Secret Space Shuttles

[bananas]

Secret Space Shuttles
When you’re 200 miles up, it’s easy to hide what you’re up to.

* By Michael Cassutt
* Air & Space Magazine, August 01, 2009

<snip>

Between 1982 and 1992, NASA launched 11 shuttle flights with classified payloads, honoring a deal that dated to 1969, when the National Reconnaissance Office—an organization so secret its name could not be published at the time—requested certain changes to the design of NASA’s new space transportation system. The NRO built and operated large, expensive reconnaissance satellites, and it wanted a bigger shuttle cargo bay than NASA had planned. The spysat agency also wanted the option to fly “once around” polar missions, which demanded more flexibility to maneuver for a landing that could be on either side of the vehicle’s ground track.

“NRO requirements drove the shuttle design,” says Parker Temple, a historian who served on the policy staff of the secretary of the Air Force and later with the NRO’s office within the Central Intelligence Agency. The Air Force signed on to use the shuttle too, and in 1979 started building a launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in northern California for reaching polar orbits. Neither the Air Force nor the NRO was ever comfortable relying exclusively on NASA’s vehicle, however. Delays in shuttle launches only increased their worry; even before the 1986 Challenger accident, they were looking for a way off the shuttle and back onto conventional rockets like the Titan.

The uneasy relationship between the Air Force, NRO, and NASA assumed a human face in 1979, when the military chose its first group of shuttle astronauts. Two years before the shuttle’s first launch, the NRO selected 13 Manned Spaceflight Engineers as potential payload specialists, all but one from the Air Force. The new military astronauts ranged in age from 24 to 36. Most had advanced degrees in engineering; one was a Ph.D. They were experienced in satellite flying and acquisition. And they believed they were the vanguard of the Air Force in space.

<snip>

Mattingly’s crew—including MSE payload specialist Payton—finally got off the ground in January 1985. For the first time in NASA history, there was no pre-launch public affairs commentary until nine minutes before liftoff. During the flight, the Air Force lifted the veil of secrecy only to admit that the payload was successfully deployed, and that an Inertial Upper Stage was used.
According to most accounts, STS-51C’s payload was ORION, an eavesdropping satellite for signals intelligence. Parked in geosynchronous orbit, it unfurled a dish almost as wide as a football field is long (hence the need for the shuttle’s large payload bay) to listen in on ground communications and telemetry. No one involved with the mission will comment beyond this recent statement from Payton: “It’s still up there, and still operating.”

<snip>

[pokerfan]

1. There's probably more than one "Hubble"

What would be the theoretical maximum (visible light) resolution of a Hubble sized telescope looking down from a low earth orbit?

R = λ/D

If: λ = 600 nm and D = 2.4 m

Then: R = (600e-9)/2.4 = 2.5e-7rad (~ 0.05")

x = Rh

If: h = 200 km

Then: x = (2.5e-7)(200e3) = 0.05m (~ 2 inches)

[bananas]

6. There were a lot more

KH-11 KENNAN

<snip>

Nine or ten KH-11 satellites were launched between 1976 and 1990 aboard Titan-3D and -34D rockets, with one launch failure. The KH-11 replaced the KH-9 film return satellite, among others, the last of which was lost in a liftoff explosion in 1986. It is believed to resemble the Hubble Space Telescope in size and shape, as the satellites were shipped in similar containers. Furthermore, a NASA history of the Hubble<3> states about the reasons for switching from a 3 meter main mirror to a 2.4 meter design: "In addition, changing to a 2.4-meter mirror would lessen fabrication costs by using manufacturing technologies developed for military spy satellites."

Assuming 2.4-meter mirror, the theoretical ground resolution with no atmospheric degradation and 50% MTF would be roughly 15 cm (6 inches). Operational resolution would be worse due to effects of the atmosphere. Different versions of the KH-11 vary in mass from 13,000 to 13,500 kilograms. Its length is believed to be 19.5 meters, and diameter is 3 meters or less.<4> Data was transmitted through the United States military's Satellite Data System relay network.

<snip>

[ConcernedCanuk]

2. Interesting, I just finished a book that deals with just this topic

.
.
.

"FIRESTAR" by Michael Flynn

Science Fiction, but very thought-provoking

Although filled with interesting facts, the plot keeps moving right along

A good read, even if just for entertainment.

[lapfog_1]

3. Macroscope - Piers Anthony

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macroscope

The original concept of "infinite vision" or a Super Duper Pooper Scooper.

[RT Atlanta]

4. test shot of Enterprise on the launch pad at Vandenburg

Vandenburg AFB in California was to be used for the polar launches, but was closed down without ever a shuttle launch, following the Challenger explosion.

[Xithras]

5. I got to see SLC-6 many years ago at Vandenberg.

After the west coast shuttle launches were cancelled, the pads sat out there rotting away until they were reconfigured for rocket use in the mid-90's. My mother-in-law was stationed at Vandenberg until she retired, and took me on the "barely classified" tour during a visit. Since SLC-6 wasn't being used and was rusting away at the time, it was on the tour.

They spent BILLIONS building the complex for the shuttle, and then a billion more extending and upgrading the runway for shuttle landings, and it was never used. Such an incredible waste.

[Johonny]

7. none of this is really a secret

Just pop on wiki to see the payload of just about any flight of any vehicle.

[and-justice-for-all]

8. Ever seen the NOVA episode called ASTROSPIES

It can be found on Hulu..check it out.

[Tommy_J]

9. Hey thanks for the tip!