Unmanned surveillance blimp breaks tether, floats over Pennsylvania
washingtonpost.com
washingtonpost.com
"Runaway surveillance blimp" is the perfect metaphor for the military/intelligence industrial complex. And the perfect mascot.
Everything on that article is hyperlinked properly except for the tweet from Snowden. Although I do give WP some credit for their original stories on surveillance by NSA/other agencies.
Don't believe me, just remember that the next time you see it.
Every image of these JLENS blimps show them anchored with a great many anchor ties, not just one (or a few). However, every report says it just "came loose" or "escaped it's tethering".
Conspiracy theory would probably speculate on some new tech being demoed or tested over Baltimore. These things are supposed to be for detecting missiles and high altitude planes, which would beg the question what one was doing blown up and ready to fly in Baltimore.
It says it right in the article:
"It's currently on a three-year test run to see if it can help detect cruise missiles or enemy aircraft from 10,000 feet above ground."
No, the article says the JLENS program is on a three-year test run to see if it can help detect cruise missiles or enemy aircraft from 10,000 feet above ground.
That three years is up this year (started program in 2012)... so perhaps they will be decommissioned, or re-purposed.
My statement was more along the conspiracy theory line of domestic surveillance tech being tested.
Furthermore, why is it shaped like a blimp with an obvious front-side, when it's designed to be stationary (wouldn't a simple balloon work?)
I believe it has a front side because then it can point into the wind, making it easer to stay stationary for the given volume (and hence lift capacity).
Almost. It needs the eye of Sauron on it as well.
I've wondered about the failure mode of aerostats like this one. I found the threat to power lines particularly interesting. If one floated across southern Nevada it could easily catch the lines from Hoover dam to LA. One wonders if the blimp should drop its tether if its GPS detects it has moved more than a mile off station. Or better yet fire up the helium compressor and bring itself down to earth. Both options seem like they could be supported by an modest on board battery (I presume these things are powered through their tether normally).
[0] http://www.closefocusresearch.com/maximum-altitude-bullets-f...
Which has got to mean this device isn't such a great idea in it's current form. These things were designed to be overseas in combat areas guarding against inbound missile strikes on FOB's and the like.
How long before the FAA would have him / her in court?
This sort of dual-class system is why the drone registration initiative annoys me. Truly one law for us and another for Them.
If it were a private citizen I can imagine they'd be taken to jail.
There would be civil liability to deal with, which would be handled through lawsuits and insurance companies, but there's no reason for jail.
As far as the government having different 'rules' than private citizens - yeah, that happens. Sometimes it's stupid, and sometimes it makes perfect sense. For example, suing the federal government for punitive damages for negligence is generally unproductive. Any damages awarded would only be punitive to the tax paying populace as the source of said money.
Friendly reminder: we live in a country where a brown kid got arrested for bringing a clock to school. So yes, it is entirely possible for the hypothetical blimp pilot to face serious charges, up to and including terrorism, depending on his race and religion.
It's pretty hard to misrepresent an opponent's argument when there have been no opposing arguments made yet!
Plus your whole argument ignores that defending the airspace of the USA is the governments job. Of course we will have different rules because of that.
And you can sue the government for negligence.
It's possible that, instead of ordering a remote deflation or shooting it down, the operators decided to let it float until it reached an unpopulated area before bringing it down. It's bad that it dragged its steel tether across power lines, though.
http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/rtnwcm/groups/gallery/d...
I find bcrypt's response and selection in hashtag (#BlimpinAintEasy) is the most appropriate.
"But after 17 years of research and $2.7 billion spent by the Pentagon, the system known as JLENS doesn't work as envisioned. The 240-foot-long, milk-white blimps, visible for miles around, have been hobbled by defective software, vulnerability to bad weather and poor reliability."