Galactic Radiation and Background (GRAB) was the first successful United States orbital surveillance program, comprising a series of five Naval Research Laboratory electronic surveillance and solar astronomy satellites, launched from 1960 to 1962. Though only two of the five satellites made it into orbit, they returned a wealth of information on Soviet air defense radar capabilities as well as useful astronomical observations of the Sun.
In 1957, the Soviet Union began deploying the S-75 Dvina surface-to-air missile, controlled by Fan Song fire control radars. This development made penetration of Soviet air space by American bombers more dangerous. The United States Air Force began a program of cataloging the rough location and individual operating frequencies of these radars, using electronic reconnaissance aircraft flying off the borders of the Soviet Union. This program provided information on radars on the periphery of the Soviet Union, but information on the sites in the interior of the country was lacking. Some experiments were carried out using radio telescopes looking for serendipitous Soviet radar reflections off the Moon, but this proved an inadequate solution to the problem. [2] : 362
In March 1958, [3] : 4 while the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) was heavily involved in Project Vanguard, the United States Navy's effort to launch a satellite, NRL engineer Reid D. Mayo determined that a Vanguard derivative could be used to map Soviet missile sites. Mayo had previously developed a system for submarines whereby they could evade anti-submarine aircraft by picking up their radar signals. Physically small and mechanically robust, it could be adapted to fit inside the small Vanguard frame. [2] : 364 Mayo presented the idea to Howard Lorenzen, head of the NRL's countermeasures branch. Lorenzen promoted the idea within the Department of Defense (U.S. DoD), and six months later the concept was approved under the name "Tattletale". [2] : 364 President Eisenhower approved full development of the program on 24 August 1959. [3] : 4
When news of the project leaked in The New York Times , Eisenhower canceled the project. The project was restarted under the name "Walnut" (the satellite component given the name "DYNO" [1] : 140, 151 ) after heightened security had been implemented, including greater oversight and restriction of access to "need-to-know" personnel. [4] : 2 American space launches were not classified at the time, [5] [6] and a cover mission that would share the satellite bus with DYNO was desired to conceal DYNO's electronic surveillance mission from its intended targets. [7] : 300
The study of the Sun's electromagnetic spectrum provided an ideal cover opportunity. The Navy had wanted to determine the role of solar flares in radio communications disruptions [7] : 300 and the level of hazard to satellites and astronauts posed by ultraviolet and X-ray radiation. [8] : 76 Such a study had not previously been possible, as the Earth's atmosphere blocks much of the Sun's X-ray and ultraviolet output from ground observation. Moreover, solar output is unpredictable and fluctuates rapidly, making sub-orbital sounding rockets inadequate for the observation task. A satellite was required for long-term, continuous study of the complete solar spectrum. [9] : 5–6, 63–65 [10]
The NRL already had a purpose-built solar observatory in the form of Vanguard 3, which had been launched in 1959. Vanguard 3 had carried X-ray and ultraviolet detectors, though they had been completely saturated by the background radiation of the Van Allen radiation belt. [9] : 63 Development of the DYNO satellite from the Vanguard design was managed by NRL engineer Martin Votaw, leading a team of Project Vanguard engineers and scientists who had not migrated to NASA. [11] The dual-purpose satellite was renamed GRAB ("Galactic Radiation And Background"), sometimes called GREB ("Galactic Radiation Experiment Background"), and referred to in its scientific capacity as SOLRAD ("SOLar RADiation"). [1] : 142, 149 [7] : 300
The first GRAB satellite, SOLRAD 1, was launched 22 June 1960, on the same rocket as Transit 2A, an early naval navigation satellite. GRAB 1 had the distinction of being the first successful U.S. intelligence satellite, returning electronic intelligence (ELINT) data from 5 July 1960, until 22 September 1960, totaling 22 data collection passes of 40 minutes each over the Soviet Union, China and their allies. [12] The SOLRAD experiment remained operational for ten months [12] (though usable data was obtained only for five months) and it returned the first real-time X-ray and ultraviolet observations of the Sun. [13]
During the second launch attempt, the Thor booster shut down 12 seconds early, and the flight was subsequently terminated by range safety, raining fragments over Cuba. To ensure this did not happen again, subsequent launches from Cape Canaveral flew a dogleg trajectory to reach 70° inclination, avoiding the island nation. [14]
The other successful GRAB mission, GRAB 2, was launched 29 June 1961, atop the same Thor-Ablestar launch vehicle as Injun, a geophysical science satellite from the University of Iowa, and Transit 4A. GRAB 2 began transmission of intelligence to the ground on 15 July 1962, and functioned in orbit for fourteen months. [3] The amount of data received was so large that automated analytic tools had to be developed, tools that found application in subsequent surveillance programs. [12] GRAB 2's SOLRAD experiment (SOLRAD 3) also contributed substantially to solar X-ray astronomy. [15]
Three more GRAB satellites were produced, the first two failing to make orbit in 1962. The final scheduled GRAB flight was canceled, [7] : 300–303 and the satellite intended for the mission was ultimately donated to the National Air and Space Museum in 2002. [12]
The GRAB program formally ended with GRAB 2's last transmission in August 1962. [3] After the establishment of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in 1962, the GRAB program was succeeded by the POPPY program, which lasted from its funding authorization in July 1962 [16] until its termination on 30 September 1977. [17] The existence of the ELINT nature of GRAB was declassified by the NRL in 1998. [3]
| Mission | Launched | Site | Vehicle | COSPAR ID | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOLRAD 1 / GRAB 1 | 22 June 1960 | Cape Canaveral | Thor-Ablestar | 1960 Eta 2 or 1960-007B | Still in orbit as of April 2024 |
| SOLRAD 2 / (2nd GRAB launch attempt) | 30 November 1960 | Cape Canaveral | Thor-Ablestar | 1960-F16 | Launch failure |
| SOLRAD 3 / GRAB 2 | 29 June 1961 | Cape Canaveral | Thor-Ablestar | 1961 Omicron 2 or 1961-015B | Still in orbit as of April 2024; expected to orbit for about 900 years |
| SOLRAD 4 / (4th GRAB launch attempt) | 24 January 1962 | Cape Canaveral | Thor-Ablestar | 1962-F02 | Launch failure |
| SOLRAD 4B (5th GRAB launch attempt) | 26 April 1962 | Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello, California | Scout | 1962-F03 | Launch failure |
Vanguard 1 is an American satellite that was the fourth artificial Earth-orbiting satellite to be successfully launched, following Sputnik 1, Sputnik 2, and Explorer 1. It was launched 17 March 1958. Vanguard 1 was the first satellite to have solar electric power. Although communications with the satellite were lost in 1964, it remains the oldest human-made object still in orbit, together with the upper stage of its launch vehicle.
Project Vanguard was a program managed by the United States Navy Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), which intended to launch the first artificial satellite into low Earth orbit using a Vanguard rocket. as the launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Missile Annex, Florida.
Vanguard 3 is a scientific satellite that was launched into Earth orbit by the Vanguard SLV-7 on 18 September 1959, the third successful Vanguard launch out of eleven attempts. Vanguard rocket: Vanguard Satellite Launch Vehicle-7 (SLV-7) was an unused Vanguard TV-4BU rocket, updated to the final production Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV).
POPPY is the code name given to a series of U.S. intelligence satellites operated by the National Reconnaissance Office. The POPPY satellites recorded electronic signals intelligence (ELINT) data, targeting radar installations in the Soviet Union and Soviet naval ships at sea.
SOLRAD was an American series of satellites sponsored by the US Navy in a program to continuously monitor the Sun. SOLRAD was the Naval Research Laboratory's first post-Vanguard satellite.
SOLRAD 4B was a solar X-ray, ultraviolet, and electronic surveillance satellite. Developed by the United States Navy's United States Naval Research Laboratory, it was the fifth in both the SOLRAD and the GRAB programs.
The SOLRAD 8,Explorer 30 or SE-A satellite was one of the NASA SOLRAD program that began in 1960 to provide continuous coverage of solar radiation with a set of standard photometers. SOLRAD 8 was a spin-stabilized satellite oriented with its spin axis perpendicular to the sun-satellite line so that the 14 solar X-ray and ultraviolet photometers pointing radially outward from its equatorial belt viewed the sun on each revolution. Data were transmitted in real time by means of an FM / AM the satellite's telemetry system and were recorded by the stations on the Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network (STADAN) tracking network.
Vanguard TV-0, also called Vanguard Test Vehicle-Zero, was the first sub-orbital test flight of a Viking rocket as part of the Project Vanguard.
Vanguard TV-2, also called Vanguard Test Vehicle-Two, was the third suborbital test flight of a Vanguard rocket as part of Project Vanguard. Successful TV-2 followed the successful launch of Vanguard TV-0 a one-stage rocket launched in December 1956 and Vanguard TV-1 a two-stage rocket launched in May 1957.
Vanguard TV-5, also called Vanguard Test Vehicle-Five, was a failed flight of the American Vanguard rocket following the successful launch of Vanguard 1 on Vanguard TV-4. Vanguard TV-5 launched on 29 April 1958 at 02:53:00 GMT, from Launch Complex 18A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rocket was unsuccessful in its attempt to place an unnamed satellite into orbit.
Solrad 9, also known Explorer 37 and Explorer SE-B, was one of the SOLRAD program that began in 1960 to provide continuous coverage of solar radiation with a set of standard photometers.
Solrad 10, also known Explorer 44, NRL-PL 165 and Explorer SE-C, was one of the SOLRAD series designed to provide continuous coverage of wavelength and intensity changes in solar radiation in the UV, soft and hard X-ray regions. The satellite also mapped the celestial sphere using a high-sensitivity X-ray detector. Information collected was expected to contribute to a better understanding of the physical processes involved in solar flares and other solar activity, and the potential effects of this activity on short-wave communications, as well as on future human space travel. For the period of July 1971 to June 1973, the core memory data of Explorer 44 were used rather than those from Explorer 37. The Explorer 44 core memory failed on 11 June 1973, and Explorer 37 was heavily used until 25 February 1974, when the gas supply of the attitude control system was exhausted.
The Gravity Gradient Stabilization Experiment (GGSE-1) was a technology satellite launched simultaneously with four other satellites on 11 January 1964 by the U.S. military from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Thor Augmented Delta-Agena D rocket. It demonstrated a new oscillation damping system intended for use in reconnaissance satellites.
SOLRAD 7A was the seventh solar X-ray monitoring satellite in the SOLRAD series, and the fourth to successfully orbit the Earth. It was boosted into orbit along with four other military satellites atop a Thor Augmented Delta-Agena D rocket on January 11, 1964. Data returned by SOLRAD 7A dramatically revised scientific models of the solar corona.
SOLRAD1 is the public designation for SOLRAD/GRAB 1, a combination science and surveillance satellite launched into orbit on 22 June 1960. It was the first satellite to successfully observe solar X-rays, the first to conduct surveillance from orbit, and the first to be launched with another instrumented satellite.
SOLRAD 2 was the public designation for a combination surveillance and solar X-rays and ultraviolet scientific satellite, the second in the SOLRAD program developed by the United States Navy's Naval Research Laboratory. The SOLRAD scientific package aboard the satellite provided cover for the GRAB electronic surveillance package, the mission of which was to map the Soviet Union's air defense radar network.
SOLRAD 3 was a solar X-ray satellite, the third in the SOLRAD program. Developed by the United States Navy's Naval Research Laboratory (USNRL), it shared satellite space with and provided cover for the Navy's GRAB 2, a secret electronic surveillance program.
SOLRAD 6 was the sixth solar X-ray monitoring satellite in the United States Navy's SOLRAD series, the third in the series to successfully orbit. It was launched along with POPPY 2, an ELINT surveillance package, as well as three other satellites, boosted into orbit via a Thor Augmented Delta-Agena D rocket on June 15, 1963.
SOLRAD 4 was a solar X-rays, ultraviolet, and electronic surveillance satellite. Developed by the United States Navy's United States Naval Research Laboratory (USNRL), it was the fourth in both the SOLRAD and the GRAB programs.
SOLRAD 7B was the eighth solar X-Ray monitoring satellite in the SOLRAD series and the fifth to successfully orbit the Earth. It was launched via Thor Augmented Delta-Agena D along with seven other satellites on March 9, 1965. The satellite provided continuous coverage of the Sun during the International Quiet Solar Year from March through October 1965.
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