Active Military and Reconnaissance Satellites of the United States of America

A multimedia installation in which real-time positions of classified American military and intelligence spacecraft are projected as points of light onto a large rotating three-dimensional globe. A soundtrack composed from intercepted transmissions from these spacecraft plays in the background.  

The installation is run by proprietary software developed specifically for the piece. Orbital data for the spacecraft comes from a loose network of amateur “satellite observers” who maintain an accurate “catalog” of classified objects in Earth orbit.

Principle development for the installation was done by Chris Sugrue with supporting work by Jeff Crouse, Evan Harper, and Geraldine Juarez.  The installation was produced with a commissions from the Eyebeam Art + Technology Center and the Berkeley Art Museum.