Spy satellites become reluctant space celebs, get their own paparazzi
![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/HiDarBi9i6_uuBSRh_7fOA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYwNw--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/hqyah5nQRDd.Ft63Dgrafg--~B/aD0zNjc7dz01ODA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/06/satellite-spy.jpg)
Not only do American military satellites have to put up with the constant threat of ultrasonic space droppings, now they must also suffer the prying lenses of a couple of Frenchmen. Thierry Legault and Emmanuel Rietsch have spent the past two years turning consumer-grade components into a system that can keep up with the zippy and supposedly secret movements of craft like the X-37B space plane and the NROL-49 low-Earth orbit spy sat. Hit the source link and you'll see videos of the International Space Station, which they also managed to capture with steady-ish focus as it hurtled through space-time. Looks like nothing will thwart these guys, except maybe nano-satellites.