Big Brother Is Watching

New spy satellite designed to focus on targets faster

Ball Aerospace is aiming the WorldView craft for a mid-2007 launch. A rival plans a spring blastoff.

Employees at Ball Aerospace work on the WorldView satellite, which will be able to take images of the Earth that show objects as small as 20 inches across - about the width of a seat at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium. It also can take four to five times as many images as existing satellites during its 90-minute orbits.

A next-generation spacecraft will launch next year that can take satellite images of the Earth that show objects as small as 20 inches across - about the width of a seat at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium. It also can take four to five times as many images as existing satellites during its 90-minute orbits of the planet.