Why Does MSFC Point NASAIMAGES.Org At Pictures of Weapons?
NASA and Internet Archive Launch Centralized Resource for Images (24 July 2008)
“NASA and Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library based in San Francisco, made available the most comprehensive compilation ever of NASA’s vast collection of photographs, historic film and video Thursday. Located at www.nasaimages.org, the Internet site combines for the first time 21 major NASA imagery collections into a single, searchable online resource. A link to the Web site will appear on the http://www.nasa.gov home page.”
Keith’s note: If you go to www.nasaimages.org you will see that it is no longer totally dedicated to NASA content as this 2008 press release states. It used to look like this. Instead it redirects visitors to http://www.dvidshub.net/unit/NASA i.e. the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System which is mostly about guns, tanks, war, weapons, etc. This website is apparently operated by U.S. Army/USARCENT (Third Army).
What is really odd is that the domain nasaimages.org is still registered to NASA – MSFC to be specific. Here’s the current registration info. This makes no sense whatsoever. NASA has never bothered to explain this.
Here is something else from MSFC. A lot of interest in the spy scopes. This is not listed at NASA.GOV upcoming events though.
NASA Hosts Workshop For Study on Applications for Large Space Optics
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2013
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center will
host a national workshop for the Study on Applications for Large Space
Optics (SALSO) Feb. 5-6. The workshop will
feature presentations on concepts for the use of two large space
telescopes that were transferred to NASA last year.
The SALSO workshop will help develop concepts aligned with five
principal areas: space technology focused research, validation or
demonstration; human exploration and operations; heliophysics; planetary
science; and astrophysics.
The workshop will include as many as 34 presentations from industry,
academia and government on potential uses of these telescopes. Based on
workshop results, the SALSO team will chose as many as six concepts for
additional detailed study by the mission design centers at NASA’s
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Final study results will be presented to the NASA administrator in May.
The workshop will be carried on Ustream at: http://www.ustream.tv/chann…
With due regard for nasa.gov “current events”, it sure is listed on nasa.gov. See http://science.nasa.gov/sal… or here http://www.nasa.gov/centers….
As to “spy scopes”, much of what NASA does is spying on the universe, whether it be distant galaxies or planetary surfaces. If NRO is going to give NASA some expensive optics that offer the potential for extraordinarily high resolution imaging, all good spies of the universe should take notice.
This is an exciting opportunity, except that at least Astrophysics (which is, on the surface, the most relevant division) has essentially zero money available to invest in it.
The 2008 SpaceRef news release says that nasaimages.org will be hosted by “Internet Archive” (archive.org), which the WhoIs database says is registered to “Internet Archive.”
The WhoIs database says that dvidshub.net (where nasaimages.org now points) is registered to “Encompass Digital Media,” a large third-party supplier of media services who work for other people on a contract basis. Encompass has a very large and impressive client list.
I can’t find any information which suggest that either Encompass has acquired “Internet Archive” or that NASA has now contracted with Encompass instead of “Internet Archive.” I’m inclined to think that the “problem” lies with “Encompass Digital Media.”
By the way, “Internet Archive” still has a large NASA multimedia collection at http://archive.org/details/nasa. It is not the same as the http://dvidshub.net/unit/NASA (nasaimages.org) facility, but it is large.
I did watch a lot of the spy scope presentations. if anyone cares.There was 24 people normally watching.Most of the time it would be a reporter,but I have not seen a report.Keith has commented on how meetings like this should be streamed.I wonder if they will do more.One way was to use it the way it was meant to be used.Put it in Mars orbit.If it can read license plates,it ought to do a good job.A binocular space telescope.Space telescope at L1 to detect LEO junk.A low cost one was to put one on a balloon.Some had cost estimates.It can be launched with F9.A lot of good ideas.I hope funds can be found.