Awesome...yet scary

Private company plans on launching a real-time Google earth program, using camera's it is installing on the International Space Station. Resolution is good to 1.1 metres.

Article here.

UrtheCast aims to give Earthlings a view of themselves, from space, in real-time

A COMPANY called UrtheCast is helping Earth-bound commoners view their planet in a way that they have likely never witnessed it before - streamed in high definition, in nearly real time from space.

High-definition streaming video cameras will be installed on the International Space Station for the first time ever in a space venture that involves Canada, Russia and the UK.

"UrtheCast will supply video data and imagery of Earth collected by two HD cameras on the Russian module of the Space Station," UrtheCast's website explains.

"This data and imagery will be down-linked to ground stations around the planet and then displayed in real time on the Internet and distributed directly to UrtheCast's exclusive partners and customers."

Live and time-shifted footage of the Earth from space will be viewable on the web, via a smartphone application and an open application program interface (API).

Earth-watchers will be able to constantly track the location of the Space Station on the UrtheCast website, which the company claims "will feel like a blend of Google Earth with the video playback and search functionality of YouTube".

President of UrtheCast, Scott Larson, said UrtheCast "will operate seamlessly with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter".

The camera will provide a 40km wide, high resolution, colour image down to as close as 1.1 metres, close enough for users to pinpoint (and tag for all to see) specific locations and events in time.

The project will be officially launched on June 28 at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Canada.

Video data from the two cameras installed on the Space Station will be viewable on the UrtheCast website and partner sites starting from mid 2012.

Sorry - I'm no good at embedding - It's embedded in the article link though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ScNJ74SkPE[HTML_REMOVED]feature=player_embedded

Actually - I should add to this - I'm sure that certain government departments have had the ability to spy on citizens for years (under strict conditions I'm sure), but this is the first know of a private company utilising this technology and providing it as a service to the general public.

tinfoil hat all good

So there are only two cameras? This seems like a pretty complex task with only 2 cameras. From what I am reading it seems like the cameras will be constantly moving around the Earth broadcasting live footage of a 40km width range, and then everything in it's wake will operate essentially like TiVo? The 40km range would only be in focus for a certain amount of time, so it would seem like the "live video" from after the camera has moved on will only be able to loop the video that was captured previously.

I also don't really understand the zoom function, where users can zoom in and tag whatever. If the video is being shot with one camera, it is at a fixed focal length, zooming in would be like doing a digital zoom on your camera, where there are no change in pixels and you just zoom into the picture, constantly losing quality. Some of the comments indicated the 1.1m value corresponded to 1 pixel. If one pixel has a width of 1.1m, wouldn't the width of the full frame in full 1080 HD be 1920x1.1 (2.1 km)? Unless they shoot in 4 or 5K or something.

Maybe I'm completley missing something? I only read the article and watched the video.

Don't people just knock doors down and take incriminating photos of people in the act anymore??