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Jumpseat, also known as AFP-711 [1] is reportedly a code name for a class of SIGINT reconnaissance satellites operated by the National Reconnaissance Office for the United States Air Force in the 1970s and 1980s. The program is classified, and much of the information in the open is speculative.
It is believed that six Jumpseat satellites were successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Titan IIIB launch vehicles with Agena D boosters between 21 March 1971 and 31 July 1983, the primary purpose of them being to monitor Soviet ABM radars. There was one failure, when the second satellite's Agena malfunctioned and left it in a useless orbit.
The 700-kg Jumpseat satellites were manufactured by Hughes Aircraft and were inserted into highly elliptical Molniya orbits with an inclination of 63 degrees and orbital periods of close to 12 hours. These were in similar orbits to the Satellite Data System relay satellites.
The successors to the Jumpseat series are the Trumpet satellites.
| Name | COSPAR ID SATCAT No. | Launch date (UTC) | Launch vehicle | Launch site | Orbit | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPS 4788 | 1971-021A 05053 | 21 March 1971 03:45 | Titan III(33)B | VAFB SLC-4W | ||
| OPS 1844 | N/A | 16 February 1972 09:59 | Titan III(33)B | VAFB SLC-4W | N/A | Failed to achieve orbit |
| OPS 7724 | 1973-056A 06791 | 21 August 1973 16:07 | Titan III(33)B | VAFB SLC-4W | ||
| OPS 2439 | 1975-017A 07687 | 10 March 1975 04:41 | Titan III(34)B | VAFB SLC-4W | ||
| OPS 6031 | 1978-021A 10688 | 25 February 1978 05:00 | Titan III(34)B | VAFB SLC-4W | ||
| OPS 7225 | 1981-038A 12418 | 24 April 1981 21:32 | Titan III(34)B | VAFB SLC-4W | ||
| OPS 7304 | 1983-078A 14237 | 31 July 1983 15:41 | Titan III(34)B | VAFB SLC-4W | ||
The Corona program was a series of American strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Directorate of Science & Technology with substantial assistance from the U.S. Air Force. The CORONA satellites were used for photographic surveillance of the Soviet Union (USSR), China, and other areas beginning in June 1959 and ending in May 1972.
The RM-81 Agena was an American rocket upper stage and satellite bus which was developed by Lockheed Corporation initially for the canceled WS-117L reconnaissance satellite program. Following the division of WS-117L into SAMOS and Corona for image intelligence, and MIDAS for early warning, the Agena was later used as an upper stage, and an integrated component, for several programs, including Corona reconnaissance satellites and the Agena Target Vehicle used to demonstrate rendezvous and docking during Project Gemini. It was used as an upper stage on the Atlas, Thor, Thorad and Titan IIIB rockets, and considered for others including the Space Shuttle and Atlas V. A total of 365 Agena rockets were launched between February 28, 1959 and February 1987. Only 33 Agenas carried NASA payloads and the vast majority were for DoD programs.
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. federal government. It provides satellite intelligence to several government agencies, particularly signals intelligence (SIGINT) to the NSA, imagery intelligence (IMINT) to the NGA, and measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) to the DIA. The NRO announced in 2023 that it plans within the following decade to quadruple the number of satellites it operates and increase the number of signals and images it delivers by a factor of ten.
BYEMAN codenamed GAMBIT, the KH-7 was a reconnaissance satellite used by the United States from July 1963 to June 1967. Like the older CORONA system, it acquired imagery intelligence by taking photographs and returning the undeveloped film to earth. It achieved a typical ground-resolution of 2 ft (0.61 m) to 3 ft (0.91 m). Though most of the imagery from the KH-7 satellites was declassified in 2002, details of the satellite program remained classified until 2011.
The SAMOS or SAMOS-E program was a relatively short-lived series of reconnaissance satellites for the United States in the early 1960s, also used as a cover for the initial development of the KH-7 GAMBIT system. Reconnaissance was performed with film cameras and television surveillance from polar low Earth orbits with film canister returns and transmittals over the United States. SAMOS was first launched in 1960 from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Titan IIIB was the collective name for a number of derivatives of the Titan II ICBM and Titan III launch vehicle, modified by the addition of an Agena upper stage. It consisted of four separate rockets. The Titan 23B was a basic Titan II with an Agena upper stage, and the Titan 24B was the same concept, but using the slightly enlarged Titan IIIM rocket as the base. The Titan 33B was a Titan 23B with the Agena enclosed in an enlarged fairing, in order to allow larger payloads to be launched. The final member of the Titan IIIB family was the Titan 34B which was a Titan 24B with the larger fairing used on the Titan 33B.
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.
Magnum was a class of SIGINT spy satellites reportedly operated by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The program remains classified, and the information that exists is speculative.
Aquacade, previously designated Rhyolite, was a class of SIGINT spy satellites operated by the National Reconnaissance Office for the United States Central Intelligence Agency. The National Security Agency (NSA) was also reportedly involved. The program, also known by SIGAD AFP-720 and SIGAD AFP-472, respectively, is still classified. During the same period, the Canyon SIGINT satellites were in use with an apparently somewhat different set of capabilities.
Canyon was a series of seven United States spy satellites launched between 1968 and 1977. Also known by its program number AFP-827, the satellites were developed with the participation of the Air Force. The Canyon project is credited as being the first American satellite system tasked for COMINT.
Atlas is a family of US missiles and space launch vehicles that originated with the SM-65 Atlas. The Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program was initiated in the late 1950s under the Convair Division of General Dynamics. Atlas was a liquid propellant rocket burning RP-1 kerosene fuel with liquid oxygen in three engines configured in an unusual "stage-and-a-half" or "parallel staging" design: two outboard booster engines were jettisoned along with supporting structures during ascent, while the center sustainer engine, propellant tanks and other structural elements remained connected through propellant depletion and engine shutdown.
TRUMPET is reportedly a series of ELINT reconnaissance satellites launched by the United States during the 1990s to replace the Jumpseat satellites. Speculated to weigh 5,200 kg, three of these satellites were launched into highly elliptical (Molniya) orbits by Titan 4 launch vehicles from Cape Canaveral between 1994 and 1997. Their precise mission and capabilities are classified. News reports state that the satellites monitor radio communication using antennas with diameters of 150 m. It is speculated that the satellites are manufactured by Boeing.
SAMOS-F or Air Force Program 102 refers to a series of SIGINT reconnaissance satellites launched and operated by the United States Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office during the 1960s. Initial priorities were to monitor radio waves in the frequency bands 2.5-3.2 GHz, 9.0–10 GHz, and 59-650 MHz. The intercepted data and their location were stored on magnetic tape, and subsequently transmitted to tracking and acquisition ground stations. Tracking stations were located in the NE, Central, and NW of the continental United States, with additional test sites at Vandenberg AFB, California, and at Ka'ena Point, Oahu, Hawai. The satellites are also called Agena ferrets and heavy ferrets. Approximately sixteen heavy ferrets were launched into low Earth orbits from Vandenberg Air Force Base between February 1962 and July 1971 aboard Thor-Agena and Thorad-Agena rockets. Almost everything about these satellites remains classified.
The Missile Defense Alarm System, or MIDAS, was a United States Air Force Air Defense Command system of 12 early-warning satellites that provided limited notice of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile launches between 1960 and 1966. Originally intended to serve as a complete early-warning system working in conjunction with the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, cost and reliability concerns limited the project to a research and development role. Three of the system's 12 launches ended in failure, and the remaining nine satellites provided crude infrared early-warning coverage of the Soviet Union until the project was replaced by the Defense Support Program. MiDAS represented one element of the United States's first generation of reconnaissance satellites that also included the Corona and SAMOS series. Though MIDAS failed in its primary role as a system of infrared early-warning satellites, it pioneered the technologies needed in successor systems.
Discoverer 14, also known as Corona 9009, was a spy satellite used in the Corona program managed by Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force. On 19 August 1960, usable photographic film images of the Soviet Union taken by the satellite were recovered by a C-119 recovery aircraft. This was the first successful recovery of film from an orbiting satellite and the first mid-air recovery of an object returning from Earth orbit.
Vortex, previously known as Chalet, was a class of spy satellite operated by the United States during the 1980s and 1990s to collect signals intelligence (SIGINT) from high Earth orbit. The Vortex satellites were operated by the National Reconnaissance Office for the United States Air Force and listened to radio transmissions originating from Earth or space. The intercepted data is believed to have been fed into and analyzed by the National Security Agency ECHELON system.
Discoverer 9, also known as Corona 9006, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite launched on 4 Feb 1960 at 18:51:45 GMT, the sixth of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series, and the first of them to be equipped with a new, vacuum-proof, polyester-based film. The satellite was not successfully orbited.
Discoverer 10, also known as Corona 9007, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite launched on 19 Feb 1960 at 20:15:14 GMT, the seventh of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series.
Discoverer 15, also known as Corona 9010, was a spy satellite used in the Corona program managed by Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force. Launched on 13 September 1960, the satellite took reconnaissance photos of the Soviet Union. However, its recoverable film capsule was lost in the Pacific Ocean after reentry outside the recovery zone on 15 September.
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| SIGINT |
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| MASINT |
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| Research and development |
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| Unknown |
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