Amateur Astronomer Discovers US Intelligence Secrets From His Living Room

Above our heads are a multitude of artificial satellites, starting with those belonging to Elon Musk with the Starlink constellation. But these are well known and there are other devices that must be more discreet. Except that an amateur astronomer has discovered devices that were previously unknown and suspected of being used for espionage. A discovery that could undermine the American army as well as US intelligence.

Not so discreet American spy satellites

Indeed, around the Earth's orbit there are satellites that are called spy satellites. These devices are classified by the United States and their characteristics such as size, shape or even their position in the sky must remain a mystery. However An amateur astronomer based in Austria named Felix Schöfbänker made an incredible discovery using his telescope, all from his home.

The Austrian managed to take photographs of these devices using his 14″ Dobson telescope, which he optimized to be able to track satellitesin the sky from his home, comfortably installed in his living room. He took several photos of the spy devices that he shared on his AstroBin account, a platform specially designed for astrophotographers.

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After analyzing the images from these spacecraft, Schöfbänker was able to recover secret information that only a few insiders knew until now. The pictures show that it is of a new generation of American satellites used for reconnaissance and belonging to the American intelligence agency, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). In other words, he has just updated spy satellites of the American army with his telescope from his home.

A discovery that raises questions about the confidentiality of US intelligence operations

These FIA-Radar spy devices, also known as Topaz, are equipped with a 12-meter diameter parabolic antenna with two 10-meter solar panels and have technology called RSO, which allows them to see through clouds day and night.

In addition to these Topaz, the Austrian astronomer also discovered KH-11 Kennen satellites of different generations. These devices are very similar to the Hubble telescope but are intended for Earth observation.

Felix Schöfbänker believes that these satellites he discovered in the sky are used by a secret agency belonging to the US Department of Defense. He imagines that US intelligence uses them to spy on terrorists, criminals or even drug traffickers. Although the United States does not seem to be concerned about its discovery, one is entitled to questions about the secret nature of the American military's espionage operations when one sees how easily one can obtain images of these devices as well as their characteristics.