History Main / SpySatellites

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* The SWORD intelligence agency in ''Anime/{{Vexille}}'' has tried to spy on Japan but has repeatedly failed because of the electromagnetic shield that surrounds the archipelago. The shield scrambles all outgoing light waves which makes spy satellites unable to see anything but static. The main plot's infiltration mission is to get a team into Japan so they can set up a beacon that will act as a central focal point so a satellite can get a clear image of the country.

* In ''FanFic/AeonEntelechyEvangelion'' the military has a few satellites that were not shot down by the Migou. Unfortunately for them, the effectiveness of these satellites is low because of the Migou orbital superiority.

* Unsurprisingly downplayed in ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'' - Calvin tries to make a camera into something like this.

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Film/EnemyOfTheState''. When Dean meets Brill on a rooftop, TheGovernment agents assigned to track Dean try to determine Brill's identity, but can only see the top of his head. When one agent asks why they can't just move the camera, the technician replies that the satellite is at least 200 miles in the air, so the only angle it can look at is straight down.

** When UsefulNotes/{{CIA}} intelligence analysts use a spy satellite to figure out which of several camps belongs to a rogue faction of the IRA, they are forced to use a still picture and to make some rather ambitious inferences to determine that the camp belongs to the bad guys - the camera can't show their faces.

* The orbital particle beam cannon in ''Film/UnderSiege2DarkTerritory'' had a video lens that was powerful enough to focus on the breasts of a topless sunbather in Los Angeles in crystal-clear real time.
* ''Film/MenInBlack'' plays it straight when K is watching his lost love, although it does appear to turn into a freeze-frame as she looks upward.

* Used in ''Film/GoldenEye'': After detonation of the first [=GoldenEye=] satellite above Severnaya fried all satellites in the area, the British secret service brings in another satellite to observe the wreckage... And Bond notices [[GirlOfTheWeek something]] moving.
* In ''Film/DejaVu2006'', Doug is initially told that "Snow White" uses a series of satellites to generate extremely-detailed images at ground level with a 4-day delay due to the complexity of the program. The same complexity is also explained as the reason why no recording and rewinding is possible. [[spoiler:This is a lie, as Doug becomes suspicious and is eventually told that they're actually viewing the events through a wormhole]].
* In ''Film/IceStationZebra'', the MacGuffin is a photographic capsule ejected from a Soviet spy satellite -- containing images of both Soviet and American ICBM silos -- that lands near the eponymous Arctic ice station. The film and the novel it's adapted from were set in the early 1960s, so they couldn't transmit an image with a high resolution.
* In ''Film/StreetFighter'', an Allied Nations satellite serves to notice and, at a great distance, depict the aftermath of a truck full of explosives crashing into Bison's camp; we get an ever-so-slightly distorted live feed, relevant credentials summoned from some database, and a brief indication of the new status: '''(Captured by Bison Forces)'''.
* ''Film/WrongIsRight'' opens with spy satellites eclipsing the Earth and the protagonist WaxingLyrical about them. Strangely they have nothing to do with the plot, which involves terrorists planning to acquire two suitcase nukes, which aren't exactly carried around in the open where spy satellites can see them.

* Several of Creator/PhilipJoseFarmer's novels include spy satellites. In the ''Dayworld'' series, they are a weapon of a future police state -- er... sharing, caring, one-world government. Interestingly, even though the articles were written in the 1970s/early '80s, Farmer has the satellites hooked up to gait-analysing computers. It adds to the paranoid atmosphere: once the characters become fugitives, they have to wear wide-brim hats and spend every moment on the street walking in a deliberately different pattern.
* ''Literature/JackRyan'':
** As in the film version, Spy Satellites played a central role in the plot of ''Literature/PatriotGames'', with a portion of the plot centering around the CIA personnel trying to outwit the [[UsefulNotes/TheTroubles Northern Irish]] [[WesternTerrorists extremists]] who made a point of avoiding being outside when the American satellites passed over head. At one point, a satellite gets a photo of a woman in a low-cut dress, as viewed from above. One of the analysts [[DiscussedTrope estimates]] that she had to be a C-Cup or bigger, because the limited resolution of the satellites meant that they wouldn't be able to see her cleavage if she were any smaller.
** Spy satellites show up in other Ryanverse stories, but usually in a realistic fashion: with still photos, known trajectories, and otherwise limited ability. When spy satellites are ''not'' appropriate (for example, in ''Without Remorse'', part of which involves the Vietnam War), drones and [=UAV=]s are used. ''The Bear and The Dragon'' actually focuses on how Dark Star [=UAV=]s (essentially stealthy Predator drones) dramatically shift the balance of power in war, allowing the undertrained, undermanned, ''very'' poorly equipped Russian army to defeat the otherwise overwhelmingly superior Chinese invaders.
** Creator/TomClancy himself used the commercial variety for research on the Dushanbe complex for ''Cardinal of the Kremlin''. It earned him a visit from the [=FBI=], who were concerned he may have been given photos from a "real" spy satellite.
* In Creator/JackMcDevitt's ''Chindi'' (part of the ''Literature/PriscillaHutchins'' series), Hutch and friends find alien spy satellites around an alien world. The aliens went extinct in a global war several thousand years ago, but the satellites are much more advanced than anything this race ever built. Apparently someone wanted a front-row seat for the war. Even more disturbing is the fact that most of the satellites date back to the time of the war, but one of them is less than 100 years old. It's later discovered that the satellites are an extensive network monitoring developing civilizations. This includes Earth, though the satellites there have shut down to avoid detection and are only programmed to reactivate if the [[AliensStealCable radio envelope]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt goes dead]].
* Pandora and Malachi tap into the existing network of these in ''Literature/{{Edenborn}}'' to keep track of the separate camps and eventually to find the cure for Black Ep.
* One ''San Antonio'' novel set before the space age has, as a MacGuffin, a series of unidentifiable photographs. Only at the end do we learn that a rocket released a camera at its apex, which then took increasingly detailed photos on the way down.

* In the ''Red Stars'' books, the large-scale naval battle between an American carrier battle group and a Soviet one from a parallel world has the Americans using satellites to their advantage, especially since the NegativeSpaceWedgie that has brought the Soviets to our world cover the whole are in mist. Then the Soviets perform their scans and are astonished to discover orbital satellites right above them. In their world, where their conflict with the Americans is anything but "cold", no orbital satellite is possible, since the other side just shoots it down to prevent this trope. Only one-shot parabolic satellites are employed. The Soviets then use the surface-to-space missiles they have for just such a purpose to shoot down the American satellites, blinding them.
* ''Literature/TheMartian'':
** It's thanks to their satellites around Mars that NASA learns first of Mark Watney's survival, then of his excursion to salvage the Pathfinder probe. This gives them enough days to restore their old Pathfinder communication equipment, and re-establish contact within one day of Watney repairing the probe.
** It's later mentioned that the NSA helps the rescue effort by running NASA satellite photos through some EnhanceButton algorithms they use for their own, actual spy satellites.

--> ''Don't you know, you little mite?''\\
''I'm really a Russian sattelite!''
* At the start of ''Literature/FallenDragon'', Lawrence Newton wears a wide-brimmed hat for an illicit meeting so he won't be spotted by the satellites of the MegaCorp he works for, which is ProperlyParanoid when he gets into a BarBrawl and has to use lethal force.

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' in "Eye Spy".
* ''Series/Jericho2006'''s track record with satellites is... schizophrenic. On the one hand, you get reasonable-looking still photos from satellites. On the other, you get Hawkins' satellite feeds... which appear to be filmed right at ground level.
* ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' is guilty of this one to a large degree. Not only did they pull up spy sat footage of an area, but it was from hours ago when there would have been no reason for a spy sat to even be looking there. The writers apparently want the viewer to believe that the entire surface of the Earth is not only under constant surveillance but also being archived. Oh...yes...of course...that only happens [[BigBrotherIsWatching on that TV show...]] yes...that's all we suspect.
* Generally averted in ''Series/TheUnit'', which uses still photos.
* In an episode of ''Series/ThunderInParadise'', one of the heroes looks for a spy satellite nearby to [[HollywoodHacking hack into]] from his CoolBoat, finds one, and acts as a MissionControl for his partner.

* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': In the second season episode "Rendezvous", a murder case is solved by obtaining photos from a Russian spy satellite showing that the defendant's car was present at the scene of the murder.

* While you can't actually buy one in the game, ''{{TabletopGame/GURPS}}: High-Tech'' discusses the flaws of the "Eye In The Sky". Along with limits of the technology itself, an untrained character can't even determine what the readouts mean.
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': The [[Characters/Warhammer40000ImperialGuard Imperial Guard]] is known to make use of a "sensornet", which includes satellites and orbiting ships' sensor arrays. One Literature/CiaphasCain novel does mention the geosynchronous ones being on the planet's equator.

* Used with irony in one of the ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' games. During one of the idle conversations of a guard, he mentions nobody uses spies or bugs anymore, they use satellites. Guards aren't exactly geniuses in the game ([[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy though they aren't crazy either]]), and he was definitely wrong about nobody using spies. Obviously, as you are one.

* In ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' , your primary means of tracking UFO activity is putting satellites in orbit to watch over a specific country. Taken to a ridiculous extreme in one cutscene, which has [[MissionControl Bradford]] ordering a satellite to move to a certain set of coordinates. When it spots nothing, he orders it to switch to a ''thermal'' camera, and then finally ''[[XRayVision X-Ray mode]]'', which gives you the layout of [[spoiler:the alien base]].
** The hologlobe also depicts the satellites as hovering directly above their assigned country, but that could be symbolic: Since they're (usually) meant to watch airspace rather than the ground, they could be over the equator without worrying to much about slanting.
** If a UFO is allowed to escape, then there's a chance the aliens will locate and shoot down one of your satellites. A foundry upgrade can reduce the profile of your satellites, making them harder to detect.
* ''Franchise/StarCraft'': The Terran's scanning ability seems to use one, as the building that uses it sports a huge receptor dish.

* In some ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' games, researching Satellites on the TechTree completely [[DefogOfWar removes]] the FogOfWar for that civilization. In others, it only explores the world map but doesn't provide live information.

* Parodied in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': Riff hooks a military GPS signal to track his own position so he could navigate to [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Muffin The Vampire Baker's]] hometown, where he thinks [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Sam]] is (un-)living. [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=990528 All it shows is a (front-on) picture of him with the legend "You Are Here".]]
** Later averted in the storyline [[http://sluggy.com/daily.php?date=070205 Aylee]], where a plan takes advantage of the gaps in satellite coverage.
* Parodied (deconstructed?) by ''Partially Clips'', which points out that to get good footage of Iraq, a spy satellite would need to be in low polar orbit. Anything in low polar orbit must pass over every point on earth sooner or later. And when it's passing over New Jersey, there's no legitimate military work to be done so the soldiers and technicians running it probably watch skinnydippers.

* ''Film/SpiesLikeUs'' opens with a satellite marked "NO MILITARY VALUE". The satellite [[BlatantLies promptly exposes a camera]] and takes orbital photos of a Soviet missile.

* ''WebComic/SchlockMercenary'':

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' screws this one up every time they show satellite footage, although it is sometimes hard to tell if this show is really making a mistake, or just telling a subtle joke. It is, after all, primarily a comedy.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E20TheTroubleWithTrillions The Trouble with Trillions]]" has the government using spy satellites to find the trillion-dollar bill Mr. Burns has stolen. All they can determine is that it isn't on his roof.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E2BrothersLittleHelper Brother's Little Helper]]", Bart is convinced that a satellite is spying on him. At the end of the episode, he uses a tank to shoot it down. Mark [=McGwire=] admits that the [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} MLB]] is spying on everyone pretty much all the time. When Bart asks why, [=McGwire=] says that he could tell the terrifying truth, or he could hit some dingers instead for the people. The crowd wants to watch him play, and he takes the massive printout and tries to hide it under his hat.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS21E15StealingFirstBase Stealing First Base]]", Lisa expresses fear that the UsefulNotes/IvyLeague might find out she once got a less-than-stellar grade. Cut to [[http://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/File:Harvard_University_satellite.png a satellite with the Harvard insignia turning its camera downwards]].

* Several of Creator/PhilipJoseFarmer's novels include spy satellites. In the ''Dayworld'' series, they are a weapon of a future police state -- er... sharing, caring, one-world government. Interestingly, even though the articles were written in the 1970s/ early '80s, Farmer has the satellites hooked up to gait-analysing computers. It adds to the paranoid atmosphere: once the characters become fugitives they have to wear widebrim hats and spend every moment on the street walking in a deliberately different pattern.

* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zigzagged]] in Creator/TomClancy's ''Film/PatriotGames''.

* The film capsule of a 1960s-era spy satellite - containing images of both Soviet and American ICBM silos - serves as the MacGuffin of ''Film/IceStationZebra''.
* In ''Film/StreetFighter'', an Allied Nations satellite serves to notice and, at a great distance, depict the aftermath of a truck full of explosives crashing into Bison's camp; we get an ever-so-slightly distorted live feed, relevant credentials summoned from some database, and a brief indication of the new status: [[AC:(Captured By Bison Forces)]] -of Zang, C.L., Balrog, G., and in a MythologyGag about his moniker in the games, "Honda, E.".

* Several of Creator/PhilipJoseFarmer's novels include spy satellites. In the ''Dayworld'' series they are a weapon of a future [[strike:police state]] sharing caring one-world government. Interestingly, even though the articles were written in the 70's/ early 80's Farmer has the satellites hooked up to gait-analysing computers. It adds to the paranoid atmosphere: once the characters become fugitives they have to wear widebrim hats and spend every moment on the street walking in a deliberately different pattern.

* ''Literature/IceStationZebra''. The MacGuffin is a photographic capsule ejected from a Soviet spy satellite that landed near the eponymous Arctic ice station. The novel and film were set in the early 1960's, so they couldn't transmit an image with a high resolution.

* ''Film/WrongIsRight'' opens with spy satellites eclipsing the Earth and the protagonist WaxingLyrical about them. They actually have little to do with the plot, but are apparently involved in uncovering the terrorist plan to acquire two suitcase nukes that drives events.

->''I am the eye in the sky''\\
''Looking at you''\\
''I can read your mind''

Much-beloved of the SpyDrama and a technical element that they most frequently get wrong, the omnipresent "eye-in-the-sky" is always shown to be a whole lot more useful than it truly is.

* Used with irony in one of the ''VideoGame/SplinterCell''. During one of the idle conversations of a guard, he mentions nobody uses spies or bugs anymore, they use satellites. Guards aren't exactly geniuses in the game ([[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy though they aren't crazy either]]), and he was definitely wrong about nobody using spies. Obviously, as you are one.

* ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'': The Terran's scanning ability seems to use one, as the building that uses it sports a huge receptor dish.
* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar:'' The Imperial Guard has a sensor ability from their HQ, and one of their upgrades increases weapon range thanks to satellite-transmitted data.

** One episode had the government using spy satellites to find the trillion-dollar bill Mr. Burns had stolen. All they could determine was that it wasn't on his roof.
** In "Brother's Little Helper" Bart is convinced that a satellite is spying on him. At the end of the episode he uses a tank to shoot it down. Mark [=McGwire=] admits that the [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} MLB]] is spying on everyone, pretty much all the time. When Bart asks why, [=McGwire=] says that he could tell the terrifying truth or he could hit some dingers instead for the people. The crowd wants to watch him play, and he takes the massive printout and tries to hide it under his hat.
** Lisa once expresses fear that the UsefulNotes/IvyLeague might find out she once got a less-than-stellar grade. Cut to [[http://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/File:Harvard_University_satellite.png a satellite with the Harvard insignia turning its camera downwards]].
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'':
** ComicBook/TheQuestion claims that topically applied fluoride doesn't prevent tooth decay, but instead makes teeth detectable by [[TheConspiracy Their]] spy satellite.

** At [[{{Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E4TaskForceX}} Task Force X]] , Lawton reminds Flag that the Justice League Satellite [[ProperlyParanoid could hear them]].

[[quoteright:194:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SpySat.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:194:[[ComedicUnderwearExposure I See London, I See France - and yes, I can see your underpants]].]]

[[folder:Film]]

* In some ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' games, researching Satellites on the TechTree completely removes the FogOfWar for that civilization. In others, it only explores the world map but doesn't provide live information.

->''I am the eye in the sky''
->''Looking at you''
->''I can read your mind''

[[folder: Anime & Manga]]

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

[[folder:TabletopGames]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]

[[folder:WebComics]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

[[folder:RealLife]]

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'

* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', ComicBook/TheQuestion claims that topically applied fluoride doesn't prevent tooth decay, but instead makes teeth detectable by [[TheConspiracy Their]] spy satellite.

** Occasionally the Tagon's Toughs' ship act as an "Overwatch"; the 'person in (ultimate) charge' of pushing any "buttons" is an A.I., making the whole thing automated in effect.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' had the government using spy satellites to find the trillion-dollar bill Mr. Burns had stolen. All they could determine was that it wasn't on his roof.

** The Very Dangerous Array is a series of satellites/observational drones. The first were built into existing ''missiles''. Later models come with observations and exploding all built into one Very Dangerous Package. Usually managed by whatever AI's signed on/been built this week.

** Occasionally the Tagon's Toughs' ship act as an "Overwatch", especially since the 'person in (ultimate) charge' of pushing any "buttons" is an A.I., making the whole thing automated in effect.
** The Very Dangerous Array is a series of satellites/observational drones. The first were built into existing ''missiles''. Later models come with observations and exploding all built in to one Very Dangerous Package.

* WebComic/SchlockMercenary occasionally has the crew's ship act as an "Overwatch", especially since the 'person in (ultimate) charge' of pushing any "buttons" is an A.I., making the whole thing automated in effect.

* ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' is guilty of this one to a large degree. Not only did they pull up spy sat footage of an area, but it was from hours ago when there would have been no reason for a spy sat to even be looking there. The writers apparently want the viewer to believe that the entire surface of the Earth is not only under constant surveillance but also being archived.
** Oh...yes...of course...that only happens [[BigBrotherIsWatching on that TV show...]] yes...that's all we suspect.
** It's a show about a secret government group that researches weirdness that violates the laws of physics. Absolute surveillance is hardly impossible.
*** Technology clearly ''is'' much more advanced. No one bats an eye when one recurring character is outfitted with a fully functional cyborg arm.

** Spy satellites show up in other Ryanverse stories, but usually in a realistic fashion: with still photos, known trajectories, and otherwise limited ability. When spy satellites are ''not'' appropriate (for example, in ''Without Remorse'', part of which involves the Vietnam War), drones and UAVs are used. ''The Bear and The Dragon'' actually focuses on how Dark Star UAVs (essentially stealthy Predator drones) dramatically shift the balance of power in war, allowing the undertrained, undermanned, ''very'' poorly equipped Russian army to defeat the otherwise overwhelmingly superior Chinese invaders.

* In ''Film/StreetFighter'', an Allied Nations satellite serves to notice and, at a great distance, depict the aftermath of a truck full of explosives crashing into Bison's camp; we get an ever-so-slightly distorted live feed, relevant credentials summoned from some database, and a brief indication of the new status ([[AC:Captured By Bison Forces]]) of Zang, C.L., Balrog, G., and in a MythologyGag about his moniker in the games, "Honda, E.".

* Averted in a [[ZigZaggingTrope zig zag fashion]] in Creator/TomClancy's ''Film/PatriotGames''. When UsefulNotes/{{CIA}} intelligence analysts use a spy satellite to figure out which of several camps belongs to a rogue faction of the IRA, they are forced to use a still picture and to make some rather ambitious inferences to determine that the camp belongs to the bad guys - the camera can't show their faces. On the other hand, when an DGSE platoon raids the camp at night, the infrared spy satellite watching the action appears to give a perfect 'camera in the sky' view of the action. As it only takes a few minutes to perform the actual strike part of the raid, orbital mechanics (which get discussed) aren't a problem in that particular instance (in fact, the raid was planned specifically so they could watch it on the satellite).
** The terrorists are also aware of when the satellite passes over and make sure they're inside a tent at those times, so Jack Ryan has to get his CIA superiors to change the orbit of the satellite to catch them unawares.

Compare PalantirPloy, often an integral component in SinisterSurveillance. Also compare/contrast KillSat, which kills people instead of just watching them.

* In ''Film/DejaVu'', Doug is initially told that "Snow White" uses a series of satellites to generate extremely-detailed images at ground level with a 4-day delay due to the complexity of the program. The same complexity is also explained as the reason why no recording and rewinding is possible. [[spoiler:This is a lie, as Doug becomes suspicious and is eventually told that they're actually viewing the events through a wormhole]].

* We may not think much of it now, but those satellite and aerial pics you can look up on Google Earth? The image quality would've put many actual spy satellites during the Cold War to shame. Most of said images come from Keyhole, Inc., a CIA-funded company whose name is a direct reference to the Corona spy satellites, which were all designated with the name "Key Hole" followed by a number. Actual spying is prevented, though, because sensitive areas are blacked out or edited away in Google Earth images.

* ''{{Series/NCIS}}'' in "Eye Spy".
* ''Series/{{Jericho}}'''s track record with satellites is... schizophrenic. On the one hand, you get reasonable-looking still photos from satellites. On the other, you get Hawkins' satellite feeds... which appear to be filmed right at ground level.
* ''{{Series/Fringe}}'' is guilty of this one to a large degree. Not only did they pull up spy sat footage of an area, but it was from hours ago when there would have been no reason for a spy sat to even be looking there. The writers apparently want the viewer to believe that the entire surface of the Earth is not only under constant surveillance but also being archived.