As a former US intelligence analyst myself, I can attest that this video and commentary is spot-on in every way. A lot of times these videos are annoying to me because they're talking to somebody who only has peripheral knowledge about some of the things they're talking about, but this guy was absolutely right
@@keithm.402 Hey Keith, can you tell us how realistic the 'space cowboys' satellite scene is? Did the Russians or maybe the US built these kind of stations?
As a former "guy on the ground", I also agree. Things like not knowing capabilities, or things like four digit lat-longs. Four digit coordinates get you within a square kilometer at best. Another favorite of mine that wasn't covered is that thermal optics can most definitely not look through things. Even windows.
My father was the head of the space surveillance program at aerojet for decades, he was also one of the two (Baker-Nunn) that developed the first high altitude high resolution camera that was launched in a satellite in 1958, I'm very proud of my dad
Absolutely the best episode of this series to date. KM is a fantastic communicator and seems like a guy who’d be a hoot over a beer…provided you don’t start asking questions you shouldn’t! A consummate professional. Good job Wired
This guy is hilarious! He's so serious and professional and genuinely annoyed at badly done Hollywood scenes. Get them out of his face! I could watch him take down movie scenes all day 😂
This guy is SOO *GREAT* at his job that when he breaks down these scenes , pointing out their faults , he makes it seem as if its "common sense" when in actuality , its rather difficult! That's a *PRO!!* Makes something that is difficult AF , seem as if it's a walk in a park 🥇💯
What a great guest, I could listen to him all day. Please have him back for more chats. If you're reading this, have you not thought of hosting an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit?
Over the top movies: Do something. Spy guy: Haha no thats stupid. Body of lies: Do the neat trick with dust and spliting cars. Spy guy: Eeeh I need to protect sources and methods *sweats profusely*
@@David-sq2en I don't think so. The scene shows that bad guys know they could be watched by a drone and that it can only follow one car. That's what the expert refers to - knowing what drones can and can't do helped baddies figure out how to evade it, that's all.
@@FrancSchiphorst So you believe he's "probably" trying to hide the true capabilities of the drone by implying there is something to hide, thus revealing his hand... But you already know what he's trying to hide, so there was no point in hiding anything? :) Yeah, I'll stay with my opinion that he just explained what went wrong in the scene - you can have the best surveillance capability, but if your enemies know about it, they can figure out how to avoid it.
@@FrancSchiphorst This is what I was thinking. As he said it sounded more like "yes, let them think that works". Part of that could be because we tend to think in optical. Just as the "behind enemy lines" clip is the reverse. If the "baddies" were looking for him with thermal images (like his allies), his hiding in a stack of bodies would be futile. Tracking the right car/person with infrared, they'd probably hardly register the dust cloud.
@@CAP198462 Yeah it's more about the concept since on that scene they can just use infrared to see through the smoke. That's why you don't want the enemy to know what you're capable of so that they won't be able to counter your surveilance.
This was a very nice rundown. I appreciate and feel much more informed about this subject through the speakers sharing of knowledge. Thank you very much.
1. Never, ever, ever, ever target off of a single source INT. Always confirm/deny WTF is going on with the other INT’s. 2. When you tell the boss they are wrong, you better be right. 3. At the end of the day, it’s always the commander who; commands. Not you.
I know my dad works for NASIC (National Air & Space Intelligence Center) in the area of satellite imagery. He's been there for decades and I still have no real idea what he does other than travelling all over the world doing field ops, lol.
I love how this series is either, its 100% wrong in the movies, or its surprisingly right. Like the pickpocket one was like 90% correct and I was totally expecting it all to be like "yeah... no!" haha
the ground stations thing: i think it's a case of convergent evolution - movies are designing their stations in a way that it can best convey what's going on for the audience. ...an actual ground station wants the same thing - be designed in a way that best conveys to whoever present in it what's going on. so the two completely separate lines of thinking and design have the same goal, so they will converge to the same design which is most efficient in fulfilling that goal.
Great video. If there's more done on this, I'd love to see his assessment of the technology in "Fauda," a (fantastic) series that relies heavily on surveillance.
Loved this, but one small point about it being top priority to ensure a satellite can’t be ‘hacked’. I’m pretty sure the first iterations of unarmed Predator drones had to be grounded for a period of time because they realised the remote control systems were completely uncoded and unshielded!
This is sick, wow. And kudos for commenting on Bridge Too Far. There actually is a great documentary on Market Garden (the op) and the Victoria Cross by Jeremy Clarkson. I highly recommend it to anyone with 45 minutes to spare.
Assuming its N72, If it is E33 then it is off the north coast of Finland in the Barents Sea, if it is W33 it is in the middle of Greenland...interesting location for the Iranians to be constructing a nuclear facility
11:25 Great logical explanation there. The more information you get, the more options you can create. The same principle in hacking, we call it "enumeration" wherein gathering intel and create the methodology as well as backups (Ex. Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, etc). And I like how he mentioned the importance of time management cuz that's your number 1 enemy. Time is your number 1 enemy. The actual enemy (person or group) you pursuing is number 2.
These Keith Masback videos are very impressive: Maybe movies are overstated and dramatized but these movies had a real big effect on people in charge - e.g. Reagan - star wars was created as a result of him seeing "fake movie drama" at camp David.
17:20 - the structure is not THAT big. Take a look at solar sails. The harder part is controlling the vehicle against solar pressure (torque) and I would guess, maintaining the parabolic (or spherical?) shape. It’s a really interesting idea. Also, at LEO (where it appears to be), it would by flying over every 90 minutes, have extreme atmospheric drag, and spend ~30minutes/orbit in earth’s shadow.
4:31 "perfect intelligence delivered one minute too late is absolutely worthless" depends. sometimes whole wars don't get waged, like Iraq, if you had the right intel.
One thing they never get right is the limitation on bandwidth. In Enemy of the State the amount of data flow would have brought the US communications infrastructure to a grinding halt.
Super interesting and really great details and info!! Thank you! One bit I found a little funny was the bit about imaging a house using LiDAR in Bad Boys II. I’m typing this on an iPad Pro 12 which has LiDAR built in and an app that can do exactly this. Back in 2003 when this movie came out, it would have been cutting edge tech. Now, any mug like me that owns an iPad Pro can do this.
I'd watch it. Until I started another screen and began worrying about all the stuff I was behind on and called somebody on the phone. But I'd leave your video on ...
"Nah, he couldn't talk and entertain like that with a girl immediately after being a year alone inside, unrealistic. " "look at how clean his apartment is, please. when you are alone you don't clean your apartment for yourself every week. what would be the point?"
This Wired series is the OG of technique critiques and the featured experts here are just top notch.
There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله
@@ابواحمد-ح7ذ2ه go blow up a hospital or something
@@SnailHatan Well that's just racist
@@LeKami Ah, yes, because religion is the same thing as race. Try harder.
I’m super happy they put Arrested Development in there. “Those are balls”
It was the LAST thing I was expecting... and now I just have so much more respect for whoever decided to include it 😂
Lmaooo 😂 FACTS 🤣
@Brad C "It's all about context."
As a former US intelligence analyst myself, I can attest that this video and commentary is spot-on in every way. A lot of times these videos are annoying to me because they're talking to somebody who only has peripheral knowledge about some of the things they're talking about, but this guy was absolutely right
Thanks for your kind words & thanks for your service.
+
@@keithm.402 Hey Keith, can you tell us how realistic the 'space cowboys' satellite scene is? Did the Russians or maybe the US built these kind of stations?
I think the Wired series generally has a very good stack of experts coming on!
As a former "guy on the ground", I also agree. Things like not knowing capabilities, or things like four digit lat-longs. Four digit coordinates get you within a square kilometer at best. Another favorite of mine that wasn't covered is that thermal optics can most definitely not look through things. Even windows.
My father was the head of the space surveillance program at aerojet for decades, he was also one of the two (Baker-Nunn) that developed the first high altitude high resolution camera that was launched in a satellite in 1958, I'm very proud of my dad
"At 300 miles away it's kind of tough to get a heat signature of a human being" Neither confirming nor denying that it's in common secret use as such.
He's saying it's kind of tough.
Like opening a well-tightened jar.
Kind of tough, hardly impossible :D.
Basically a summary of this video.
I think its their way to say: Super easy, barely an inconvenience!
Was hoping we'd get "Eagle Eye", but this guest was great!
Maybe to do a second round of movies!
Thanks; I’d love to do another round! KM
@@keithm.402 You did a great job, keep it up!
There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله
@@cynomyS There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله
What a great Gentleman and professional analyst. Sounds like he was good at his job…!!
You’re very kind; thanks!
Agreed, he was so precise in his language, and gave such great context around the reality of these situations and decisions. Really great to watch!
Thanks!
Besides the osama bin laden what other big things where u involved in?
@@dewickmeeewe613 If he were to tell you would you agree to be killed?
"That satellite looks like something you'd make out of a lego set"
Loads KSP.
Absolutely the best episode of this series to date.
KM is a fantastic communicator and seems like a guy who’d be a hoot over a beer…provided you don’t start asking questions you shouldn’t! A consummate professional.
Good job Wired
" We replicate the movies because that's what we should look like "
lmao
There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله
@@ابواحمد-ح7ذ2ه stfu
@@ابواحمد-ح7ذ2هget some help
Ikr
I found that amazing, really
It probably all goes back on those room setups such as the NASA control room or possibly a control center used for nuclear testing prior to NASA
This guy is hilarious! He's so serious and professional and genuinely annoyed at badly done Hollywood scenes. Get them out of his face!
I could watch him take down movie scenes all day 😂
This guy is SOO *GREAT* at his job that when he breaks down these scenes , pointing out their faults , he makes it seem as if its "common sense" when in actuality , its rather difficult! That's a *PRO!!*
Makes something that is difficult AF , seem as if it's a walk in a park 🥇💯
Could listen to this guy’s knowledge for hours. More please
also on the Lat Long thing, the precision he gave was and area over a square kilometre
even in spy satellite i still think the same thing..
"enhance...enhance..enhance.."
Beat me to it.... enhance.... lol
Ahhh, the supertroopers reference.
GIVE ME THE DAMMED BAR OF SOAP.
1:26 his reaction to Battleship is absolutely glorious.
His examination of "gods eye" in the fast and furious franchise would be interesting.
What a great guest, I could listen to him all day. Please have him back for more chats.
If you're reading this, have you not thought of hosting an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit?
Enemy of the State was the FIRST movie I thought of and happy to see that was the case here too.
Over the top movies: Do something.
Spy guy: Haha no thats stupid.
Body of lies: Do the neat trick with dust and spliting cars.
Spy guy: Eeeh I need to protect sources and methods *sweats profusely*
It sounded like they can follow multiple vehicles at the same time, but don't want to say how it is done?
@@David-sq2en I don't think so. The scene shows that bad guys know they could be watched by a drone and that it can only follow one car. That's what the expert refers to - knowing what drones can and can't do helped baddies figure out how to evade it, that's all.
@@xelario infra red can probably look through the dust and follow the heat signature of the person they are watching into one of the cars
@@FrancSchiphorst So you believe he's "probably" trying to hide the true capabilities of the drone by implying there is something to hide, thus revealing his hand... But you already know what he's trying to hide, so there was no point in hiding anything? :)
Yeah, I'll stay with my opinion that he just explained what went wrong in the scene - you can have the best surveillance capability, but if your enemies know about it, they can figure out how to avoid it.
@@FrancSchiphorst This is what I was thinking. As he said it sounded more like "yes, let them think that works". Part of that could be because we tend to think in optical. Just as the "behind enemy lines" clip is the reverse. If the "baddies" were looking for him with thermal images (like his allies), his hiding in a stack of bodies would be futile.
Tracking the right car/person with infrared, they'd probably hardly register the dust cloud.
We don't tell people what we can do or how we do it.
Make sure you keep in mind what's actually possible.
lmao "we" like you speak for intelligence organizations.
Why doesn't this have more views ?
Well would you look at the insane likeness between the Archer analyst and the analyst speaking. It’s uncanny.
Exactly what I thought. 😁
In addition to thanks to Keith for his service, I would love to have Keith help me with my cable, DVR and when I cut the cord to streaming :)
I recall in WW2,the Germans tried painting bomb craters on runways to deceive the Allied air reconnaissance photo analyzers.
And the British made inflatable fake tanks to fool the German's reconnaissance.
Notice how on the Body of Lies clip he didn’t elaborate on the scene so I’m guessing he’s seen what was depicted in the movie before.
Or maybe he chose the scene to discuss a concept rather than a specific set of circumstances.
Nah, Body of Lies (great spy movie) trick would actually trick him but he didnt want to tell terrorists how to :D
@@CAP198462 Yeah it's more about the concept since on that scene they can just use infrared to see through the smoke. That's why you don't want the enemy to know what you're capable of so that they won't be able to counter your surveilance.
@@smidgethead8501 ah, I thought so, the intelligence community is very into S&M (sources and methods). Thanks for confirming.
John Goodman's cousin works in surveillance
There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله
O M G, I knew he looked familiar but I couldn't figure out who he looked like (yes I know he isn't actually his cousin)
12:42 does he know he's already been caricatured in an Archer episode?
Thanks - my kids will certainly use that on me, LOL.
You just blew my mind
He is by far the best contributor to this series. What an interesting guy.
Body of lies was a great movie. Definitely underrated
No. That generic pile of crap is right where it should be
7.1 out of 10 on IMDB. released 2008. I can't remember what happened. Think I'll watch it again.
One of the best videos in the series. I could listen to this dude all day
great episode! i could've listened to Mr Masback for 20 more minutes easy
I was a 1N5 20 years ago and this is so fascinating. I never got to do overhead.
"There was someone who was 'affectionately' known as the pacer" LMAO
There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله
I would like to see him again.
This was a very nice rundown. I appreciate and feel much more informed about this subject through the speakers sharing of knowledge. Thank you very much.
sigh...🥸
Brilliant vid. Informative and entertaining! Thanks Mr Masback.
You’re v welcome!
Very interesting topic and person, I would love to see more surrounding this topic.
This was a great video! I'd like to see more of them featuring Mr. Masback. Well done!
Thanks…it was fun to do!
love these "technique critique" episodes
1. Never, ever, ever, ever target off of a single source INT. Always confirm/deny WTF is going on with the other INT’s.
2. When you tell the boss they are wrong, you better be right.
3. At the end of the day, it’s always the commander who; commands. Not you.
Yes, yes, and yes! (I’ve served in both capacities, as an Army infantry officer and as an intelligence officer / professional.)
Major Wilbur Doug Pearson was the pilot in the F-15 Eagle who conducted the ASAT test in 1985. Operation Cosmic Eagle.
Who's willing to bet this man has seen some, "am I the only one?" memes.
I don't get it?
I know my dad works for NASIC (National Air & Space Intelligence Center) in the area of satellite imagery. He's been there for decades and I still have no real idea what he does other than travelling all over the world doing field ops, lol.
9:03 I am pretty sure I built that in Kerbal Space Program.
The guy at 16:00 looks just like Keith himself! xD
This was fascinating
I love how this series is either, its 100% wrong in the movies, or its surprisingly right. Like the pickpocket one was like 90% correct and I was totally expecting it all to be like "yeah... no!" haha
Can't believe Bad Boys was more accurate than some of these other dedicated films
the ground stations thing: i think it's a case of convergent evolution - movies are designing their stations in a way that it can best convey what's going on for the audience.
...an actual ground station wants the same thing - be designed in a way that best conveys to whoever present in it what's going on. so the two completely separate lines of thinking and design have the same goal, so they will converge to the same design which is most efficient in fulfilling that goal.
' Eye in the Sky ' was a great movie in the way military personnel have to put up with politicians & their BS...
Fast and Furious? Contact? Id like to listen to this guy another 20 minutes!
Is the resolution high enough now if I flip it the bird it can make out my middle finger. ONLY important question
ONLY Answer. YES.
I'm definitely not an expert, but I'm reasonably confident in saying that, no, they're not going to be able to resolve details that fine.
Using google maps I can see a ~10 inch landscaping rock in my yard. I'm guessing governments can do better.
Great video. Most unassuming are usually the most dangerous
Very interesting and worthwhile video.
Diamonds are forever was made in 1971. Satellites were futuristic vessels at that stage, so have some sympathy with the filmmakers.
Yeah! - and he made fun of the Bond movie budget! 16:21 - "Looks like their budget was a hundred bucks!" :)
Great video. If there's more done on this, I'd love to see his assessment of the technology in "Fauda," a (fantastic) series that relies heavily on surveillance.
Given the history of the directors of the show and the quality of their consultants, I would bet that it’s pretty spot on.
Loved this, but one small point about it being top priority to ensure a satellite can’t be ‘hacked’. I’m pretty sure the first iterations of unarmed Predator drones had to be grounded for a period of time because they realised the remote control systems were completely uncoded and unshielded!
I wish SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) was explained and talked about more. A 3D image can be captured without a camera. Mindblowing
This is sick, wow. And kudos for commenting on Bridge Too Far. There actually is a great documentary on Market Garden (the op) and the Victoria Cross by Jeremy Clarkson. I highly recommend it to anyone with 45 minutes to spare.
There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله
Really interesting!
He's great please have him on again!
They really got Austin Powers in this and I love it
I was happy to see it as well…though I had to be careful to avoid commenting on the other ‘stuff’ related to that part of the movie, LOL.
3:00 "intelligence is at it's best when it's combining different multiple sources"
Educate and advocate - the 2 biggest responsibilities of any decent collection manager.
Assuming its N72, If it is E33 then it is off the north coast of Finland in the Barents Sea, if it is W33 it is in the middle of Greenland...interesting location for the Iranians to be constructing a nuclear facility
We'd never think to look there, though, would we?! 😆 ROFL
nice, an insider gives real info. i know what USI could do until 1994. cannot even think what USI can do now
Hollywood hires consultants to get this stuff right, then pretty much ignores most of their advice in the name of creative license.
11:25 Great logical explanation there. The more information you get, the more options you can create. The same principle in hacking, we call it "enumeration" wherein gathering intel and create the methodology as well as backups (Ex. Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, etc). And I like how he mentioned the importance of time management cuz that's your number 1 enemy. Time is your number 1 enemy. The actual enemy (person or group) you pursuing is number 2.
Thanks for recognizing and expanding this point.
Mike Stoklasa's twin brother who never liked fantasy.
Just remember that every war room needs a big board.
As a former intel guy, I could watch this stuff 24/7.
Wish he'd have said something about some command center scenes in the Pine Gap series.
Live these. Please keep doing these.. maybe SAS troops?
Come on Wired! The Homeland episode featured here is "Drone Queen"! How could you get that wrong? Awesome video nonetheless 😊
These Keith Masback videos are very impressive: Maybe movies are overstated and dramatized but these movies had a real big effect on people in charge - e.g. Reagan - star wars was created as a result of him seeing "fake movie drama" at camp David.
Well I wasn't planning on watching this all the way but hey I did and I learned some interesting stuff too.
Great job
what a treat
Lex needs to get this guy on His podcast
17:20 - the structure is not THAT big. Take a look at solar sails. The harder part is controlling the vehicle against solar pressure (torque) and I would guess, maintaining the parabolic (or spherical?) shape. It’s a really interesting idea. Also, at LEO (where it appears to be), it would by flying over every 90 minutes, have extreme atmospheric drag, and spend ~30minutes/orbit in earth’s shadow.
This guy has a very straight forward serious demeanor, even when talking about David Cross's balls...
This is so cool.
You make sure that it is difficult for someone to just hack a satellite? Tell that to the people at DEFCON.
4:31 "perfect intelligence delivered one minute too late is absolutely worthless" depends. sometimes whole wars don't get waged, like Iraq, if you had the right intel.
Great episode
One thing they never get right is the limitation on bandwidth. In Enemy of the State the amount of data flow would have brought the US communications infrastructure to a grinding halt.
'it has nothing to do with communications with other galaxies'
this is exactly what someone who sits on the landsat advisory group would say
landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov
Here you can see all the images Landsat makes. Take a look, maybe there is a picture of you with a aluminium foil hat.
@@BeaglefreilaufKalkar it was quite obviously a joke
@@ottopotomas
You parodied aluminium hat wearers too perfectly
@@BeaglefreilaufKalkar 😂😂
This dude was cool, hope to see him again. 👍
Super interesting and really great details and info!! Thank you!
One bit I found a little funny was the bit about imaging a house using LiDAR in Bad Boys II. I’m typing this on an iPad Pro 12 which has LiDAR built in and an app that can do exactly this. Back in 2003 when this movie came out, it would have been cutting edge tech. Now, any mug like me that owns an iPad Pro can do this.
Still waiting for them to hit me up for the "expert depressed procrastinator breaks down coach potato scenes" video
I'd watch it. Until I started another screen and began worrying about all the stuff I was behind on and called somebody on the phone. But I'd leave your video on ...
"Nah, he couldn't talk and entertain like that with a girl immediately after being a year alone inside, unrealistic. "
"look at how clean his apartment is, please. when you are alone you don't clean your apartment for yourself every week. what would be the point?"
Love this expert videos
I could watch this all day
@Wired... Love your content
0:08 that rap verse tho
I expected him to rank them.
This guy is awesome
This guy is an unbelievably good host.
There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله
2:00 - Wouldn't those "Transmission" dishes be pointed almost straight up if they were in Hawaii?