Satellite surveillance technology

DEFINITION: Commercially owned and operated Earth-orbiting satellites capable of producing high-resolution photographs of the ground from space.

SIGNIFICANCE: Most surveillance requires either the person doing the surveillance or the equipment used to be in proximity to the target being watched, so there is a risk that the target will become aware of the surveillance. The use of satellite technology, however, enables law enforcement and other agencies to conduct surveillance that is undetectable by the targets.

Shortly after the first artificial satellites were placed into Earth orbit, plans were made for surveillance satellites. Such spy satellites were used by the military and intelligence agencies of national governments to monitor the activities of other nations from space. Commercial uses for imaging satellites eventually led to the development of remote-sensing satellites capable of monitoring land usage. With advances in technology, commercial satellites have been created with capabilities far in excess of those held by military satellites of only several years ago. Modern commercial satellites are capable of capturing sub-meter imagery, with many systems routinely providing approximately thirty centimeters resolution, meaning that they are capable of distinguishing between objects at least one meter apart.

The proliferation of high-resolution commercial satellites has led to a market for the data they collect. Several police agencies in the United States contracted to use DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird satellites to acquire high-resolution images; QuickBird re-entered the atmosphere in January 2015. This type of surveillance can provide police with information such as the approximate numbers of people involved in suspected gang or drug-trafficking activities and their patterns of movement. Satellite-captured images can also provide law-enforcement agencies with information on the locations of fences, walls, trees, vehicles, and other obstacles in particular areas, which can be very useful, for example, when special weapons and tactics (SWAT) teams are preparing for raids. Alternative methods of surveillance, such as by aircraft, could alert suspects to police activity and potentially put officers at risk. Satellite surveillance also enables federal authorities to monitor national borders in remote regions that are difficult to monitor in other ways.

Commercial satellite technology began as remote sensing to monitor land usage, and law-enforcement agencies still use satellites for this purpose: to look for cultivated fields of marijuana or other controlled substances. Such surveillance can also be done by aircraft, but a single satellite can cover more area in more locations than a small fleet of aircraft. Also, satellites offer complete stealth surveillance, whereas aircraft can often be heard or spotted by persons on the ground. In addition, unlike aircraft, which must be fueled and flown on specific missions, satellites are always on duty. All that the authorities need is to access the images.

Some privacy advocates have challenged law-enforcement agencies’ use of satellite surveillance as a violations of the right to protection from unlawful searches guaranteed in the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution. Most law enforcement agencies argue that surveillance through satellite images does not require warrants. Courts have generally treated satellite imagery similarly to aerial surveillance under existing Fourth Amendment precedents.

In modern times, satellite surveillance technology has been an important tool in warfare. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Ukraine relied on information from satellites to target invading forces. The war zone became a testing ground for emerging surveillance technologies. Russia, meanwhile, employed an array of tactics in its attempts to jam or hack satellite networks used by Ukraine’s armed forces.

Bibliography

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Jasani, Bhupendra, and Gotthard Stein, editors. Commercial Satellite Imagery: A Tactic in Nuclear Weapon Deterrence. Springer, 2002.

Oelrich, Ivan, et al. “Anti-Satellite Warfare, Proliferated Satellites, and the Future of Space-Based Military Surveillance.” Journal of Strategic Studies, vol. 47, nos. 6–7, 7 July 2024, pp. 916–39, doi:10.1080/01402390.2024.2379398. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.

Ogden, Theodora, et al. “The Role of the Space Domain in the Russia-Ukraine War.” Centre for Emerging Technology and Security, 23 Feb. 2024, cetas.turing.ac.uk/publications/role-space-domain-russia-ukraine-war. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.

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