government tell the people? D’Amato told Marcel “if it were up to him” he would, but that it is of course not up to him. He agreed with Marcel that the information needed be officially released.

D’Amato then told Marcel that he had known of instances where “people have been threatened” about their involvement in Roswell. He asked if Marcel himself had ever been threatened. When told that he had not, D’Amato offered assistance and protection Marcel if such a thing should ever occur.

It is known that D’Amato has had private discussions with select researchers where he has detailed that there is a black arm of secrecy over the subject- and that money is being secretly appropriated to projects related to Roswell. D’Amato indicates that he does not know where the wreckage is now, and that it is such a covert project that even with subpoena power he could not penetrate these operations. …

Barry Goldwater was a multi-term US Senator and a former US Presidential Candidate. He was a retired and highly decorated Major General in the Air Force who had led highly classified US Senate intelligence and military committees over many years. Though known as “Mr. Conservative,” Goldwater was someone who had a strong interest in Roswell and ET.

In 1994, not long before his death, Goldwater confessed something he knew to be definitive about Roswell and UFOs. He revealed to a worldwide audience on CNN: “I think at Wright Patterson, if you could get into certain places, you’ll find that the government knows about UFOs.” Asked specifically about Roswell, Goldwater replied, “Reportedly a spaceship landed.” He then stunned host Larry King and added to this remark by declaring (as if he knew it personally): “It was all hushed up.” King then asked if he tried to find out about it. Goldwater said that he most assuredly did.

And Goldwater was in a unique position to have found out. Goldwater was a highly decorated Command Pilot in the Army Air Force in the 1940s. He was very close to General Curtis LeMay, the Air Force’s Chief of Development in the 1940s (including when the Roswell crash occurred.) He was also a friend of the Base Commander of Roswell Army Air Field at the time of the crash, Butch Blanchard (whom he knew through General LeMay.) Goldwater had heard much first-hand testimony about the Roswell crash. But now he wanted confirmation- to see the extraterrestrial himself.

Goldwater then told Larry King that some years later, he went to LeMay to discuss the matter. Possessing the highest of our nation’s clearances, Goldwater sought permission to access the documentation and physical evidence of the crashed disc materials that he knew to exist at Wright, in what Goldwater has referred to as a “Blue Room.” Goldwater recounted to King that he said to LeMay: “General, I know that we have a room at Wright where you put all the “secret stuff.” Could I go there?” Goldwater continued his interview with King: “I’ve never heard LeMay get mad, but he got madder than hell at me, cussed me out and said ‘Don’t ever ask me that question again.” Goldwater wanted to but never did. …

US Representative from Massachusetts William Delahunt replied to his constituent Robert F. Brown in 2005 in response to a letter from Brown about Roswell. He replied with a startlingly candid but brief comment: “After looking into the matter, I have found that the debris from that is still being analyzed and is not open to the public at this time.” A US Congressmen from Virginia, Rep.Virgil Goode, told a Roswell researcher some years ago, “I have been reading about what you’ve been doing for a long time- a lot of us have. But you know, there’s a group that really runs the show. Very shadowy. The US Congress is just window dressing.”

Other such hints and confirmations about Roswell’s importance have come from other politicians over the years. And even a two-time President of the United States and the current US Secretary of State have held deep personal and professional interest in resolving the Roswell mystery. …

Many know that former President Bill Clinton had replied to a Belfast boy in 1995 when asked about Roswell, “Ryan, if the US Air Force did recover alien bodies, I want to know.” Clinton certainly did “want to know,” as did his wife former First Lady and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

- Found in the President Clinton’s personal library inventory (taken by Ken Starr’s impeachment investigators) was a copy of a book on the Roswell crash incident.

- John Podesta was Clinton’s former Chief of Staff who later as a private citizen, organized the Coalition for Freedom of Information initiative in DC. This included a call for public disclosure about many issues, including UFOs. Mentioned specifically was a need to reveal all about Project Moon Dust and Operation Blue Fly. These projects are classified US military projects that relate to the retrieval of crashed flying objects requiring identification. Podesta obviously does not believe his own government has been forthcoming to the people on this vital matter. He states: “It is time for the government to de-classify records and provide scientists with data on the real nature of the phenomenon.”

- Webster Hubbell, Clinton’s former Associate Attorney General, was the third highest ranking member of the US Department of Justice. In his autobiography, Hubbell revealed that President Clinton held extreme interest in the subjects of UFOs and ET. Hubbell relates that Clinton distrusted many within government who would know the truth, as he sensed that they would hold back from him. Clinton decided to do his own covert Roswell investigation. He had asked Hubbell to make private approaches and inquiries and research to find out what really happened. Hubbell reported back to Clinton that, despite his best efforts, the subject was impenetrable.

- Laurance Rockefeller, world-famous industrialist, billionaire and prominent member of the political and philanthopic Rockefeller dynasty, was also a UFO researcher. He believed Roswell represented the crash of ET. He used his influence and ties to brief President Clinton’s Science Advisor, Jack Gibbons, on the subject. In fact, Rockefeller briefed the First Lady herself, in person:

THE FIRST LADY CONSIDERS THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL: A TELLING PHOTO

n an incredibly revealing photo known now to exist (thanks to the eagle eyes of researchers including the noted investigator Grant Cameron) the world can see graphically what the ET question means to those in power. Pictured in a rare and little-circulated photo taken some years ago, we see Roswell-proponent Laurance Rockefeller and First Lady Hillary Clinton strolling through Rockefeller’s sprawling ranch.

Blowups of this photo show that Mrs. Clinton (now the US Secretary of State) is holding a copy of the book “Are We Alone?” authored by awarded physicist Dr. Paul Davies. The back cover has been conclusively determined to match the back cover of Davies 1995 book. She no doubt knew that there was a photographer because other, posed photos show her walking with Rockefeller around the grounds. Was the First Lady trying to coyly provide a clue to the world that We Are Not Alone? Did she discuss her ET concerns with her husband, the President of the United States?

In this remarkable and deeply thought-provoking book (a copy of which I own) Davies examines the implications to society about the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe. Below is a photo showing the First Lady (who is interestingly wearing a stylized Holy Cross) drawing the ET book close to her as she reflects with Rockefeller…

In 1996, Sr. White House Correspondent Sarah McClendon reports that she had asked the President privately why he does not demand disclosure on the UFO subject. Echoing the thoughts of US Rep. Goode and DC insider Dick D’Amato, Clinton unguardedly replied, “There is a government inside the government, and I don’t control it.”

via Dick D’Amato Unveiled as The Government Offical Who Met with Jesse Marcel Jr; Verifies Roswell Event & Government Cover-Up! | UFOBlogspot

“Are we alone?”  is not a book that reveals any UFO/alien secrets.

“The authentic discovery of extraterrestrial life would usher in a scientific revolution on par with Copernicus or Darwin, says Paul Davies. Just as these ideas sparked religious and philosophical controversy when they were first offered, so would proof of life arising away from Earth. With this brief book (160 pages, including two appendices and an index), Davies tries to get ahead of the curve and begin to sort out the metaphysical mess before it happens. Many science fiction writers have preceded him, of course, but here the matter is plainly put. This is a very good introduction to a compelling subject. …

Paul Davies’ book Are We Alone? is deceptively simple. While its purported topic is the possibility of alien life, it also covers and covers more extensively the various theories of sentience, what it is, why it is, and how common it might be. It also explains the anthropic principle, which uses the fact that we exist to explain why the universe is as it is. The volume is a little too short to cover the topics well, but it is definitely very lucid. ….

If you are the kind of person who thinks that little green men are a scientific certainty and that you have seen flying saucers yourself on at least a dozen occasions, well this … book … does not add a gram of proof … to your … beliefs.

This book turned out to be a philosophy book that discusses the origin of life, the evolution of technology and the subsequent advancement of this civilization across space. It is well written, very entertaining and yes, it makes you think.

Scientific expertise lacking among ‘doubters’ of climate change, says Stanford-led analysis

The small number of scientists who are unconvinced that human beings have contributed significantly to climate change have far less expertise and prominence in climate research compared with scientists who are convinced, according to a study led by Stanford researchers.

In a quantitative assessment – the first of its kind to address this issue – the team analyzed the number of research papers published by more than 900 climate researchers and the number of times their work was cited by other scientists.

“These are standard academic metrics used when universities are making hiring or tenure decisions,” said William Anderegg, lead author of a paper published in the online Early Edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week.

Expertise was evaluated by the number of papers on climate research written by each individual, with a minimum of 20 required to be included in the analysis. Climate researchers who are convinced of human-caused climate change had on average about twice as many publications as the unconvinced, said Anderegg, a doctoral candidate in biology.

Prominence was assessed by taking the four most frequently cited papers published in any field by each scientist – not just climate science publications – and tallying the number of times those papers were cited by other researchers. Papers by climate researchers convinced of human effects were cited approximately 64 percent more often than papers by the unconvinced.

The scientists whose work was analyzed included all the researchers involved in producing the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change working group that assessed the evidence for and against human involvement in climate change, as well as any climate researchers who signed a major public statement disagreeing with the findings of the panel’s report.

The top 100

The Stanford team also determined the top 100 climate researchers, based on the total number of climate related publications each had, which produced an even more telling result, Anderegg said.

“When you look at the leading scientists who have made any sort of statement about anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change, you find 97 percent of those top 100 surveyed scientists explicitly agreeing with or endorsing the IPCC’s assessment,” he said. That result has been borne out by several other published studies that used different methodology, as well as some that are due out later this summer, he said.

“We really wanted to bring the expertise dimension into this whole discussion,” Anderegg said. “We hope to put to rest the notion that keeps being repeated in the media and by some members of the public that ‘the scientists disagree’ about whether human activity is contributing to climate change.”

“I never object to quoting opinions that are ‘way out.’ I think there is nothing wrong with that,” said Stephen Schneider, professor of biology and a coauthor of the paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “But if the media doesn’t report that something is a ‘way out’ opinion relative to the mainstream, then how is the average person going to know the relative credibility of what is being said?”

“It is sad that we even have to do this,” said Schneider. “[Too much of] the media world has just folded up and fired its reporters with expertise in science.”

The Stanford team is prepared for the doubters of anthropogenic climate change to object to their data.

“I think the most typical criticism of a paper like this – not necessarily in academic discourse, but in the broader context – is going to be that we haven’t addressed if these sorts of differences could be due to some sort of clique or, at the extreme, a conspiracy of the researchers who are convinced of climate change,” Anderegg said.

“When you stop to consider whether some sort of ‘group think’ really drives these patterns and could it really exist in science in general, the idea is really pretty laughable,” he said. “All of the incentives in science are exactly the opposite.

“If you were a young researcher and had the data to overturn any of the mainstream paradigms, or what the IPCC has done, you would become absolutely famous,” he said. “Everyone wants to be the next Darwin, everyone wants to be the next Einstein.” …

via Scientific expertise lacking among ‘doubters’ of climate change, says Stanford-led analysis.

Saturday Lunar eclipse ‘magnified’ in US

A partial lunar eclipse about to take place will appear magnified in the US by an effect known as the “moon illusion”.

The eclipse will begin 1017 GMT when the Moon enters the shadow of Earth.

Because of the timing, it will not be visible from the UK or Europe.

But in many parts of the US and Canada, the eclipse will appear larger because it occurs while the Moon is so close to the horizon.

According to Nasa, low-hanging Moons look “unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects”. The reason for this is not understood.

“Observers in India, Japan, and parts of East Asia will experience the same phenomenon,” Nasa wrote on its website.

“They’ll see the eclipse on Saturday evening as the Moon is rising.”

At its maximum, 54% of the Moon’s diameter will be covered. This will occur at 0438 US pacific time (1138 GMT) – the event will last almost three hours.

Because the Moon, Sun and Earth are not aligned, it will not reach “totality”.

via BBC News – Lunar eclipse ‘magnified’ in US.

Dick Cheney goes to hospital after feeling ill

Former US Vice-President Dick Cheney was admitted into a Washington hospital for tests after feeling ill, according to a statement issued by his office.

The 69-year-old Republican leader has suffered five heart attacks in the past 32 years.

Spokesman Peter Long said Mr Cheney is expected to remain at George Washington University Hospital over the weekend.

It was not immediately clear if Mr Cheney’s visit is related to his previous heart troubles.

Mr Cheney felt ill on Friday and visited his doctor at the hospital, who then advised him to stay for further tests.

The former vice-president suffered his last heart attack in February 2010.

Mr Cheney was vice-president under George W Bush.

via BBC News – Dick Cheney goes to hospital after feeling ill.

Thieves steal kitchen sink from South Africa police

South Africa’s police are investigating after thieves stripped a police station of all its contents, down to the kitchen sink.

The office was under renovations and ready for re-occupation when the thieves hit, reports South Africa’s Times Newspaper.

The robbers helped themselves to everything of value – including doors, cupboards, basins, cutlery, tiles, furniture, electrical equipment and mortuary fridges.

Officers from the Carletonville police station, west of Johannesburg, have had to cram into three small rooms.

The space is inadequate, and there with no holding cells or parking spaces. The rent costs the police about 127,000 rand ($17,000; £11,430) each month, reports The Times.

It is not clear how the burglars managed to clean out the office without being detected by the security company contracted by the Department of Public Works to guard the premises.

Democratic Alliance police spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard said that the Department of Public Works had “failed taxpayers”.

“How bizarre, that the police will now have to investigate a crime committed at a police station,” she said.

via BBC News – Thieves steal kitchen sink from South Africa police.

German TanDEM-X satellite returns first images

Germany’s new radar satellite, TanDEM-X, has returned its first images.

The spacecraft was launched from Kazakhstan on Monday on a mission to make the most precise 3D map of the Earth’s surface.

The pictures demonstrate the platform is in excellent health and ready to team up with the TerraSAR-X satellite launched in 2007.

Together, the pair will trace the variation in height across the globe to a precision of better than two metres.

This digital elevation model (DEM) will support a multitude of applications, such as the programming of navigation computers in military jets to enable them to fly ultra low. The data will also be given to relief workers to show them where an earthquake has wrought most damage in a city.

Infoterra GmbH, the company with exclusive rights to commercialize the TanDEM information, says the market for radar products is steadily growing.

The new images depict a landscape in Ukraine, the north of Madagascar, and Moscow.

The pictures illustrate neatly the particular specialism of using radar to sense the planet’s surface.

In the Madagascan data, for example, the choppiness of the waves in the open stretches of the Indian Ocean can be contrasted with the smooth reflection of the radar signal from the enclosed, clam waters of the Baie de Diego.

And in the image of Moscow-Sheremetyevo airport, the flat concrete surfaces of the runways appear as black lines because the radar beam has been very efficiently reflected away from the satellite.

TanDEM-X is flying in a polar orbit that is ever so slightly inclined to the one occupied by TerraSAR-X, some 514km above the planet.

The intention is to make TanDEM-X fly an extremely tight helix around its more established sibling. This should be achieved by October. At times, the two satellites will be separated by as little as 200m.

The pair’s radars work by constantly bouncing microwave pulses off the ground and sea surface. By timing how long the signal takes to make the return trip, the instruments can determine differences in height.

The compact orbital dance will give the pair “stereo vision”, by enabling them to operate an interferometric mode in which one spacecraft acts as a transmitter/receiver and the other as a second receiver.

Three-dimensional image acquisition is expected to start in earnest in January.

The seamless DEM of the Earth’s surface will be built up over three years of joint operations. Ultimately, it should have a vertical resolution of 1-2m and a spatial resolution of 12m – far superior to any previous global data set.

…

via BBC News – German TanDEM-X satellite returns first images.