![]() The tables presented in this article may, therefore, differ from tables published elsewhere. Nevertheless, the classified nature of military surveillance satellites, and the occassionally conflicting information in the literature, makes the accurate compilation of tables of launch dates of each series difficult. Also, some details of the earliest programs, such as Corona, have been unclassified recently. Over time it has been possible to identify a number of programs through the disclosure of the launch vehicle as well as other information that became available through the literature. Other identification means have been Code numbers, assigned in random order, and code names. While it is relatively easy to identify a number of programs, in particular the communications, meteorological and navigational satellite programs, military photo reconnaissance satellites have proven difficult to accurately identify.Īlthough the satellites continued to be identified by an Ops number, it was clearly evident these number were either associated with an unknown identifier, perhaps a construction number, or they were used in purely random order. military authorities ceased to assign names to military satellites as a general practice. However, starting in early 1962, the U.S. Initially, the United States did identify its military satellites by name. Identification Or Reconnaissance Satellites Obviously, details on the spacecraft used and the instrumentation on board of those spacecraft are quite scarce and patchy. Such surveillance is tolerated by both superpowers, if not willingly, by the fact that there is relatively little that can be done about it. These days, both the United States and the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics make extensive use of satellite based surveillance systems which provide an around the clock look at each others territory. In 1946, the Rand Project report, which had studied the feasibility of satellites for the United States Army, suggested that satellites could be used effectively as observation platforms and several studies resulted from this report under a variety of guises. Frame ephemeris not created.The belief is that the engineers and scientists of Nazi Germany were the first to consider the possibility of placing a (piloted) satellite in orbit for military reconnaissance purposes. KH-4 film capsule recovered 4.1 days later. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A). Officially: Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A). Poppy naval signals intelligence satellite. Payload: NRL PL121 / Poppy 1B (Poppy 20-inch). Type: Naval signals intelligence satellite. First launch of a pair of Poppy naval signals intelligence satellites, which would lead to the NOSS production series. Payload: NRL PL120 / Poppy 1A (Poppy 20-inch). During air catch chute tore, capsule sank. First use of stellar camera, erratic vehicle attitude, numerous light leaks. The program was begun in August 1961, revised and accelerated in November, and had its first flight in June 1962. The Lockheed Agena D was a redesign of the basic Agena B and was intended to be the standard stage vehicle for most Defense Department and NASA programs. The first Agena D (#1151) upper stage vehicle was successfully flown on a Thor booster (#340) launched from Vandenberg AFB. The Agena would use present flight-proven equipment, stress simplification of vehicle design, permit adaptability to advanced components without any basic changes, and permit production at lower costs. The Defense Department and NASA signed a joint agreement that authorized the Defense Department to develop a standardized Agena D upper stage for joint use with Atlas and Thor booster stages. ![]() Standardized Agena D upper stage for use with Atlas and Thor.Lockheed was awarded an Air Force letter contract to develop and manufacture the first 12 flight models of the standardized configuration Agena D (Standard Stage OlA, SS-01A). Lockheed contracted for the Agena D upper stage.Two stage vehicle consisting of 1 x Thor DM-21 + 1 x Agena DĪKA: DSV-2A SLV-2. Home - Search - Browse - Alphabetic Index: 0- 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9Ī- B- C- D- E- F- G- H- I- J- K- L- M- N- O- P- Q- R- S- T- U- V- W- X- Y- ZĪmerican orbital launch vehicle.
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