التسلسل الزمني: الاستخدامات العسكرية الأمريكية للفضاء 1945-1991

 

Chronology: U.S. military uses of space, 1945-1991.

 

March 7, 1946:

The U.S. Navy proposes the development of an interservice space program. (Perry, p. vii)

May 2, 1946:

The Research and Development Corporation (RAND) publishes Preliminary Design for an Experimental World Circling Spaceship. (Richelson, p. 347)

May 12, 1946:

The U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) receive the RAND study proposing early development of an American satellite and attesting to the feasibility of the undertaking. (Perry, p. vii)

May 14, 1946:

Maj. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay presents the AAF-RAND study to the Aeronautics Board of the Research and Development Committee, but the board fails to take any action. (Perry, p. vii)

January 1947:

The U.S. Navy asks the Research and Development Board for authority over United States satellite development. (Perry, p. vii)

February 1, 1947:

RAND publishes Reference Papers Relating to a Satellite Study. (Richelson, p. 347)

June 1947:

The Aeronautics Board of the Research and Development Committee requests authority to fund satellite studies. (Perry, p. vii)

September 18, 1947:

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) is officially created and activated. (Perry, p. vii)

September 25, 1947:

USAF headquarters directs the Air Materiel Command Engineering Division to evaluate RAND satellite studies received the previous February. (Perry, p. vii)

January 15, 1948:

Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg issues a policy statement on the primacy of the USAF's space interest. (Perry, p. vii)

January 16, 1948:

The U.S. Navy withdraws its claim for control of satellite development. (Perry,p. vii)

February 1948:

The Air Force requests RAND to establish a satellite evaluation project. (Richelson, p. 347)

November 1950:

RAND recommends further research into satellite reconnaissance. (Richelson, p. 347)

April 1951:

RAND publishes Inquiry into the Feasibility of Weather Reconnaissance from a Satellite Vehicle and Utility of a Satellite Vehicle for Reconnaissance. (Richelson, p. 347)

December 1953:

The Air Research and Development Command pulls together ongoing satellite work as Project 409-40, "Satellite Component Study," and unofficially assigns the designation WS-117L for ultimate system development. (Richelson, p. 347)

March 1, 1954:

RAND publishes the Project Feedback Summary Report which formally recommends an early start on the development of a reconnaissance satellite. (Perry, p. vii)

June 21, 1954:

Air Force headquarters instructs the Air Research and Development Command (ARDC) to attain an operational ballistic missile at the earliest possible date. (AFSC/SSD, p. viii)

July 1, 1954:

Lt. Gen. Thomas S. Power, commander of the Air Research and Development Command (ARDC), issues verbal orders to establish the Western Development Division (WDD) under the command of Brig. Gen. Bernard A. Schriever at Inglewood, California. (Jernigan, p. 16)

July 15, 1954:

ARDC General Order Number 42 provides for "Reorganization of Headquarters ARDC and Establishment of the Western Development Division," to be effective July 1, 1954, with its duty station at Inglewood, California. (AFSC/SSD, p. viii)

September 15, 1954:

Army Ordnance proposes development of a minimum satellite under the name "Project Orbiter ." (Perry, p. viii)

November 27, 1954:

Western Development Division (WDD) issues System Requirement No. 5, "System Requirement for an Advanced Reconnaissance System." (Richelson, p. 347; Perry, p. viii)

February 14, 1955:

President Eisenhower receives the report of the Technological Capabilities Panel. The panels report suggests a number of means of harnessing technology to collect intelligence on the Soviet Union, including the use of satellites. (Richelson, p. 347)

March 16, 1955:

General Operational Requirement Number 80, covering the development of a reconnaissance satellite, is issued. (Perry, p. viii)

August 31, 1955:

USAF headquarters directs ARDC to establish a scientific satellite auxiliary to the WS-117L program. (Perry, p. viii)

October 10, 1955:

ARDC transfers responsibility for management of WS-117L from Wright Air Development Center to WDD. (AFSC/SSD, p. viii)

January 14, 1956:

The preliminary development plan covering a scientific satellite version of the WS-117L system is published; WDD emphasizes the urgency of support requirements if the program is to succeed. (AFSC/SSD, p. vii)

February 15, 1956:

Responsibility for WS-117L is officially transferred from Wright Air Development Center to the Western Development Division. (Jernigan, p. 16)

March 1, 1956:

Lockheed proposes to develop a capability to detect ballistic missile launchings by means of satellite-borne infrared sensors. (AFSC/SSD, p. viii)

March 12-20, 1956:

A joint ARDC/WDD/Wright Air Development Center/Air Materiel Command contractor evaluation board meets to evaluate WS-117L design studies prepared by RCA, the Glenn L. Martin Co. and Lockheed. The board finds Lockheed to be the most qualified and recommends awarding the prime contract to them for the development of WS-117L. (Jernigan, p. 16)

April 11, 1956:

ARDC submits a proposal for development of a family of ballistic, orbital and lunar research and test vehicles to Air Force headquarters. (AFSC/SSD, p. viii)

June 26, 1956:

RAND issues a paper entitled Physical Recovery of a Satellite Payload: A Preliminary Investigation that discusses the potential of, and problems involved with, returning data from a satellite by returning a capsule through the atmosphere--specifically, returning reconnaissance film. (Richelson, p. 347)

July 24, 1956:

Air Force headquarters approves a development plan for WS-117L. (AFSC/SSD, p. viii)

August 28, 1956:

ARDC issues System Requirement 143 for a determination of the feasibility of weapon systems to combat hostile satellites. (AFSC/SSD, p. viii)

October 3, 1956:

WDD recommends expansion of the division's mission to include additional space projects. (AFSC/SSD, p. viii)

October 29, 1956:

Lockheed Missile Systems Division is awarded a contract as the prime contractor for development of WS-117L and its associated Hustler (later designated Agena), upper stage vehicle. (Jernigan, p. 16)

March 1957:

The WDD begins feasibility studies regarding a missile detection alarm system (MIDAS) satellite designed to provide early warning of hostile missile launches. (Jernigan, p. 16)

June 1, 1957:

The Western Development Division is redesignated the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division (AFBMD), with ballistic missile operational programs being transferred from AFBMD to the Strategic Air Command (SAC). (AFSC/SSD, p. ix)

July 1957:

AFBMD and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) establish a joint committee to ensure compatibility of nuclear power sources and WS-117L satellite vehicles. (AFSC/SSD, p. ix)

October 4, 1957:

The Soviet Union launches Sputnik I. (Richelson, p. 348)

November 1, 1957:

The Secretary of Defense approves the acceleration of the WS-117L program "in principle." (AFSC/SSD, p. ix)

November 3, 1957:

The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2. (Richelson, p. 348)

November 5, 1957:

The Air Force briefs the Armed Forces Policy Council on a reconnaissance satellite program and possible combinations of vehicles that could be used for "cold war and scientific programs." The Air Force recommends using the available intermediate range ballistic missile as a booster to hasten the launching of an orbital system as early as March 1958. (AFSC/MISC, p. 5)

November 12, 1957:

RAND formally recommends development of a recoverable reconnaissance satellite to the Air Staff and publishes A Family of Recoverable Satellites. (Richelson, p. 348)

December 6, 1957:

Because "Sputnik and the Russian ICBM capability have created a national emergency," the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board Ad Hoc Committee on Space Technology recommends acceleration of specific military programs and a vigorous space program with the immediate goal of landings on the moon. (AFSC/MIS, p. 5)

January 6, 1958:

Lockheed proposes to accelerate the WS-117L program by using Thor boosters and WS-117L (Agena) upper stages. (AFSC/SSD, p. ix)

January 29, 1958:

AFBMD issues a contract to Lockheed covering Thor-boosted test vehicles in the basic WS-117L configuration. (AFSC/SSD, p. ix)

January 31, 1958:

The first U.S. earth-orbiting satellite, Explorer I, is placed in orbit from the Atlantic Missile Range. (Jernigan, p. 17)

February 3, 1958:

President Dwight Eisenhower directs that the development of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) and WS-117L military satellite systems be given highest and equal national priority. (AFSC/SSD, p. ix)

February 3, 1958:

Air Force headquarters reveals tentative plans to use Thor boosters to orbit instrumented satellites in support of the WS-117L program. (AFSC/SSD, p. ix)

February 7, 1958:

The CIA's Deputy Director for Plans Richard Bissell is given responsibility for developing a recoverable photographic reconnaissance satellite. The project is codenamed CORONA. The recoverable satellite portion of WS-117L is canceled. (Richelson, p. 348)

February 7, 1958:

The Department of Defense establishes, via DOD Directive 5105.15, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to direct and conduct space research leading toward the development of operational systems. In pursuit of these objectives, the agency is authorized to manage projects which would be conducted by military departments and also empowered to contract directly with individuals, private business organizations and public agencies. (AFSC/MIS, p. 15)

February 12, 1958:

AFBMD establishes a deputy commander for Military Space Systems. (AFSC/SSD, p. ix)

February 14, 1958:

The Secretary of the Air Force forwards to the Secretary of Defense recommendations which "should be undertaken promptly by the Air Force." Other than the first project, converting Thor into an intercontinental range weapon by adding a second stage, the recommendations cover the following space proposals: (1) develop and orbit a satellite equipped with a small television transmitter to furnish weather information (a Thor plus a second stage could accomplish the first orbital launch by September 1958), (2) develop a recoverable satellite equipped to carry a variety of payloads which might be ejected from orbit by decelerating devices (3) develop a Thor-Hustler (later called Agena) second stage to launch a 300-pound scientific satellite by October 1958, and (4) as previously recommended by the Air Force, prepare to launch a moon rocket by using a Thor plus two Vanguard upper stages. In hi memo, the Secretary says that in addition to obtaining scientific data from such a flight, the United States could make a major international psychological gain by beating the Russians to the moon. (AFSC/MIS, pp. 16-17)

February 27, 1958:

ARPA assumes direction of the WS-117L program. (AFSC/SSD, p. ix)

February 28, 1958:

ARPA states its awareness of an Air Force interest in developing a manned space flight capability. (AFSC/SSD, p. ix)

February 28, 1958:

Roy Johnson, ARPA director, officially "cancels" the reconnaissance aspects of WS-117L and authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force to use the Thor booster with a suitable second stage for experimental flights and recovery of laboratory animals. (The Thor boosted vehicle aspects of the program were known as Program IIA.) (Jernigan, p. 18)

March 3, 1958:

The Secretary of Defense approves acceleration of the WS-117L program, including the launch of test vehicles using the Thor booster. The ballistic missile division of DOD was instructed to submit for "review and approval" a complete development plan and fiscal estimate by March 15, 1958. (AFSC/SSD, p. ix; AFSC/MISC, p. 18)

March 6, 1958:

The ARDC commander requests AFBMD assistance in preparing a development plan for a manned satellite test system. (AFSC/SSD, p. ix)

March 17, 1958:

The Navy's Vanguard booster places Vanguard I, the first U.S. satellite in orbit. (Walter A. McDougall, ...the Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age. New York: Basic Books, 1985, p. 168.)

March 31, 1958:

AFBMD is instructed to prepare a development plan for a military space system program leading to a manned flight to and from the moon. (AFSC/SSD, p. x)

April 7, 1958:

AFBMD publishes a "Lunar Probe Program Development Plan" for a series of three moon flights scheduled in the fall of 1958. (AFSC/SSD, p. x)

April 25, 1958:

The Air Force Ballistic Missile Division publishes the first development plan for an Air Force Manned Military Space Systems Program whose objective is to "achieve an early capability to land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth." The complete program would be carried out in four phases: first, "Man-in-Space Soonest," to determine functional capabilities and limitations of man in space by means of earth orbital flights; second, "Man-in-Space Sophisticated," which would involve an earth orbital flight to perform experiments essential to the final phase of the lunar program; third, "Lunar Reconnaissance," to explore the moon by television camera and by a soft landing of an instrumented package on the moon's surface; and fourth, "Manned Lunar Landing and Return," first to test equipment by circumlunar flights returning to earth with instrumented capsules containing animals and then to undertake a full scale flight to the moon and safe return to earth with an animal passenger. The climax of the entire project would then be a manned lunar landing, brief surface exploration and return to earth. This would be followed by other circumlunar flights that would fully explore the moon's surface and gather additional physical data. (AFSC/MIS, p. 23)

May 22, 1958:

Biomedical experiments are added as a secondary objective in from three to five of the planned Thor-boosted WS-117L flights. (AFSC/SSD, p. x)

May 28, 1958:

ARPA gives the name SENTRY to the reconnaissance satellite portion of the WS-117L program. (AFSC/SSD, p. x)

June 16, 1958:

The Pacific Missile Range is established and assigned to the Navy. (SAMSO, p. 318)

June 16, 1958:

The AFBMD development plan for a manned space flight proposes use of an Atlas booster and Agena second stage to place a man in a 150-nautical-mile orbit during October 1960. (AFSC/SSD, p. x)

June 19, 1958:

General Operational Requirement (GOR) 140 establishes an Air Force requirement for a satellite tracking and control system and a satellite defense system. (AFSC/SSD, p. x)

June 20, 1958:

The National Security Council issues NSC 5814, "U.S. Policy on Outer Space," which lists ballistic missiles, anti-ICBMs and military reconnaissance as three programs that are either planned or imminent. It lists as feasible in the near future weather satellites, military communications satellites, electronic countermeasure satellites and navigation satellites. Future possibilities are said to include manned maintenance and resupply of outer space vehicles, manned defensive outer space vehicles, a bombardment satellite and a manned lunar station. The paper includes, among U.S. objectives, the "applications of outer space technology, research, and exploration to achieve a military capability in outer space sufficient to assure overall superiority of U.S. offensive and defensive systems relative to the U.S.S.R." (U.S. Policy on Outer Space, 6/20/58, pp. 17, 18)

June 30, 1958:

ARPA advises AFBMD that the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) has assigned full responsibility for management of the WS-117L development program to ARPA. (AFSC/SSD, p. x)

July 9, 1958:

AFBMD begins preliminary arrangements to establish a special military unit equipped with C-119J aircraft and trained for aerial recovery of WS-117L data capsules returned from orbit. (AFSC/SSD, p. x; Jernigan, p. 18)

July 11, 1958:

ARPA requests Air Force headquarters to direct ARDC to prepare an abbreviated development plan for a communications satellite. (AFSC/SSD, p. 32)

July 16-19, 1958:

Representatives from ARDC and Tactical Air Command (TAC) meet with AFBMD officials to organize the new recovery unit--the 6593rd Test Squadron (Special). TAC identified 133 highly qualified personnel to man the unit and selected Maj. Joseph G. Nellor as its first commander. (Jernigan, p. 19)

July 29, 1958:

The National Aeronautics and Space Act creates the National Aeronautics and Space Council (NASC) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (AFSC/SSD, p. x)

August 1, 1958:

6593rd Test Squadron (Special) organizes, at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, a unit attached to AFBMD for administrative and operational control. (AFSC/SSD, p. xi; Jernigan, p. 19)

August 5, 1958:

The total number of Thor WS-117L vehicles on order is extended from 10 to 19. (AFSC/SSD, p. xi)

September 4, 1958:

The Transit and Television Infrared Observations Satellites (TIROS) programs are initiated with booster responsibilities assigned to AFBMD. Transit is a navigation satellite. The purpose of TIROS is to take cloud cover imagery and transmit meteorological information for relay to ground stations. (SAMSO, p. 56)

September 10, 1958:

ARPA separates MIDAS, the infrared attack alarm system, from the WS-117L program. (AFSC/SSD, p. xi)

October 1, 1958:

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is designated as the organization responsible for all civilian space programs. (Walter A. McDougall, ...the Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age. New York: Basic Books, 1985, p. 168.)

October 22, 1958:

ARPA informs the Air Force of its plans to develop a satellite communications system. The Army is to develop the communications payload and the Air Force the booster and satellite vehicle. (AFSC/SSD, p. xi)

November 1958:

The Defense Department reveals that WS-117L consists of three elements--DISCOVERER (the cover for CORONA), MIDAS (an early warning satellite) and SENTRY (the Air Force reconnaissance satellite project in which data would be radioed to the ground). (Richelson, p. 348)

November 12, 1958:

AFBMD is assigned the responsibility of furnishing the vehicle portion of the 24-hour communications satellite program. (AFSC/SSD, p. xi)

November 17, 1958:

ARPA orders design and construction of the first WS-117L launch complex at Point Arguello, California. (AFSC/SSD, p. xi)

December 3, 1958:

An announcement is made by the Defense Department concerning details of a Project DISCOVERER series of polar orbiting satellites developed by Lockheed under AFBMD program management. (Jernigan, p. 20)

December 4, 1958:

Director of ARPA Roy W. Johnson redesignates Program IIA as the "Discoverer-Thor Project" to distinguish it from the WS-117L effort. (Jernigan, p. 20)

December 18, 1958:

ARDC completes an abbreviated development plan for a Hyper- Environment Test (Blue Scout) system, to be referred to as Program Number 609A. (AFSC/SSD, p. xi)

December 18, 1958:

Project SCORE (Signal Communications By Orbiting Relay Equipment)--an Atlas missile with a communications repeater satellite on board--is placed in orbit. President Eisenhower's Christmas message is broadcast to the world from it on the next day. This marks the first time a human voice is beamed from space and it demonstrates the practical operation of a satellite radio-relay system with intercontinental capabilities. (Jernigan, p. 20)

January 1959:

An interim satellite control center is completed by Lockheed at the Palo Alto AFBMD field office location. (Jernigan, p. 20)

January 4, 1959:

The Vandenberg tracking facility and Pacific Missile range are declared operational and usable for missile launches. (Jernigan, p. 20)

January 20, 1959:

ARPA Orders 54-59 and 55-59 initiate the development of a 24-hour synchronous equatorial orbit communications satellite for ground-to-ground communications. (SAMSO, p. 6)

January 28, 1959:

The first DISCOVERER spacecraft is placed in orbit. The satellite carries a 40-pound instrument package that radioes environmental measurements to the ground. East German radio attacks the flight as "carrying the Cold War into space." (Richelson, p. 32)

January 30, 1959:

AFBMD issues a MIDAS program plan calling for an accelerated full-scale system development effort. (AFSC/SSD, p. xi)

February 2, 1959:

Headquarters USAF issues GOR 178 for a communications satellite system. (SAMSO, p. 62)

February 5, 1959:

ARDC directs AFBMD to prepare a detailed plan for development of a solid propellant multi-stage Blue Scout vehicle to perform a wide range of space assignments. (AFSC/SSD, p. xii)

February 20, 1959:

AFBMD completes preparation of development plans for TRANSIT and TIROS satellite systems. (AFSC/SSD, p. xii)

February 28, 1959:

DISCOVERER I, the first polar orbiting satellite, is launched using a Thor/Agena booster combination from Vandenberg AFB. The Satellite Control Facility supports the launch and receives 514 seconds of telemetry at its interim satellite control center in Palo Alto. The mission is the first to use a Thor as a space booster and the first successful flight test of Lockheed's Agena A upper stage designed for orbiting U.S. satellite systems. (Jernigan, p. 20)

March 6, 1959:

Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, vice chief of staff, states that both a 24-hour equatorial satellite and a polar satellite system are essential to Air Force communications. (AFSC/SSD, p. xii)

April 1959:

The AFBMD transfers the TIROS meteorological satellite program to NASA for use in the national meteorological satellite program. (Jernigan, p. 20)

April 6, 1959:

The ARDC establishes the 6594th Test Wing as the first military unit to be charged with conducting military satellite operations. It is headquartered at Lockheed in Palo Alto, California. (AFSC/SSD, p. xii)

April 6, 1959:

The 6594th Test Wing has three operating locations: OL-1 at Edwards AFB, California; OL-2 at Chiniak, Point Kodiak, Alaska; and OL-3 at Annette Island, Alaska. (Jernigan, p. 22)

April 13, 1959:

DISCOVERER 2 is launched into polar orbit, becoming the world's first satellite to be stabilized in orbit on all three axes. The SCF performs the first commands to maneuver a satellite from earth, to separate a reentry vehicle on command and to send that reentry vehicle back to earth. The first recovery operation is planned for the following day, however the capsule ejector system malfunctions and the vehicle fails to come down in the Hawaiian impact area. (Jernigan, p. 22)

April 25, 1959:

Maj. Gen. Bernard A. Schriever is promoted to Lt. Gen., relieved as commander of AFBMD and assigned as commander of ARDC. Brig. Gen. Osmond J. Ritland is assigned as commander of the AFBMD. (AFSC/SSD, p. xii)

May 22, 1959:

ARPA directs the development of a communications satellite system by means of a three-phase program called STEER, TACKLE and DECREE. (AFSC/SSD, p. xii)

June 3, 1959:

A second planned recovery operation is aborted by the 6593rd Test Squadron (Special) when DISCOVERER 3 fails to reach orbit. (Jernigan, p. 22)

July 1, 1959:

Operational control of the 6593rd Test Squadron (Special) is assigned to the 6594th Test Wing. ARDC establishes the 6594th Launch Squadron at Vandenberg AFB, which is also assigned to the 6594th Test Wing. (AFSC/SSD, p. xii)

August 5, 1959:

President Eisenhower approves the revised "Basic National Security Policy" calling for space exploration and development useful to U.S. scientific, military and political endeavors, with an emphasis on civilian (peaceful) activity. (Rosenberg, p. v)

August 6, 1959:

ARPA changes the codename SENTRY to SAMOS. (AFSC/SSD, p. xii)

August 13, 1959:

DISCOVERER 5 is launched successfully and all test objectives are met, except for recovery of the capsule after ejection on the 17th orbit. (Rosenberg, p. v)

August 14, 1959:

The attempt to launch the first U.S. geodetic satellite fails because of malfunctions in both the first and upper stages of the launch vehicle. (Ball1, p. 1)

August 19, 1959:

DISCOVERER 6 is launched into polar orbit from the Pacific Missile Range. Its instrument capsule is not recovered due to a malfunction. (Jernigan, p. 22)

September 2, 1959:

ARPA becomes manager of the VELA nuclear detection program. (AFSC/SSD, p. 35)

September 17, 1959:

The Transit 1A navigation satellite is launched from the Atlantic Missile Range, however the payload fails to achieve orbit. (AFSC/SSD, p. xiii)

September 18, 1959:

ARPA directs ARDC to undertake a contractual study for evaluation of technical and operational factors associated with the detection and location of all high altitude nuclear explosions. (AFSC/SSD, p. xiii)

September 18, 1959:

Secretary of Defense Neil McElroy announces disapproval of the Army-Navy proposal for a joint military space operations agency "at this time." He also directs the transfer of management responsibility in the near future of the SAMOS reconnaissance and MIDAS early warning satellites from ARPA to the Air Force; of the TRANSIT navigation satellite to the Navy; and of the COURIER communications satellite to the Army. In addition, he directs the Air Force to assume all of DOD's responsibility for developing all military boosters, integrating payloads with boosters and launching the combination. (Rosenberg, p. v)

October 6, 1959:

AFBMD issues an abbreviated VELA HOTEL development plan for detection and location of nuclear explosions in space. (AFSC/SSD, p. xiii)

October 19, 1959:

The Air Force conducts a successful test of ASAT missiles launched from a B-47 under the BOLD ORION program. The target is an Explorer 6 satellite that was launched on August 7, 1959. The satellite is not damaged and decays by July 1961. The spacecraft was launched in a highly elliptical orbit with its perigee at about 151 miles. The satellite's apogee was 26,164 miles so that the interception must have taken place close to its perigee point. (Jasani, pp. 11-12)

November 1, 1959:

ARDC organizes the 6594th Recovery Control Group, Hickam AFB, Hawaii, and the 6593rd Instrumentation Squadron, Wheeler AFB, Hawaii. The 6593rd Test Squadron (Special) is assigned to the 6594th Recovery Control Group. (6594th Test Group, History of the 6594th Test Group, 1/30/66-6/66)

November 7, 1959:

DISCOVERER 7 is launched into orbit successfully but malfunctions prevent its stabilization in orbit. (Rosenberg, p. v)

November 15, 1959:

The 6594th Test Wing is reassigned from Headquarters ARDC to Headquarters AFBMD without a change of station. Headquarters AFBMD is constituted and activated at Los Angeles as part of the overall ARDC reorganization which results in the establishment of a new division structure. (Jernigan, p. 23)

November 17, 1959:

Based on the September 23, 1959, decision to reorganize its space program, all Defense Department satellite and space vehicle programs are to be reassigned to the military services of primary interest. The DISCOVERER, MIDAS and SAMOS programs are approved for transfer back to AFBMD from ARPA. (SAMSO, p. 73)

November 20, 1959:

DISCOVERER 8 is launched into orbit successfully but malfunctions prevent the Agena engine from shutting down at the desired orbital velocity. Its capsule is ejected but is no recovered. (Rosenberg, p. v)

January 12, 1960:

NASC and the National Security Council adopt a new national space policy, under revision since June 30, 1959. Emphasis remains on civilian space activity but the military role receives greater recognition. (Rosenberg, p. vi)

January 15, 1960:

The 6594th Test Wing is redesignated as the 6594th Test Wing (Satellite) at Palo Alto. (Jernigan, p. 24)

February 4, 1960:

DISCOVERER 9 is launched unsuccessfully because of a booster malfunction. (Rosenberg, p. vi)

February 19, 1960:

DISCOVERER 10 is launched unsuccessfully. A range safety officer destroys the Thor-Agena combination at T+56 seconds. (Rosenberg, p. vi)

February 26, 1960:

The Air Force MIDAS 1 satellite is launched from Cape Canaveral in the first successful launch of the Atlas D/Agena A booster-upper stage combination. MIDAS 1, however, fails to achieve orbit because an accident at the Atlas- Agena staging damages the Agena. The entire vehicle reenters and burns up about 2,500 miles downrange. (SAMSO, p. 77)

February 29, 1960:

AFBMD is directed to conduct a single integrated research and development program for a 24-hour synchronous equatorial global communications satellite system, designated ADVENT. The ADVENT program replaces the three-phased STEER, TACKLE and DECREE program. The Army is to develop the communications system while the AFBMD is to handle the booster and spacecraft. (SAMSO, p. 77)

March 1, 1960:

The 6594th Test Wing moves from Palo Alto to Sunnyvale, California, where an interim control center is established. (Jernigan, p. 24)

April 1, 1960:

A TIROS three-stage Thor-Able with a camera-equipped satellite is successfully launched from the Atlantic Missile Range. The experiment demonstrates the feasibility of long-range weather forecasting by satellite. (AFSC/SSD, p. xiv)

April 13, 1960:

TRANSIT 1B, second in a series of navigational satellite vehicles sponsored by ARPA, is launched from the Atlantic Missile Range and successfully placed in orbit. (AFSC/SSD, p. xiv)

April 15, 1960:

DISCOVERER 11 is launched successfully and all test objectives are met, except for capsule recovery after ejection on the 17th orbit. The failure to recover the capsule represents over a year of failure in recovery attempts. (Rosenberg, p. vi; Richelson, pp. 38-39)

April 29, 1960:

The Space Technology Panel of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board issues a report recommending that the Air Force present its lunar exploration studies to NASA and join NASA in a national program of lunar exploration. (Summary Report of the Scientific Advisory Board Space Technology Panel on Space Technology, 12/60, p. 1)

May 4, 1960:

The U.S. Navy reopens, within the JCS, the question of a joint military space operations agency. (Rosenberg, p. vi)

May 24, 1960:

MIDAS 2 is launched from the Atlantic Missile Range into an almost perfect circular orbit. Transmission of infrared data to a ground readout station is briefly demonstrated before a critical component failure. (AFSC/SSD, p. xiv, 14)

May 26, 1960:

President Eisenhower orders reevaluation of the satellite reconnaissance program. (Richelson, p. 348)

May 27, 1960:

AFBMD publishes an abbreviated development plan for a nuclear system orbital flight test program. (AFSC/SSD, p. xiv)

June 16, 1960:

Secretary of Defense Thomas S. Gates reaffirms former Secretary Neil McElroy's September 18, 1959, decision not to establish a joint military space operations agency. He also directs that unified and specified commands exercise appropriate operational command over space systems. (Rosenberg, p. vii)

June 22, 1960:

A Thor Able-Star successfully places a TRANSIT navigation satellite (TRANSIT 2A) and a smaller parasitic radiation measuring satellite, called Gallactic Radiation Experiment Background (GREB), in orbit. (AFSC/SSD, p. xiv)

June 29, 1960:

DISCOVERER 12 is launched successfully but fails to orbit because of Agena malfunctions. (Rosenberg, p. vii)

July 7, 1960:

Headquarters ARDC announces that the designation of Sunnyvale's Satellite Test Center is now Sunnyvale Satellite Test Annex. (Jernigan, p. 24)

August 10, 1960:

DISCOVERER 13 is launched and orbited from Vandenberg AFB. (AFSC/SSD, p. xv)

August 11, 1960:

The data capsule from DISCOVERER 13 is ejected on the 17th pass and recovered in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii by Navy divers and then transported to the test site on a helicopter that was part of the 6593rd Test Squadron (Special) task force. Thunderstorms prevent aircraft from reaching the area in time for the planned aerial recovery. This marks the first successful recovery of a man-made object ejected from an orbiting satellite. It is first sighted by C-119 aircraft crews two minutes after impact. Three recovery aircraft dropped dye markers and smoke bombs to identify the spot. (Jernigan, p. 29)

August 12, 1960:

An Office of Vice Commander for Satellite Systems is established at AFBMD for management of the SAMOS project. (AFSC/SSD, p. xv)

August 15, 1960:

The DISCOVERER 13 capsule is shown to President Eisenhower at the White House. (Richelson, p. 348)

August 18, 1960:

DISCOVERER 14 is launched from Vandenberg AFB. After the 17th orbit, the payload ejects on command, to be recovered in mid-air over the Pacific by an Air Force crew flying a C-119 Flying Box Car. (AFSC/SSD, p. xv)

August 19, 1960:

Capt. Harold E. Mitchell of the 6593rd Test Squadron (Special), flying a C-119J, recovers the descending DISCOVERER 14 capsule northwest of Hawaii for the first successful aerial recovery of an object returned from orbit. The capsule, snagged on the third pass, is in perfect condition except for slight scorching on its upper surface. The capsule contains the first satellite photos of the Soviet Union. (Jernigan, p. 29; Richelson, p. 349)

August 25, 1960:

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the existence of which is classified, is established to centralize management of the research, development and operation of U.S. reconnaissance satellites. (Richelson, p. 349)

August 31, 1960:

The Office of Missile and Satellite Systems is established within the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force to provide cover for the NRO. (Richelson, p. 349)

September 6-9, 1960:

Twelve scientists from the President's Science Advisory Committee, chaired by Dr. W.K.H. Panofsky, review the MIDAS program and report that, in their view, the MIDAS concept is sound and its development should continue. (AFSC/SSD, p. xv)

September 15, 1960:

The Secretary of Defense directs the transfer of administrative and technical responsibility for the ADVENT program to the Army. (AFSC/SSD, p. xv)

September 21, 1960:

The first Air Force Blue Scout rocket is successfully launched from the Atlantic Missile Range. (AFSC/SSD, p. xv)

October 4, 1960:

A 500-pound COURIER delayed repeater satellite is launched into a 752-by-1050-nautical-mile orbit from the Atlantic Missile Range by a Thor Able-Star vehicle. The COURIER 1B contains about 300 pounds of avionics equipment, including five transmitter-receiver-storage elements, a FM and VHF telemetry generator, a VHF diplexer and command encoder. The initial operational test is made on the second orbital pass when a voice message from President Eisenhower to Secretary of State Christian Herter is beamed from Ft. Monmouth's Deal station to COURIER, then relayed to the COURIER ground station at Salinas, Puerto Rico. (AWST 10/10/60, p. 29)

October 11, 1960:

An attempted launch of the Air Forces reconnaissance satellite, now named SAMOS, fails. (Richelson, p. 349)

October 14, 1960:

The Secretary of the Air Force establishes a Directorate of the SAMOS Project (SAFSP) at AFBMD. The new directorate is responsible, and reports directly, to the Secretary on SAMOS project management and is a field extension of his office. (AFSC/SSD, p. xv)

November 30, 1960:

A TRANSIT 3A vehicle launched from the Atlantic Missile Range is destroyed after 152 seconds of flight. (AFSC/SSD, p. xv)

December 15, 1960:

AFBMD establishes a Deputy for Program 624A (Titan 3). (AFSC/SSD, p. xv)

December 15, 1960:

The Secretary of the Air Force instructs all major commands that, effective immediately, no new internal or public information concerning SAMOS is to be originated by any Air Force organization. (AFSC/SSD, p. xv)

December 15, 1960:

A VELA HOTEL Joint Management Team, consisting of members from AEC, NASA and ARDC, convenes at AFBMD to begin planning a high altitude satellite system for nuclear detection. (AFSC/SSD, p. xv)

December 20, 1960:

DISCOVERER 19 carries MIDAS radiometric equipment aloft to obtain background infrared radiation information. Although the Agena satellite runs into attitude difficulties, useful information is recorded for four days. (AFSC/SSD, p. 15)

January 9, 1961:

Air Force headquarters urges AFBMD to continue efforts to define the need for a space payload capability between the Atlas-Centaur booster vehicle and the early Saturn. (AFSC/SSD, p. xvi)

January 18, 1961:

National Security Council Intelligence Directive (NSCID) No. 8, "Photographic Interpretation," establishes the National Photographic Interpretation Center. Arthur Lundahl is named as director. (Richelson, p. 349)

January 26, 1961:

President Kennedy approves a revised national space policy. (Rosenberg, p. vi)

January 31, 1961:

An Air Force Atlas D/Agena A is launched from Vandenberg AFB and successfully places the SAMOS 2 satellite in orbit. This is the last Air Force use of an Agena A upper stage vehicle. (SAMSO, p. 92)

February 18, 1961:

DISCOVERER 21 orbits another radiometric package to obtain additional background infrared data. (AFSC/SSD, p. 15)

March 6, 1961:

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara signs Department of Defense Directive 5160.32, "Development of Space Systems." The directive assigns responsibility for research, development, test and engineering of satellites, anti-satellites, space probes and supporting systems, for all Department of Defense components. The directive authorizes each military department and Department of Defense agency, under the supervision of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, to conduct preliminary research and to develop new means of employing space technology to fulfill its assigned functions. The directive also assigns responsibility for research, development, test and engineering of space programs approved by the Director of Defense Research and Engineering to the Department of the Air Force. (Development of Space Systems, 3/6/61)

March 20, 1961:

The Air Force Space Study Committee issues a report which concludes that the "most pressing need is to develop the capability to place larger payloads in space." Larger payloads are required, according to the report, by advanced reconnaissance satellites, manned space stations and vehicles exploring space. It notes that "extension of our reconnaissance and surveillance capability are largely limited by our lack of large payload launch vehicles." The report also notes that "experience shows that we are almost certain to under-imagine the possible uses of space for national security." (Report, pp. 9, 13)

March 28, 1961:

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara signs DOD Directive 5160.34, "Reconnaissance, Mapping and Geodetic Programs." The directive assigns responsibilities for research, development and operational activities in the fields of reconnaissance, mapping and geodetic programs to different departments. The Department of the Air Force is assigned responsibility for research, development and operation, including payload design, launch, guidance, control and recovery of all DOD reconnaissance satellite systems. The Department of the Army is assigned responsibility for establishment of detailed specifications for the development of mapping and geodetic satellite payloads and the operational coverage required of such payloads to satisfy its over-all data collection program. The Department of the Air Force is assigned responsibility for research and development of all geodetic satellite systems that meet the requirements established by the Department of the Army. (Reconnaissance, Mapping and Geodetic Programs, pp. 1, 2)

April 1, 1961:

The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is created from elements of the disestablished Air Research and Development Command and Air Materiel Command. AFSC is responsible for weapons development and deployment. The Space Systems Division (SSD) and Ballistic Systems Division (BSD) of the AFSC are responsible for space systems and ballistic missiles respectively. (SAMSO, p. 95; AFSC/SSD, p. xvi)

May 1, 1961:

Air Force Secretary Eugene Zuckert forwards to the Secretary of Defense a proposal for a long-term national space program. (AFSC/SSD, p. xvi)

June 3, 1961:

Under Secretary of the Air Force Joseph V. Charyk instructs the Air Staff to prepare a solid booster program to satisfy the requirements of the Air Force and NASA. (AFSC/SSD, p. xvi)

June 15, 1961:

The New Boston Tracking Station is certified ready for operations and participation in the MIDAS program, having previously been limited to passive tracking for DISCOVERER 13. (Jernigan, p. 33)

June 20, 1961:

ARPA furnishes additional funds to support the first four DISCOVERER-VELA HOTEL piggyback flights and to pay for DISCOVERER-VELA technical assistance from the Aerospace Corporation. (AFSC/SSD, p. xvi)

July 12, 1961:

MIDAS 3 is launched into a polar orbit on an Atlas/Agena B and furnishes data readout for five passes. The satellite achieves a record 1,850-mile orbit and is the heaviest U.S satellite put up to date. (AFSC/SSD, p. xvii; SAMSO, p. 97)

September 14, 1961:

An Atlas-Agena B carries MIDAS 4 into a near-circular 1,900-mile orbit. Data is transmitted for only five orbits. Despite advanced guidance devices aboard the satellite, it suffers from attitude instability after the first orbit. (AFSC/SSD, p. 15)

September 15, 1961:

The Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) asks the Air Force to study the potential usefulness of Titan 2 as a core for a standardized space launch vehicle (Titan 3). (AFSC/SSD, p. xvii)

September 21, 1961:

National Intelligence Estimate 11-8/1-61, based on the results of CORONA missions, reduces the estimate of Soviet ICBMs to 10-25. Previous NIEs had estimated hundreds of ICBMs. (Richelson, p. 349)

October 3, 1961:

Because of Centaur program delays and ADVENT management difficulties, Air Force headquarters recommends cancellation of the ADVENT program and the start of a new satellite communications development effort. (AFSC/SSD, p. xvii)

October 13, 1961:

DDR&E authorizes the Air Force to begin early actions for development of the Titan 3 (a modified Titan 2 with strap-on solid boosters). (AFSC/SSD, p. xvii)

October 20, 1961:

Air Force headquarters directs AFSC/SSD to begin expedited actions leading to Phase I of the Titan 3 program. (AFSC/SSD, p. xvii)

October 21, 1961:

MIDAS 4 is launched into a 2,000-nautical mile orbit, from which it furnishes payload data for 34 passes before a power failure occurs. (AFSC/SSD, p. xvii)

November 18, 1961:

DDR&E approves the start of Phase I of the Titan 3 program "subject to availability of funds." (AFSC/SSD, p. xvii)

November 30, 1961:

The Ruina Committee, appointed to evaluate the MIDAS program, reports that early operation of the MIDAS system would be technically premature. (AFSC/SSD, 57-62, p. xvii)

December 12, 1961:

SSD completes preliminary contractual arrangements for Phase I development of the Titan 3 program. (AFSC/SSD, p. xvii)

December 22, 1961:

The last publicly identified SAMOS launch, SAMOS 5, takes place. (Richelson, p. 349)

Early 1962:

The Initial Defense Satellite Communications Program (IDSCP) is initiated. (Ball2, p. 3)

Early 1962:

The Navy conducts two ASAT missile tests. (Jasani, p. 12)

February 27, 1962:

The final publicly acknowledged DISCOVERER is launched. It is subsequently known as Program 162 until its termination with the launch of April 27, 1964. (Richelson, p. 350)

March 1962:

The Air Force and AEC Joint Working Group schedule the first orbital flight of a nuclear power unit for September 1963. (AFSC/SSD, p. xvii)

March 23, 1962:

A Defense Department directive directs that all military space activities be classified secret. (Richelson, p. 349)

April 9, 1962:

MIDAS 5 is launched into a 1,500- to 1,800-nautical mile orbit. A power failure stops data collection on the seventh pass, but the system collects infrared background data of good quality. The test series proves the basic technical feasibility of the system, although it is apparent that individual components will need substantial improvement if its life and reliability are to be significantly extended. (AFSC/ SSD, p. 15)

April 17-18, 1962:

The Study Group on National Military Communications Satellite Systems recommends a new start on developing a single, medium-altitude system to be operational by 1965. (AFSC/ SSD, p. xviii)

May 15, 1962:

The first U.S. Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) satellite is launched from the Western Test Range (WTR) on a Thor Agena B booster. (Spaceflight 1978)

May 23, 1962:

The Secretary of Defense issues directives to the Army, Air Force and Defense Communications Agency which, in effect, cancel the ADVENT program and approve a new development to meet a minimum essential satellite communications system requirement. (AFSC/SSD, p. xviii)

May 26, 1962:

President Kennedy signs National Security Action Memorandum (NSAM) 156, "Negotiation on Disarmament and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space." (Richelson, p. 349)

June 25, 1962:

The DDR&E restates his view that MIDAS "must remain an R&D program oriented toward developing techniques." (AFSC/SSD, p. xviii)

June 28, 1962:

The DDR&E suggests that the Air Force make several significant changes in the Titan 3 program, including use of a modified Titan 2 guidance system, five segment solid rocket motors and an improved upper stage for 24-hour orbit. (AFSC/ SSD, p. xviii)

July 1, 1962:

The NSAM 156 Committee delivers its study, Political and Informational Aspects of Satellite Reconnaissance Programs. (Richelson, p. 349)

October 1962:

The Atomic Energy Commission and the Air Force carry out a high-altitude nuclear weapon test codenamed STARFISH. As it turns out, STARFISH, fatally damages a number of orbiting satellites, not one of which is in the line of sight of the nuclear detonation. They are all wrecked by the massive doses of high-energy electrons that the weapon suddenly injects into their paths. (Karas, p. 148)

October 31, 1962:

The first successful launch of a geodetic satellite, ANNA 1B, takes place from Cape Canaveral AFS. (Ball1, p. 1)

November 5, 1962:

The Air Force Space Plan is submitted to Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. (Stares, p. 79)

December 3, 1962:

The Defense Department announces cancellation of plans for the immediate development of a detector-interceptor satellite (Project SAINT). SSD was to be assigned management responsibility. (SAMSO, p. 115)

Early 1963:

The Air Force demonstrates ASAT capabilities against low-earth orbit satellites. (Jasani, p. 12)

January 1963:

The Blue Gemini and MODS programs are deleted from the budget. (Stares, p. 79)

May 9, 1963:

The MIDAS 7 satellite is successfully launched. Its equipment operates successfully for 48 days in orbit. Operations cease as predicted on the night of June 25 because of a change of sun-angle. Valuable data on target detection of Polaris, Minuteman, Titan 2 and Atlas class missiles are accumulated. The Atlas and Titan 2 launches are detected in near real-time. Preliminary analysis indicates that previous estimates of the smallest launch which can be detected against severe background are conservative. Infrared (IR) sensors demonstrate a much higher level of performance than was generally believed possible. (Memorandum for Timothy J. Rearden, Special Assistant to the President, 9/13/63*)

May 18, 1963:

The first launch of a new camera system for the CORONA program takes place. The camera is designated the KH-4A. (Richelson, p. 349)

July 12, 1963:

The first launch of the GAMBIT program, designed to provide close-look photos, takes place. The camera system is designated the KH-7. (Richelson, p. 349)

July 18, 1963:

MIDAS 9 is placed in circular orbit at a nominal altitude of 2,000 nautical miles. It performs satisfactorily for 12 days, then terminates because of a power source malfunction. (Memorandum for Timothy J. Rearden, Special Assistant to the President, 9/13/63*)

August 5, 1963:

In Moscow, the United States, United Kingdom and USSR sign the Pivotal Test Ban Treaty banning nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere, underwater and in outer space. (ACDA, pp. 41-43)

September 28, 1963:

The Indian Ocean Station (IOS) performs its first successful satellite operations support. (Jernigan, p. 44)

October 16, 1963:

Two VELA satellites are launched from Cape Canaveral. The 297-pound satellites are placed in a near-circular earth orbit about 70,000 miles above the earth's surface. Design life is about six months. (Jernigan, p. 45)

November 20, 1963:

The DOD announces that the Navy Missile Facility and the Navy tracking stations will be transferred to the Air Force, which will then become the single manager for all ICBM and space tracking activities. At the same time, Secretary of Defense McNamara announces that the satellite control facilities will be "nationalized", i.e., even though the facilities will remain under Air Force management, a high degree of interface will be required among the Air Force, DOD and NASA. (Jernigan, p. 45)

December 10, 1963:

DOD cancels the X-20 DYNASOAR manned space glider. (Manno, p. 100)

December 10, 1963:

Secretary of Defense McNamara assigns responsibility for the development of a near-earth Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) to the Air Force. The first manned flight is tentatively planned for late 1967 or early 1968. A modified Titan 3, the Titan 3M, will be used to place the laboratories in orbit from Vandenberg AFB. (SAMSO, p. 133)

December 16, 1963:

General Bernard A. Schriever, AFSC commander, assigns the responsibility for managing the entire military manned space effort, including the MOL and the unmanned glider flight test (ASSET) program to the Space Systems Division. (SAMSO, p. 133)

1964:

The TRANSIT family of navigation satellites goes "operational." (Karas, p. 130)

January 11, 1964:

The Army SECOR-1 geodetic satellite is launched from Vandenberg AFB into a 550-mile circular orbit. Its mission is to pinpoint the Pacific Islands. (Ball1, p. 5)

January 28, 1964:

Headquarters USAF issues Specific Operational Requirement No. 209 which states that "a limited operational capability is required as soon as practicable to detect ballistic missiles launched from Soviet regions, for the purpose of investigating in detail, and without incurring additional investment costs, the operational application of a satellite-borne missile defense alarm system." (ADC 72, pp. 112-113)

March 1964:

As part of a project designated Project 437, the Air Force begins a series of tests from Johnston Island, southwest of Hawaii, codenamed SQUANTO TERROR. In the test, a Thor missile sends simulated nuclear warheads to altitudes up to 700 nautical miles toward satellite debris used as targets. The test, the first of as many as 16 held in the next four years, is a success. (Karas, p. 149)

July 15, 1964:

Defense Secretary McNamara announces that negotiations with the Satellite Communications Corporation for a defense COMSAT system are terminated and directs the DOD to proceed with the full development of a military SATCOM system to be built by Philco-Ford. This will become the Initial Defense Satellite Communications Program (IDSCP). (Jernigan, p. 54)

July 17, 1964:

The second pair of first-generation VELAs are launched from Cape Canaveral. (Baker, p. 148)

October 10, 1964:

The Beacon B Ionospheric and Geodetic Data Satellite is launched from Vandenberg AFB aboard a Scout rocket into a 551-by-670-mile orbit. (Ball1, p. 5)

October 20-21, 1964:

Headquarters USAF and AFSC direct the go-ahead for Phase II of the Initial Defense Satellite Communications Program (IDSCP) with a funding ceiling of $30 million after September 14, 1964. The action approves the launch of three IDSCP payloads on Titan 3C research and development vehicles that are to be launched in the first half of 1966. (SAMSO, p. 147)

January 19, 1965:

The first prototype defense meteorological satellite lifts off on top of a Thor-Altair launch vehicle to test sensors and camera systems. Employing the fourth stage of the Scout rocket as an upper stage to a basic Thor, the launch vehicle puts its payload in an elliptical orbit 252 miles at the perigee and 510 miles at the apogee. (Baker, p. 116)

April 3, 1965:

The 6595th Aerospace Test Wing launches an Atlas/Agena which boosts the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Snapshot spacecraft into orbit carrying the SNAP-10A satellite nuclear power supply experiment. The onboard nuclear reactor is used to provide electric power for an ion engine, marking the first attempt to test a reactor-ion system in orbit. (SAMSO, p. 156)

June 18, 1965:

Headquarters Air Force Satellite Control Facility (AFSCF) approves the name Satellite Control Facility (SCF) for the new organization to be created from the merger of the Space System Division's Deputy for Space Test Operations and 6594th Aerospace Test Wing at Sunnyvale, California. (SAMSO, p. 161)

July 1965:

The third pair of first-generation VELAs are launched. (Baker, p. 148)

July 1, 1965:

The 6594th Aerospace Test Wing is discontinued and the Air Force Satellite Control Facility is created in its place. Following the approval by Headquarters Air Force Satellite Control Facility on June 18, 1965, the Satellite Control Facility is designated and organized at Los Angeles Air Force Station, and assigned to SSD. Det-1 AFSCF was designated and organized along with the 6594th Support Group at Sunnyvale. (Jernigan, p. 62)

July-December 1965:

Facility modifications for the Space Ground Link System begin at the Vandenberg Tracking Station and Thule Tracking Station, both being designated "demonstration ground stations." (Jernigan, p. 62)

July-December 1965:

The 6594th Test Squadron Photography is established as an Air Force Special Projects Production Facility and assigned to the Space Systems Division. (Jernigan, p. 62)

August 25, 1965:

President Lyndon Johnson announces that he has approved DOD plans for MOL development at a cost of $1.5 billion. The Air Force is to continue its management of the MOL program, while Douglas Aircraft Company is to design and build the spacecraft to be placed in orbit using a Titan 3M version of the Titan 3C space launch vehicle. Unstated is the MOL's main objective--reconnaissance employing cameras and people. The program to use the MOL for reconnaissance is codenamed DORIAN. The camera system is eventually designated as the "KH-10." (Jernigan, p. 63; Richelson, p. 350)

March 8, 1966:

The National Security Agency (NSA) is briefed on the MOL program with AFSCF acting as an interface between the program and the agency. (Jernigan, p. 68)

June 16, 1966:

A Titan 3C places eight satellites in near-synchronous orbits 18,200 miles above the equator. Seven represent the first military COMSAT system, the Initial Defense Satellite Communications System (IDSCS). Each of the 36-by-32-inch satellites can relay 600 voice or 6,000 teletype channels. The eighth vehicle is a gravity test spacecraft. (Jernigan, p. 69)

July 29, 1966:

A Titan 3B-Agena D places a new camera system, designated KH-8, for the GAMBIT program in orbit. (Richelson, p. 350)

August 8, 1966:

A Long Tank Thrust Augmented Thor places the first of a new CORONA camera system, the KH-4B, in space. (Richelson, p. 350)

August 26, 1966:

An Air Force Titan 3C lifts off from Cape Canaveral with the second set of eight defense communications satellites. The vehicle breaks up 80 seconds into its flight due to a structural failure, forward of Station 77, that causes the payload ???fairing to come off. This results in an abrupt maneuver by the vehicle which causes it to self-destruct. (SAMSO, p. 176)

August 31, 1966:

Gen. Bernard A. Schriever, AFSC Commander, retires after 32 years of military service. He played a pivotal role in guiding development of the Air Force ballistic missile and space programs. (Jernigan, p. 71)

September 16, 1966:

The first operational Defense Meteorological Satellite Program is launched from the WTR into a 437-by-552-mile orbit. (Ball4)

December 31, 1966:

A formal agreement is signed between the United States and the United Kingdom concerning the Indian Ocean Station, Mahe Island, Seychelles. A public announcement follows on April 25, 1967. (Jernigan, p. 72)

Late 1966:

MIDAS Program 266 is redesignated Program 949. (Baker, p. 147)

January 18, 1967:

Eight Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) 1 satellites are successfully launched. (Ball2, p. 9)

March 16, 1967:

President Johnson tells a group of educators about the value of space reconnaissance. (Richelson, p. 350)

March 30, 1967:

The last satellite carrying a KH-4A reenters the atmosphere. (Richelson, p. 350)

April 28, 1967:

Two new and heavier (498 pounds) VELA satellites and three scientific satellites are placed in orbit from Cape Canaveral. They join six other VELA satellites in orbit at 69,000 miles. (Jernigan, p. 73)

June 4, 1967:

The final KH-7 satellite is launched. (Richelson, p. 350)

June 5, 1967:

Israel launches a surprise attack on Egypt and Syria. (Donald Neff, Warriors for Jerusalem, 1984, p. 201)

June 28, 1967:

Two scientific satellites (one Army, one Navy) are launched as the first flight of the DOD Space Experiments Support Program (SESP)--a tri-service effort allowing qualified, government-sponsored space experiments to fly payloads on Air Force boosters under the management of SSD. The Army payload is designated Sequential Collation of Range (SECOR) while the Navy payload is designated AURORA I. They are launched from Vandenberg AFB. (Jernigan, p. 74; SAMSO, p. 186)

July 1, 1967:

Three of six satellites launched from Cape Canaveral complete the IDSCS on-orbit constellation, later known as the IDSCP. (Jernigan, p. 74)

July 1, 1967:

The functions and personnel of the Space Systems Division and Ballistic Systems Division of AFSC combine to form the new Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO). (SAMSO, p. 187)

July 1, 1967:

Director of Central Intelligence Directive 1/13 establishes the Committee on Imagery Requirements and Exploitation (COMIREX). (Jeffrey Richelson, The U.S. Intelligence Community, 1989, p. 397)

April 13, 1968:

Installation of Space Ground Link System (SGLS) equipment at the Hawaii Tracking Station begins. (Jernigan, p. 75)

April 13, 1968:

A NASA Thorad/Agena is launched from Vandenberg AFB and successfully boosts a Nimbus B2 meteorological satellite and an Army-sponsored Sequential Collation of Range (SECOR) satellite into orbit. (SAMSO, p. 192)

June 13, 1968:

An Air Force Titan 3C is launched from Cape Canaveral and successfully inserts eight 100-pound communications satellites into near-synchronous orbits. These satellites augment and complete the deployment of the Initial Defense Satellite Communications System (IDSCS) which now consists of 26 operational satellites. (SAMSO, p. 193)

June 27, 1968:

Installation of SGLS equipment begins at the Kodiak Tracking Station. (Jernigan, p. 75)

August 21, 1968:

Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia, ending the Prague Spring. CORONA photos indicating an imminent invasion are not returned until after the invasion. (Richelson, p. 350)

September 7, 1968:

The first SGLS configured satellite is tracked with the SGLS system. (Jernigan, p. 75)

February 9, 1969:

TACSAT 1 is launched into a 19,300-nautical-mile, near-synchronous orbit from Cape Canaveral. At 1,600 pounds and measuring 9-by-25-feet, this is the largest COMSAT yet launched and orbited by the United States. TACSAT 1 is used to determine the feasibility of communications repeators with small mobile ground tactical communications equipment, as well as the possibility of conducting satellite communications over great distances. (Jernigan, p. 76)

March 1969:

A contract is awarded to TRW for the design and development of the first six DSCS 2 satellites. (Ball2, p. 9)

March 18, 1969:

The Hawaii Tracking Station at Kaena Point becomes the first Satellite Control Facility (SCF) network remote tracking facility to support real-time operations using the Advanced Data System (ADS). (Jernigan, p. 76)

March 25, 1969:

The Guam Tracking Station enters the SCF operational inventory. (Jernigan, p. 78)

April 25, 1969:

Installation of the Advanced Data System at Vandenberg Tracking Station is completed. (Jernigan, p. 78)

May 22, 1969:

Advanced Data System, SGLS equipment and other modifications are completed at the Guam Tracking Station. (Jernigan, p. 78)

May 23, 1969:

Two more VELA spacecraft are launched into orbit, representing the conclusion of the Titan 3's R&D program initiated in 1962. (Jernigan, p. 78)

May 29, 1969:

Thule Tracking Station SGLS/ADS equipment installation is completed. (Jernigan, p. 78)

June 6, 1969:

Installation of ADS equipment at the New Hampshire Tracking Station is completed. (Jernigan, p. 78)

June 10, 1969:

Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard announces the cancellation of the MOL program due to a continuing need to reduce Federal defense spending and advances in automated techniques of unmanned satellite systems. The DOD has spent $1.3 billion on the program to date. (Jernigan, p. 78)

June 14, 1969:

The Air Force redesignates Program 949 as Program 647 with the unclassified name Defense Support Program. (ADC 72, p. 112)

November 10, 1969:

The United States and Australia reach agreement on the establishment of the Joint Defense Space Communications Station at Woomera (Nurrungar) which is to serve as the Overseas Ground Station for the Defense Support Program satellite system. (Military Construction Appropriations for 1986, Pt. 5, 1985, p. 638)

November 28, 1969:

In response to Headquarters USAF Development Directive 235-2 of June 30, 1969, Headquarters AFSC submits SAMSO's development plan for System 621B, the Satellite System for Precise Navigation. This later becomes the Defense Navigation Satellite System, Program 621B. (SAMSO, p. 200)

April 1970:

The third pair of second generation VELAs are orbited. (Baker, p. 149)

April 1, 1970:

The Air Force WTR is replaced by the SAMTEC, which is assigned to SAMSO. At the same time, the 6595th ATW is reassigned from SAMSO to SAMTEC. Also, the 6555th ATW is redesignated as the Aerospace Test Group (ATG) and placed under the authority of the 6595th ATW. (SAMSO, p. 203)

April 22, 1970:

Support by the SCF to the Biosatellite Program is officially terminated. (Jernigan, p. 80)

May 4, 1970:

In a memo, Deputy Defense Secretary Packard proposes phasing out Program 437 and suggests that he would "like the Army and Air Force to consider the possibilities for a U.S. non-nuclear capability against Soviet satellites." (Stares, p. 202)

June 19, 1970:

The first geosynchronous SIGINT satellite, codenamed RHYOLITE, is launched from Cape Canaveral. RHYOLITE is capable of intercepting communications in the UHF and VHF frequencies--which include a variety of communications, radar signals and telemetry signals from missile tests. (Ball3, pp. 29-54)

July 1, 1970:

Interim operating capability is established for TACSAT consisting of TACSAT 1 and LES-6. (Jernigan, p. 82)

August 5, 1970:

Installation and checkout of the ADS/SGLS is completed at Mahe Island in the Seychelles. (Jernigan, p. 82)

October 1, 1970:

Launch personnel for Project 437 are transferred to Vandenberg AFB, reducing operational readiness to 24 hours and 30 minutes. (Stares, p. 201)

November 6, 1970:

The DSP satellite is launched from Cape Canaveral, but a launch vehicle failure prevents it from reaching the intended orbit, providing the Air Force with limited opportunity to test the sensors and system operation. (Baker, p. 149)

January 1, 1971:

The Satellite Test Annex (STA) is redesignated as Sunnyvale Air Force Station (SAFS). This is the first official termination of the STA designation although Satellite Test Center (STC) was commonly used for years. The STC acronym is continued as the distinction between the operational nerve center of the AFSCF network and the Sunnyvale facility as a whole. (Jernigan, p. 82)

February 16, 1971:

A Thor/Burner 2 launch vehicle successfully carries out a Space Experiments Support Program (SESP) orbital flight for the Naval Research Laboratory. It also orbits a DMSP spacecraft. (SAMSO, p. 210; Ball4)

March 21, 1971:

The first JUMPSEAT electronic intelligence satellite is orbited from the WTR range, using a Titan 3B-Agena D booster. The spacecraft is placed in a highly elliptical 250-by-24,000-mile orbit. Its mission is to monitor the electronic signals of Soviet ABM radars. (William Burrows, p. 223; AWST, 4/12/90, pp. 46-47)

April 1971:

The Air Defense Command (ADC) proposes the development of an air-launched missile able to "intercept and negate satellites prior to their first overflight of the continental United States." Known as Project SPIKE, its design philosophy is to use existing systems and state of the art technology whenever possible. The proposed system consists of an F-106 fighter and a modified Standard AGM-78 anti-radar missile with a terminal homing warhead. After ADC briefs Headquarters Air Force on the project, SAMSO is directed to examine its technical feasibility. (Stares, p. 202)

May 6, 1971:

The second DSP satellite is launched successfully. The satellite attains its intended synchronous orbit. (Baker, p. 149)

June 15, 1971:

The successor to the CORONA area surveillance program begins with a launch from Vandenberg AFB. The new program, designated HEXAGON, employs the new KH-9 camera system. The KH-9 can take pictures of wider areas than the KH-4B, with greater detail. (Richelson, p. 350)

September 16, 1971:

The VELA Data Transmission Systems (VEDATS) becomes operational for sending real-time and playback VELA data from the tracking stations through an STC bird buffer into the VEDATS computer which sends it to either one or both of the user agencies--the Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) or Air Force Global Weather Central (AFGWC). (Jernigan, p. 84)

September 17, 1971:

The SAMSO review of Project SPIKE is completed and senior Air Force officials are briefed. SAMSO is generally positive and recommends six space intercept demonstrations at an estimated cost of $30 million. However, neither the deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Research and Development nor the senior Air Force officials are convinced of the project's feasibility, so no funds are allotted in the FY 1973 budget submission. (Stares, p. 203)

September 27, 1971:

Deputy Defense Secretary David Packard approves the development concept paper (DCP) for the acquisition of the Navy's proposed Fleet Satellite Communications (FLTSATCOM) system. The spaceborne segment of this global (less polar) ultra-high frequency (UHF) communications system would be developed for the Navy by SAMSO's Deputy for Space Communications Systems. In addition, the DCP provides for the acquisition of UHF airborne and ground terminals for Air Force use with the FLTSATCOM and other selected satellite systems. Upon completion, this program, the Air Force Satellite Communications System (AFSATCOM), would provide the Air Force with a communications system for high priority Air Force requirements. (SAMSO, p. 213)

October 1971:

The Satellite Data System program begins. (C3I Program Management Structure and Major Programs, 12/10/80)

November 2, 1971:

The first pair of DSCS 2 satellites, weighing 1,300 pounds and measuring 9-by-13-feet, are launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral on a Titan 3C booster. Telemetry and command links cannot be established until November 5. Technical problems in satellite design result in the premature failure of both satellites. (Jernigan, p. 85; Ball2, p. 13; Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, NASA Authorization for Fiscal Year 1980, 1979 p. 1727+)

November 5, 1971:

The first (and apparently last) planned semiannual exercise to test the ability of launch crews to redeploy and reactivate Program 437 missiles at Johnston Island is conducted. (Stares, p. 201)

December 4, 1971:

The second RHYOLITE fails to orbit due to a malfunction of the first stage booster. (Ball3, p. 14)

December 14, 1971:

A Naval Research Laboratory ocean surveillance satellite constellation is launched by a modified Thor booster to eavesdrop on Soviet shipping and direction-find their precise location. (Baker, p. 111)

March 1972:

The third DSP satellite is launched. (Baker, p. 149)

May 25, 1972:

The final KH-4B is launched as Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev sign the first SALT agreement. (Richelson, p. 350)

August 19, 1972:

Hurricane Celeste passes sufficiently close to Johnston Island to cause considerable damage to the launch and support facilities for Program 437. After a complete damage assessment, the island's facilities are repaired and Program 437 is put back into commission on September 13, 1972. This proves to be premature as the damage, particularly to the computer systems, is more extensive than was first thought. As a result, Program 437 is once again taken out of service from December 8, 1972, until March 29, 1973. (Stares, p. 202)

December 20, 1972:

The third RHYOLITE is successfully placed in orbit. (Ball, p. 14)

March 1973:

Under Secretary of the Air Force (and NRO Director) John McLucas acknowledges the existence of the previously secret Air Force weather satellite program (DMSP). The satellites, according to McLucas, "provide decision-makers with weather data within a matter of minutes of the time it is called from space." (AWST 3/12/73, p. 18)

March 6, 1973:

The fourth RHYOLITE satellite is launched. (Ball3, p. 14)

April 1973:

The AFSATCOM program is announced by the Air Force. The program is designed to permit satellite transmission of communications between the National Command Authority (NCA) and Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) forces. (Ball5, p. 3)

June 1973:

An improved DSP satellite is launched into geosynchronous orbit. (Baker, p. 151)

October 6, 1973:

Egypt and Syria initiate the Yom Kippur War. No satellite photographs are received during the war. (Richelson, pp. 115-117)

December 13, 1973:

A second pair of DSCS 2 satellites are launched. One is placed over the Atlantic region and the other over the Western Pacific region. (Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, NASA Authorization for Fiscal Year 1980, p. 1727; Ball2, p. 13)

February 24, 1974:

The second pair of DSCS 2 satellites, after a two-month orbital test period, are transferred to fixed positions over the equator. The first (1973-100A) is placed at 13 degrees West longitude to provide coverage across the Atlantic Ocean. The second is placed over the Western Pacific at 175 degrees longitude and is later moved to 60 degrees East over the Indian Ocean. (Ball2, p. 20)

July 13, 1974:

Space Test Program (STP) Flight P73-3 is launched and places a Navy Navigation Technology Satellite (NTS-1) payload successfully in orbit. (Jernigan, p. 93)

October 1974:

TRW is awarded a contract for six additional DSCS 2 satellites. (Ball 2, p. 9)

December 1974:

IBM signs a contract to build a prototype Simplified Processing Station for the DSP program, with options for up to five more. (Talking Paper on Simplified Processing Station (SPS), 12/8/80)

March 6, 1975:

Commander-in-Chief Continental Air Defense Command (CINCONAD) informs the JCS that "the Program 437 Anti-Satellite Option is terminated effective 0001Z on 1 April 1975." (Stares, p. 202)

April 1975:

Program 437 is terminated. (Stares, p. 201)

May 20, 1975:

The third pair of DSCS 2 satellites is launched. The satellites fail to achieve accessible orbit because of a malfunction in the Titan 3C transtage and decay back to earth on May 26, 1975. (Ball 2, p. 20)

June 18, 1975:

A signals intelligence satellite is orbited on a Titan 3C booster into an apparently elliptical 18,000-by-24,000-mile orbit. The satellite is often reported as being a follow-on to RHYOLITE, codenamed ARGUS. However, ARGUS was never built. Most probably, it is an Air Force COMINT satellite, codenamed CANYON. (Ball, p. 14; Richelson, p. 100)

September 30, 1975:

The Kodiak Tracking Station, Alaska, is officially inactivated. (Jernigan, p. 95)

October 18, 1975:

A Program 647 satellite launched in September 1970 detects energy levels up to 1,000 times as great as that typically emitted by an ICBM launch. The energy level is of such intensity that it immediately leads to the suspicion that the Soviets are intentionally blinding the infrared sensors. The Soviets claim that an enormous oil leak created the fire plume which was seen by the satellite. (Baker, pp. 148-151)

December 14, 1975:

A DSP is launched from Cape Canaveral and later malfunctions. The possible cause is a rupture in an onboard propellant line. (AWST 11/8/76, pp. 16-17)

February 19, 1976:

The last Block 5C DMSP satellite fails to achieve orbit due to booster failure. (Ball4)

March 14, 1976:

Space Test Program Flight P74-1 is launched with a Lincoln Experimental Satellite pair (LES-8, LES-9), as well as solar radiation satellites 11A and 11B. (Jernigan, p. 97)

April 30, 1976:

Three satellites are placed in orbit from Vandenberg AFB at an inclination of 63.5 degrees to monitor Soviet and other naval movements. Developed and built by the Naval Research Laboratory, they are the first of two clusters scheduled to precede the operational systems built by Martin-Marietta. When launched, the satellites are placed in three separate but parallel orbits displaced in space as well as time. (Baker, p. 111)

May 22, 1976:

DMSP 5C satellite F-31 is declared non-operational after 26 months in orbit. (SAMSO, p. 251)

June 1976:

The second Gapfiller/Marisat satellite is launched to cover the Pacific. (House Armed Services Committee, Navy Leased Satellite and FLEET Satellite Programs, 6/23/81, p. 7*)

June 2, 1976:

The first Satellite Data System (SDS) is launched. The SDS is a multi-mission satellite, providing communications links between the United States and bombers flying over the North Pole and between the Air Force Satellite Control Facility and its remote tracking stations. In addition, it is to serve as a relay for the imagery from KH-11 satellites, the first of which is deployed in December of 1976. (C3I Program Management Structure and Major Programs, 12/10/80; Richelson, p. 131)

July 1976:

TRW receives a contract for the final four DSCS 2 satellites (F13-16). (Ball2, p. 13)

August 6, 1976:

The second SDS satellite is launched. (C3I Program Management Structure and Major Programs, 12/10/80)

August 6, 1976:

Vandenberg, California, is chosen as the site for the testing of the Simplified Processing Station. (SAMSO, p. 252)

September 11, 1976:

A Thor booster carrying the first DMSP Block 5D satellite is launched from SLC-10, Western Test Range. The launch is successful but the satellite loses stability and begins to tumble after attaining orbit. (SAMSO, p. 253)

Fall 1976:

President Ford issues NSDM 333 to redress vulnerabilities of U.S. military satellites. (Stares, p. 170)

October 21, 1976:

The STC-to-Thule data link becomes operational. (Jernigan, p. 98)

December 9, 1976:

DMSP 5 satellite F-29 is declared non-operational. (SAMSO, p. 260)

December 19, 1976:

The first KH-11 satellite for the KENNAN program is launched. Rather than returning a film capsule, imagery is produced by an electro-optical system. The imagery can be relayed back to a Washington area ground station almost instantaneously. (Richelson, p. 351)

January 18, 1977:

President Ford's NSDM 345 authorizes United States development of an operational ASAT system and a study of arms control options. (Stares, p. 171)

January 21, 1977:

Acting DCI E. Henry Knoche shows President Carter the initial KH-11 photos, received the day before. (Richelson, p. 351)

February 1977:

A tracking system is installed at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, which allows Hickam to track DMSP satellites and receive data directly from them. The system is declared operational in June with Hickam operating as a weather readout station for the DMSP system. (Jernigan, p. 98)

February 2, 1977:

Space Systems Division of GE is awarded the contract to produce two DSCS 3 Demonstration Flight Satellites and a Qualification Model. (Ball2, p. 21)

March 24, 1977:

The first DMSP Block 5D vehicle which had gone into a spin after being launched in September 1976, is successfully de-spun, ending a five month effort during which a three-phased recovery attempt occurred. (Jernigan, p. 100)

March 28, 1977:

The Department of Defense issues DOD C-3100.9 on "Space Systems Policy" (its unclassified title), which pertains to DOD space systems being planned or under development and to major modifications to existing space systems. The policy itself is confidential. ([Excised] Space Systems Policy, 3/28/77)

April 1977:

The Navy completes installation of a DMSP production model shipboard terminal aboard the USS Kitty Hawk. This is the second production model DMSP terminal to be installed aboard an aircraft carrier. (SAMSO, p. 264)

May 12, 1977:

DSCS 7 and 8 are launched into geosynchronous orbit. (Ball2, p. 20)

May 23, 1977:

The fifth RHYOLITE satellite is launched. (Ball, p. 14)

June 4, 1977:

The second Block 5D DMSP satellite is launched from Vandenberg AFB. A series of anomalies results in the vehicle being placed in a retrograde orbit and a spinning condition. (Jernigan, p. 100)

June 10, 1977:

ADCOM publishes "Required Operational Capability (ROC) 3-77 for a Simplified Processing Station (SPS)." The purpose of the SPS is to increase survivability of the satellite ground environment through proliferation of ground stations. (ADC 78, p. 115)

June 23, 1977:

The first GPS Test Satellite (NTS-2) is successfully launched. The test shows that there would be no adverse effect of the additional IONDS weight on the GPS vehicle. The first GPS vehicle carrying an IONDS payload for Flight Service Vehicle 6 (FSV 6/GPS 6) is tentatively scheduled for 1980. (ADC 78, p. 123)

July 13, 1977:

ESD turns AN/FPS-108 (Cobra Dane) at Shemya AFB, Alaska, over to ADCOM. AN/FPS-17 and AN/FPS-80 are inactivated on August 1, 1977. (ADC 78, p. xiii)

August 6, 1977:

The Soviet Union, based on its satellite reconnaissance activities, informs the United States that South Africa is preparing to conduct a nuclear test. KEYHOLE photographs subsequently confirm the Soviet claim. (Richelson, pp. 137-139)

August 19, 1977:

ADCOM publishes "Required Operational Capability (ROC) 4-77, for an Improved NUDET Surveillance and Reporting System." The ROC advocates the development and deployment of nuclear detonation sensors on the GPS satellites and improved NUDET sensors on the DSP satellites. In the ROC, ADCOM states that because of the worldwide deployment of U.S. forces, the increasing number of nuclear-capable countries and the increasing possibility of a nuclear exchange between countries other than the U.S. and the Soviet Union, coverage is required of the CONUS, Sino-Soviet Bloc countries, and USEUCOM and USPACOM areas with emphasis on the Northern Hemisphere; however, the surveillance system has to be capable of rapidly expanding coverage for other threat areas.

Worldwide NUDET surveillance coverage and reporting would be achieved by integrating the NUDET observations from the GPS and DSP satellites with the ground terminals, thus a high degree of survivability was essential for both satellites and ground stations. Because of its experience gained from DSP and from conducting surveillance and reporting on nuclear bursts worldwide, ADCOM recommends in its ROC that it manage and exercise overall command and control of the system. IONDS is to have a reporting capability in the late 1980s. The Air Staff validates the ROC on December 19, 1977, but advises ADCOM that the primary operator not be decided until the DSARC [Defense System Acquisition Review Committee] II meeting scheduled for May 1979. (ADC 78, p. 123)

September 1977:

Vought is awarded the prime contract for the development of the Miniature Homing Vehicle. (Stares, p. 206)

September 2-8, 1977:

Vandenberg Tracking Station, Hawaii Tracking Station (HTS) and Guam Tracking Station (GTS) are modified to relay unprocessed telemetry to the STC or another SCF network station via satellite. (Jernignan, p. 102)

September 23, 1977:

President Carter signs PRM/NSC-23 requiring that the United States seek a comprehensive ASAT agreement prohibiting deployment, use and testing in space of ASAT capability. According to DDR&E William Perry, "to reduce the possibility of a future space conflict, the President has directed that we seek an effective and adequately verifiable ban on anti-satellite systems with the Soviets." (Stares, p. 184)

September 25, 1977:

The rumor that the Air Force is studying the possible disestablishment of ADCOM first appears in Colorado Springs newspapers. (ADC 1978, p. xiii)

October 1977:

ADCOM receives for comment the first draft of the Air Staff study, "Proposal For: A Reorganization of USAF Air Defense and Surveillance/Warning Resources." (ADC 78, p. xiii)

October 1977:

GPS monitor stations are developed in Hawaii, Guam and Alaska to complete the deployment phase of the Phase I GPS Control Segment. (Jernigan, p. 102)

October 1, 1977:

The U.S. Army transfers the PARCS Concrete Missile Early Warning Station over to ADCOM. (ADC, p. xiii)

October 6, 1977:

The primary sensor fails on DMSP satellite F-33. (SAMSO, p. 275)

October 13-16, 1977:

Both the New Hampshire Station and the Indian Ocean Station (IOS) are modified to relay raw telemetry to the STC or to other SCF network stations. (Jernigan, p. 102)

December 1977:

An unofficial study at the SCF is concluded regarding the term "Satellite Test Center" (STC), after it is recognized that the term has no official standing and could be confused with the actual designation "AFSCF." The only time when STC was a correct designation was from December 1959 until July 1960 when facilities at Sunnyvale were redesignated as the "Satellite Test Annex." From the earliest period of satellite activities at Sunnyvale, "STC" had been an operational designation used by mission directors. The term gained in popularity and achieved a quasi-official status, appearing in many formal publications. The fact that large, three-foot chrome letters spelled out "U.S. Air Force Satellite Test Center" across the front of the main SAFS entrance from 1969 to 1977, greatly reinforced use of the term. In 1962, "STC" was a term used primarily to distinguish between SAFS and the operational control center for the AFSCF. (Jernigan, p. 102)

December 1, 1977:

The Air Weather Service decides that it no longer requires support from DMSP Block 5C satellites, so the two remaining Block 5C satellites are turned off permanently. This ends the Block 5C era. (SAMSO, p. 278)

December 8, 1977:

Three WHITE CLOUD/PARCAE satellites are placed in orbit at 63.5 degrees. The lateral spread in this case is a little less than with the first set, but they are deliberately placed in orbit at 113 degrees around the globe, 1,860 miles away from their predecessors; while the 1976 trio are monitoring Pacific ships, the new satellites are watching the Atlantic. Thus phased, they establish the first pre-operational network, sending their intelligence to the ground at frequencies close to 1,432 MHz on a 1 MHz bandwidth. (Baker, p. 112

December 11, 1977:

The sixth RHYOLITE satellite is launched. (Ball, p. 15)

January 20, 1978:

Secretary of Defense Harold Brown directs the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Policy) to define U.S. ASAT requirements. This prompts a series of directives that result in a two-phase ASAT requirements study. Initially, the Air Force considers using a ground-based launch vehicle such as the Minuteman 3 ICBM, with an aircraft launched system as an alternative. By the end of the year, the Air Force reverses its preference and decides to rely on an air-launched missile for the MHV. A modified Boeing Short-Range Attack Missile (SRAM) is chosen as the first stage and a Voight Altair 3 booster, which is normally used as the fourth stage on the Scout space launcher, is picked to be the second stage behind the MHV. The Air Force also evaluates a variety of possible launch platforms and finally chooses the F-15. Its high operational ceiling and its rapid rate of climb make it an obvious choice. (Stares, p. 207)

January 27, 1978:

The General Accounting Office releases the unclassified digest of a report, entitled, "U.S. Antisatellite Program Needs a Fresh Look." The study criticizes the Prototype Miniature Air Launch Segment (PMALS) and calls for a new assessment of alternative ASAT weapons, particularly ground, air and space-based laser systems. (Stares, p. 121)

February 9, 1978:

The first FLTSATCOM is successfully launched. It becomes operational on April 4. (Baker, p. 133; Jernigan, p. 104)

February 9, 1978:

An AFSATCOM polar transponder launch takes place. (Senate Armed Services Committee, DOD Authorization for Appropriations for FY 1980, Pt. 5, 1979, p. 2664)

February 15, 1978:

Oakhanger in the United Kingdom is added to the worldwide AFSCF network as a shared resource and is designated as AFSCF Operating Location AE. (Jernigan, p. 104)

February 22, 1978:

The first NAVSTAR satellite is successfully launched. It is declared operational on March 31 as the first vehicle in a constellation of satellites planned for the GPS Program. (Jernigan, p. 104)

March 2, 1978:

Former CIA employee William Kampiles sells Soviet agent Michael Zavali the KH-11 manual. (Richelson, p. 351)

March 25, 1978:

A Titan 3C is launched from Cape Canaveral carrying DSCS satellites F-9 and F-10. The vehicle suffers a failure in its second stage hydraulic system about eight minutes after liftoff, and both the vehicle and its payload are lost. (SAMSO, p. 282)

April 7, 1978:

The seventh and last RHYOLITE satellite is launched. (Ball3, p. 15)

April 30, 1978:

The third Block 5D DMSP satellite, F-3, is launched. (ADC 78, p. xvi)

April 30, 1978:

Special testing is performed by the AFSCF during efforts to keep the third DMSP Block 5D satellite operational in spite of numerous problems which develop shortly after orbit injection and for several months thereafter. (Jernigan, p. 104)

May 1978:

The AFSCF conducts site surveys at Luke AFB, Arizona; Nellis AFB, Nevada; Hill AFB, Utah; Mountain Home AFB, Idaho; Malstrom AFB, Montana, for the CSOC. (CSOC, p. 1-1)

May 11, 1978:

PD/NSC-37 on national space policy is signed. It states, as a basic principle, that

"the United States holds that the space systems of any nation are national property and have the right of passage through and operation in space without interference. Purposeful interference with space systems shall be viewed as an infringement upon sovereign rights. The United States will pursue activities in space in support of its right of self-defense and thereby strengthen national security, the deterrence of attack and arms control agreements." (Stares, p. 185)

June 10, 1978:

The first of a new class of SIGINT satellites is launched into geosynchronous orbit from Cape Canaveral on a Titan 3C booster. Codenamed CHALET, its sole purpose is to intercept the communications of the Soviet Union and other nations. (Ball, p. 23)

June 27, 1978:

The second GPS achieves operational status following its May 13 launch. (Jernigan, p. 104)

August 2, 1978:

ADCOM briefs the Air Staff on the need for six Simplified Processing Stations (SPS). (Talking Paper on Mobile Ground Terminal (MGT), 12/8/80)

October 1, 1978:

During the Congressional Space Medal of Honor awards ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, President Carter acknowledges the U.S. photo-reconnaissance satellite program--stating that "photo-reconnaissance satellites have become an important stabilizing factor in world affairs in the monitoring of arms control agreements. They make an immediate contribution to the security of all nations. We shall continue to develop them." (Stares, p. 186)

November 1978:

AFSCF conducts site surveys at Buckley ANGB, Colorado; Kirtland AFB, New Mexico; Peterson AFB, Colorado. (CSOC, p. 1-1)

November 22, 1978:

A DSP Program Management Directive directs AFSC and ADCOM to "conduct an analysis to determine the feasibility of a mobile receiving terminal to enhance data survivability." As a result of the analysis, a new concept for DSP--data survivability--emerges and consists of deploying Mobile Ground Terminals (MGTs) and associated communications terminals in truck mounted vans that can change locations frequently. (Defense Support Program (DSP) Improvements Status, 4/24/79, p. 2)

December 1978:

The DSP Prototype Simplified Processing Station is delivered. (Senate Armed Services Committee, DOD Authorization for Appropriations FY 1980, Pt. 5, 1979, p. 2660)

December 13, 1978:

A Titan 3C is launched from Cape Canaveral carrying DSCS 2 satellites F-11 and F-12. The vehicle places the satellites in the proper orbit; the satellites perform normally once there. They are expected to go into operation in mid-January 1979, at which point the DSCS 2 system would have a full, four-satellite constellation at its disposal for the first time in its history. (SAMSO, p. 295)

December 22, 1978:

William Kampiles is sentenced to 40 years in prison for selling a KH-11 manual to the Soviets. (Richelson, p. 351)

January 1979:

Four additional sites are considered for the site survey for CSOC-NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Colorado; Offutt AFB, Nebraska; Duluth International Airport, Minnesota; and Hancock Field, New York. (CSOC, p. 1-1)

January 1, 1979:

VELA surveillance satellite support requirements for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and Air Force Global Weather Central are terminated, resulting in a slight decrease in actual AFSCF support requirements for that program. (Jernigan, p. 105)

January 10-12, 1979:

DSCS 2 satellites 9441 and 9442 complete testing and are turned over to the Defense Communications Agency. This brings the DSCS 2 space segment up to full strength--four operational satellites--for the first time in its history. (SAMSO, p. 297)

January 30, 1979:

Flight P78-2 is successfully launched by SAMSO's Space Test Program. The mission is designated Spacecraft Charging at High Altitudes (SCATHA). It gathers data on the build-up of electrical charges on satellites operating at geosynchronous altitude. It is sponsored jointly by NASA and the Air Force. (SAMSO, p. 298)

February 1979:

OMB requests DOD and NASA to evaluate whether a joint mission control center or separate NASA and DOD facilities should be used to meet post-1985 Shuttle Mission requirements. The outcome is that the Air Force recommends that the two mission elements of the Satellite Operations Center and Shuttle Operations Planning Center be collocated at CSOC. (CSOC, p. 1-1)

May 1979:

The second FLTSATCOM is launched. (Baker, p. 133)

May 22, 1979:

AFSATCOM achieves Initial Operational Capability (IOC). (Manno, p. 141)

June 1979:

Simplified Processing Station IOT&E is completed. (Senate Armed Services Committee, DOD Authorization for Appropriations for FY 1980, Pt. 5, 1979, p. 2660)

June 6, 1979:

The fourth DMSP Block 5D-1 series vehicle is successfully launched. (Jernigan, p. 106)

June 18, 1979:

Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT II agreement. (ACA, pp. 207, 230)

August 1979:

The Air Force narrows down candidates for the CSOC site to Malstrom AFB, Montana; Peterson AFB, Colorado; and Kirtland, New Mexico. (CSOC, p. 1-2)

August 1979:

A KH-11 photographs the maneuvers of a Soviet brigade in Cuba. The brigade becomes the center of a major political controversy. (Richelson, p. 351)

October 1979:

Phase I of Shuttle launch pad construction is completed at Vandenberg AFB. Phase I involves excavation and demolition work to prepare the site. (SD, p. 31)

October 1979:

Contract "go ahead" is given for installation of IONDS payloads on GPS satellites 9, 10, 11. An IONDS payload is already being integrated into GPS 6, refurbished qualification model. (SD, p. 31)

October 1, 1979:

SAMTEC and its subordinate units are deactivated. The Eastern Space and Missile Center (ESMC) is created to conduct launches from Cape Canaveral and to track and monitor the missiles launched. A parallel organization, Western Space and Missile Center (WSMC), is created to carry out the same functions on the West Coast at VAFB. A third organization, Space and Missile Test Organization (SAMTO) is activated at Vandenberg, replacing Space and Missile Test Center (SAMTEC), to coordinate the activities of the ESMC and WSMC. SAMSO is deactivated and replaced by the Space Division and Ballistic Missile Office. (SD, p. 31)

October 1, 1979:

The second CHALET satellite is launched from Cape Canaveral. As a result of the loss of U.S. tracking stations in Iran and the compromise of RHYOLITE by Christopher Boyce and Andrew Daulton Lee, this CHALET has been remodeled to allow it to intercept missile telemetry. As a result of a New York Times account of the existence of and new role for CHALET, its codename is changed to VORTEX. (Burrows, p. 192)

October 8, 1979:

A balloon carrying two mosaic sensors is successfully launched from Keesler AFB, Mississippi, as part of the Balloon Altitude Mosaic Measurements Program. The balloon rises to an altitude of 100,000 feet and measures the infrared (IR) radiation emitted by the earth. These measurements will assist the Space Division in developing a mosaic sensor for missile surveillance purposes. (SD, p. 31)

October 31, 1979:

Space Division awards Rockwell International a contract for GPS 9-12 at a price of $86.2 million. GPS 12 will be the qualification test vehicle for GPS Block 2. (SD, p. 32)

November 4, 1979:

The U.S. embassy in Tehran is seized. (Gary Sick, All Fall Down: America's Tragic Encounters with Iran, 1986, p. 228)

November 16, 1979:

A Presidential directive is issued on the relationship between military and civilian weather satellite programs. The directive states that military and civilian agencies could continue to maintain separate weather satellite systems, but they could not develop any new satellites for them until they agreed on a joint development and procurement program. Since the agencies are unable to agree on such a program, the directive forces the Space Division to cancel plans for the development of a Block-6 DMSP satellite. (SD, p. 33)

November 20, 1979:

A Titan 3C booster successfully places DSCS satellites 2-D-13 and 2-D-14 in geosynchronous orbit at 130W and 12W latitude. (SD, p. 33; Ball2, p. 20)

December 2, 1979:

DMSP Block 5D satellite F-3 suffers a major anomaly when one or more integrated circuits fail and all data from its primary sensor become unusable. On April 16, the sensor recovers to the point that it is able to provide some visual data, but it is never able to provide any infrared data again. (SD, p. 34)

December 12, 1979:

Congress eliminates $12 million of the R&D funds remaining in the Space Division's mosaic sensor program, zeroing out the program. (SD, p. 35)

December 20, 1979:

Dr. Hans Mark, secretary of the Air Force, announces the selection of Peterson AFB as the Air Forces preferred site for the Consolidated Space Operations Center (CSOC). Activation of the CSOC at Peterson depends on a favorable Environmental Impact analysis and successful acquisition of real estate. (SD, p. 35)

1980:

A model of a DSCS 3 satellite is tested while being exposed to a nuclear blast in an underground vault in Nevada. (Manno, p. 162)

January 17, 1980:

An Atlas Centaur booster is used to launch the third FLTSATCOM. It is declared operational on February 17, 1980. (Baker, p. 133; SD, p. 36)

February 7, 1980:

A Titan 3D booster is launched successfully from Vandenberg AFB, California. The booster carries the third KH-11 satellite into orbit. (SD, p. 36; Richelson, p. 362)

February 9, 1980:

An Atlas booster successfully launches a NAVSTAR 5 into a nominal orbit. The satellite becomes operational on February 15, 1980. (SD, p. 36)

February 17, 1980:

DMSP Block 5D satellite F-2 suffers a computer failure, as a result of which it loses attitude control and is declared non-operational. (SD, p. 37)

February 25, 1980:

Space Division and TRW complete negotiations on a contract for modifications to DSP satellites 5, 6, 12 and 13. The modifications incorporate improved sensors and survivability improvements. The effort was initiated by a contract letter in June 1979. Negotiations were protracted because of disagreements over the issues of negative incentives for poor performance and milestone billing. The definitive contract is distributed on April 15, 1990, after approval by AFSC. The value of the contract is $98,783,901. (SD, p. 37)

March 3, 1980:

Another WHITE CLOUD/PARCAE constellation is launched into a 63.5 degree orbit by an Atlas booster at an altitude close to the 1976 and 1977 flights. (Baker, p. 112)

March 18, 1980:

Space Division issues a definitive contract letter covering production of two DMSP spacecraft (S-8 and S-9), and acquisition of long lead parts for a third (S-10). On March 13, 1981, the contract (with RCA) was modified to provide for fabrication of the third spacecraft. (SD, p. 38)

March 18, 1980:

Headquarters USAF issues PMD 14 outlining a restructured program for GPS. PMD 14 specifies that a constellation of 18 satellites is to be in place by FY 1988, though the system is to be expandable to 24 satellites. The system will achieve a three-dimensional navigational accuracy of 16 meters at least 50 percent of the time. All future operational GPS satellites will carry an IONDS payload, and GPS satellites will use AFSATCOM single channel transponders beginning with NAVSTAR 12. (SD, p. 38)

April 1980:

IBM is awarded a contract to develop new software for the Defense Support Program's Large Processing Stations. The software will make the ground stations compatible with an improved sensor to be flown on DSP satellites 5 and 6. (SD, p. 38)

April 21-25, 1980:

A preliminary design review is held on the Satellite Data Handling System (SDHS) being developed for the DMSP program. The government considers the preliminary design to be inadequate. The SDHS is a computerized weather forecasting system that is to be installed at the Air Force Global Weather Central at Offutt AFB, Nebraska. (SD, p. 38)

April 24, 1980:

A mission to rescue the hostages held in Iran fails. KH-11 photographs, essential to the planning of the mission, are left behind at Desert One. (Richelson, p. 352)

April 26, 1980:

An Atlas booster successfully launches NAVSTAR 6 into a nominal orbit. The satellite becomes operational on May 7, 1980. (SD, p. 39)

April 29, 1980:

Headquarters USAF authorizes AFSC to launch the DMSP Block 5D-2 satellites on the Atlas rather than the Thor. This decision, which was debated for some time within the Air Force, means the elimination of the Blue Suit (i.e., Air Force) launch team that launched the Thor. It also enables the DMSP program to avoid some serious practical problems associated with use of the Thor. The most serious problem involved the high acoustic levels that Thor boosters, modified to launch the heavier Block 5D2 satellites, would generate. (SD, p. 39)

June 18, 1980:

A Titan 3D booster is launched successfully from Vandenberg AFB, California. The booster places a KH-9 satellite in orbit. (SD, p. 41; Richelson, p. 361)

July 1980:

Westinghouse Electric Company delivers the first Operational Linescan System (OLS) configured for use in a DMSP Block 5D-2 satellite. The OLS is the primary sensor flown on DMSP satellites; it produces visual and infrared imagery of cloud cover on the earth's surface. (SD, p. 42)

July 1, 1980:

NAVSTAR 2 is declared non-operational because of the failure of its atomic clocks. (SD, p. 42)

July 11, 1980:

The U.S. Government accepts a prototype version of the Mark IV transportable terminal, developed for DMSP by Harris Corporation. The first two production units of this terminal are delivered in August and September. Mark IV terminals receive and display real time weather data from DMSP satellites. (SD, p. 42)

July 14, 1980:

DMSP satellite F-5 is launched from Vandenberg AFB on board a Thor booster. All telemetry is lost nine seconds after the third stage ignites, and the satellite fails to attain orbit. (SD, p. 42)

August 5, 1980:

A special panel begins a broad, in-depth review of the DMSP program at the request of Gen. Slay, AFSC commander. The review is triggered by a series of misfortunes that have befallen the DMSP program, the latest of which was the launch failure of July 14, 1980. The results of the review are briefed to Gen. Slay on September 16. (SD, p. 43)

August 8, 1980:

DMSP satellite F-4 is declared non-operational after six of its 17 battery cells fail. Failure of the battery cells leads to failure of the computer, which causes the satellite to lose attitude control. (SD, p. 43)

August 29, 1980:

Headquarters USAF directs Space Division to begin development of a near-term space-based radar. (SD, p. 43)

September 8, 1980:

Headquarters USAF issues PMD 15 for GPS, which directs the inclusion of an IONDS payload on GPS satellites, a third selective availability technique to deny unauthorized users access to the more precise positioning code and the exclusion of the AFSATCOM singe channel transponder which was mandated by PMD 14. (SD, p. 44)

September 19, 1980:

Space Division issues a Request for Proposal (RFP) to TRW for the design of DSP satellite 14, the first of four identical DSP satellites to be built by TRW, that would incorporate an improved sensor and survivability improvements. (SD, p. 44)

October 30, 1980:

The fourth FLTSATCOM is launched from Cape Canaveral into geosynchronous orbit, completing the FLTSATCOM constellation. (SD, p. 46; Baker, p. 133)

November 1980:

Satellite 2-C7 is removed from the DSCS operational inventory. The satellite has lost both of its 20 Watt narrow coverage Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers (TWTAs) and is no longer able to provide narrow coverage service. (SD, p. 46)

December 1980:

A PMD from Headquarters USAF provides official direction on the development of the CSOC. Priority will be given to taking over the functions of the AFSCF as soon as possible. Initial operational capability is scheduled for mid-1986. (SD, p. 47)

December 8, 1980:

An Atlas E booster, carrying a WHITE CLOUD/PARCAE constellation, fails to achieve orbit, destroys itself during reentry into the atmosphere, and falls into the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 miles west of Vandenberg AFB, from where it was launched. The cause is subsequently determined to be a premature shutdown of the booster engine because of an abrupt failure of the turbo pump. (SD, p. 48)

December 12, 1980:

A meeting is held to determine if launch preparations for DSP Flight 9 are necessary. SAC and ADCOM representatives restate the performance data that justifies the replacement of Flight 6 and uphold the "urgency of need" decision to launch. It is further directed that performance improvements be made in all remaining satellites and in the design of the new star sensor for satellite 14. (DSP Launch Decision Meeting--Space Division, 12/17/80)

December 13, 1980:

A Titan 3B booster is launched from Vandenberg AFB. The probable payload is a JUMPSEAT electronic intelligence satellite. (SD, p. 48; AWST 4/12/90, pp. 46-47)

December 20, 1980:

The first launch of a DMSP 5D-2 spacecraft occurs from Vandenberg AFB. (SD, p. 25)

January 8, 1981:

The firm of King and Reif is awarded an architecture and design contract for a high priority Program 106 satellite system. (Jernigan, p. 108)

February 28, 1981:

A Titan 3B booster is launched successfully from Vandenberg AFB, California. (SD, p. 50)

March 16, 1981:

A Titan 3C booster is launched successfully from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Its payload is a DSP satellite. (SD, p. 50)

March 17, 1981:

Secretary of the Air Force Verne Orr announces the selection of a site near Peterson AFB, Colorado, for the CSOC. Construction is to begin in 1983. Peterson is reportedly selected because it is near the Space Defense Operations Center of the NORAD, whose mission includes protection of the satellites which CSOC will control. CSOC will control both DOD shuttle operations and DOD satellite operations. (SD, p. 50)

April 1981:

Installation of a DMSP terminal aboard the USS Enterprise is completed. The Enterprise is the fifth aircraft carrier to receive a DMSP production model shipboard terminal. (SD, p. 51)

April 1981:

Based on the findings of the 1980 study on U.S. military satellite communications systems, the deputy undersecretary of defense for C3I issues a memorandum directing formulation of the MILSTAR Satellite Communications Program. (MILSTAR Master Plan, 4/1/90, p. 1)

April 12, 1981:

The first flight of the shuttle Columbia takes place. Piloted by astronauts John W. Young and Robert L. Crippen, the shuttle performs with only minor problems, carries out its planned tests during 54 hours in orbit and glides to a flawless landing at Edwards AFB on April 14. (SD, p. 52)

May 14, 1981:

A Scout booster is launched successfully from Vandenberg AFB, California. (SD, p. 54)

May 28, 1981:

The Space Division decides to purchase 35 SDHS terminals. (SD, p. 54)

August 5-6, 1981:

The Space Division briefs Headquarters AFSC and Headquarters USAF on funding problems affecting the DMSP. The briefing indicates that DMSP Block 5D-3 satellites, which would be adapted for launch on board the space shuttle, would cost more than expected, and that available funds are not sufficient to cover the cost. Space Division recommends that the Air Force postpone procurement of the 5D-3 satellites for several years and maintain service in the meantime by procuring four additional 5D-2 satellites. Both Headquarters USAF and Headquarters AFSC accept this recommendation. (SD, p. 57)

August 6, 1981:

The fifth FLTSATCOM satellite is launched but a violent jolt during ascent partially damages it. (Baker, p. 133)

September 1981:

Air Force Headquarters at the Pentagon opens a new space office--the Directorate for Space Operations under the deputy chief of staff for plans and operations. (Karas, p. 17)

October 31, 1981:

A Titan 3C booster is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida. Its payload is the third CHALET/VORTEX signals intelligence satellite. (SD, p. 59)

November 13, 1981:

President Ronald Reagan signs National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 8, "Space Transportation System" (STS). NSDD 8 states that "the STS will be the primary space launch system for both United States military and civil government missions. The transition to the shuttle should occur as soon as practical." Thus, the Reagan Administration endorses the Ford and Carter Administration policies of ending military reliance on expendable launch vehicles to place military payloads in space in favor of the STS. (Space Transportation System, 11/13/81)

December 14, 1981:

The first leaked KH-11 photo, showing a Soviet BLACKJACK bomber, appears in Aviation Week and Space Technology. (Richelson, p. 186)

December 16-23, 1981:

A review of the status of the new DMSP Satellite Operations Center at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, is conducted. Activation of the Center is being delayed, primarily because of software problems. The review team draws up a pan for dealing with these problems and a schedule for correcting them. The next DMSP satellite cannot be launched until the new Satellite Operations Center is activated. (SD, p. 60)

December 18, 1981:

An Atlas E carrying the GPS NAVSTAR 7 satellite destroys itself and its payload during a launch from SLC-3E at Vandenberg AFB. (SD, p. 61)

December 18, 1981:

A DSCS satellite 2-C7 is crippled by the failure of the shunt element assembly in its on-board power subsystem. The next day, the satellite is maneuvered into supersynchronous orbit and declared non-operational. (SD, p. 61)

January 21, 1982:

A Titan 3B booster is launched successfully from Vandenberg AFB, California. (SD, p. 62)

February 11, 1982:

Under Secretary of the Air Force Edward C. Aldridge orders the development of a Higher Energy Upper Stage for DOD payloads. The new upper stage is to be capable of boosting 10,000 pounds into geosynchronous orbit. It is to achieve an initial operational capability in FY 1987. The Air Force abandons this plan by the end of Fiscal Year 1982, deciding to cooperate with NASA in the modification of the existing Centaur upper stage to a configuration compatible with the Space Shuttle. (SD, p. 63)

March 6, 1982:

DSP Flight 10 (Satellite 13) is launched from Air Force Eastern Space and Missile Center. It is the last Titan 3C launched with a classified payload. (SPACECOM, p. vi)

April 22, 1982:

DSP Flight 10 is turned over to ADCOM by the Space Division (AFSC) as an operational sensor. (SPACECOM, p. vi)

April 30, 1982:

The fourth Balloon Altitude Mosaic Measurements (BAMM) flight takes place from Chico, California. The purpose of the flight is to gather low solar scatter angle data in the short-and medium-wave length infrared bands from terrain including snow-covered mountains, mountain lakes and clouds. (SD, p. 66)

May-July 1982:

A DMSP shipboard weather terminal is installed aboard the aircraft carrier USS America. (SD, p. 66)

May 7, 1982:

Headquarters USAF directs AFSC to terminate the Space Infrared Experiment (SIRE) program. The Air Force feels that the program is taking too long, costing too much and might not be the best way of achieving its goals. The SIRE experiment would have placed a long-wave infrared sensor in orbit, and used the sensor to detect and track space objects against a stellar background. (SD, p. 67)

May 10-October 9, 1982:

The new DMSP Satellite Operations Center is successfully tested at Offutt AFB, Nebraska. Completion of this testing clears the way for the first Block 5D-2 satellite to be launched early in FY 1983. (SD, p. 67)

May 11, 1982:

A Titan 3B booster is successfully launched from Vandenberg AFB, California. (SD, p. 67)

May 21, 1982:

SAC accepts GEODSS Site 1, Socorro, New Mexico, from AFSC/ESD. (SPACECOM, p. vi)

June 1, 1982:

The experiments launched by Space Division's Space Test Program on Flight S81-1 are turned on. This flight had been launched earlier in 1982 on an expendable booster from Vandenberg AFB. Flight S81-1 carries two experiments provided by the Office of Naval Research, one dealing with solar flares and the other dealing with energetic particle precipitation from the earth's magnetosphere. (SD, p. 67)

June 21, 1982:

The Air Force announces the formation of the Air Force Space Command. The Space Command is assigned operational space functions while the Space Division is restricted to research, development and acquisition duties. (Downey, p. 45; SPACECOM, p. vi)

June 21, 1982:

Space Shuttle Orbiter 102 (Columbia) is launched successfully from Cape Canaveral on the Space Shuttle's fourth orbital flight test (OFT-4). It carries classified DOD experiments arranged by the Space Division's Space Test Program. It lands on July 4, 1982, at Edwards AFB. (SD, p. 68)

June 22, 1982:

Headquarters USAF issues its Program Management Directive on the Consolidated Space Operations Center (CSOC). (SPACECOM, p. vi)

July 4, 1982:

President Reagan signs NSDD-42 on national space policy, his administration's first statement of overall space policy. The directive identifies the basic goals of U.S. space policy: (1) to strengthen the security of the United States; (2) to maintain U.S. space leadership (3) to obtain economic and scientific benefits through the exploitation of space; (4) to expand U.S. private sector investment and involvement in civil space and space-related activities; (5) to promote international cooperative activities that are in the national interest; and (6) to cooperate with other nations in maintaining the freedom of space for all activities that enhance the security and welfare of mankind.

The directive also reaffirms the Space Transportation System as the "primary space launch system for both national security and civil government missions." A June 1987 revision of the directive states that

"the fact that the United States conducts satellite photo-reconnaissance for peaceful purposes, including intelligence collection and monitoring of arms control agreements is unclassified. The fact that such photo-reconnaissance includes a near-real-time capability and is used to provide defense related information for indications and warning is also unclassified. All other details, facts and products concerning the national foreign intelligence space program are subject to appropriate classification and security controls." (National Space Policy, 7/4/82)

September 1982:

IBM finishes developing software that would allow DSP's processing stations to process mission data from the upgraded sensors. IBM was on contract to develop software to command and control satellites carrying the new sensors and to process telemetry from them. At the same time, it was on contract to integrate all this new software with the operational software currently in use. (SD, p. 69)

September 1, 1982:

The Air Force Space Command is activated under command of Gen. James V. Hartinger. Lt. Gen. Richard C. Henry becomes vice commander. (SPACECOM, p. vi)

September 2, 1982:

The Simplified Processing Station for DSP attains full operational capability. (SPACECOM, p. vi)

October 5, 1982:

The Harris Corporation is awarded a $10 million contract to build six DMSP Mark IV ground terminals for the Marine Corps. (SD, p. 71)

October 30, 1982:

The first launch of the Titan 34D launch vehicle and first launch of an Inertial Upper Stage successfully insert a pair of DSCS satellites into equatorial orbits. The satellites are DSCS 2-F16 and DSCS 3-A1. 3-A1 is the first DSCS 3 satellite ever put in orbit and also the first DSCS satellite to carry an AFSATCOM single channel transponder. (SD, p. 71)

November 17, 1982:

The last Titan 3D in the inventory is successfully launched from Vandenberg AFB, California. The booster places the fifth KH-11 satellite in orbit. (SD, p. 71)

November 18, 1982:

DSCS 2-F16 finishes on-orbit testing and is turned over to the Defense Communications Agency. (SD, p. 71)

December 20, 1982:

An Atlas E successfully launches a DMSP satellite from Vandenberg AFB. This Atlas E uses the first set of engines to be overhauled under the MA-3 engine overhaul program. The overhaul program was instituted because of a series of failures of Atlas E launches. The payload is the first of a new generation of weather satellites called the DMSP Block 5D-2. (SD, p. 72)

January 11, 1983:

On-orbit testing of DMSP satellite F-6 is completed. A new Satellite Operations Center (SOC) at Offutt AFB was used to command and control the satellite during on-orbit testing. SOC is declared operational as soon as testing is completed. The satellite itself is declared operational on January 14. (SD, pp. 72-73)

February 9, 1983:

The first Atlas H booster is successfully launched from SLC-3E at Vandenberg AFB. (SD, p. 73)

March 18, 1983:

DSCS 3-A1 successfully completes on-orbit Development Test and Evaluation/Initial Operational Test and Evaluation. It is placed in operation over the Eastern Pacific on May 1. (SD, p. 74)

March 23, 1983:

President Reagan delivers his "Star Wars" speech, calling for a "comprehensive and intensive effort to define a long-term research and development program to begin to achieve our ultimate goal of eliminating threats posed by strategic nuclear missiles." (Keith Payne, Strategic Defense: "Star Wars" in Perspective, 1986, p. xv)

March 25, 1983:

President Reagan signs National Security Decision Directive 85, "Eliminating the Threat from Ballistic Missiles," which launches the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program. The directive orders "the development of an intensive effort to define a long term research and development program aimed at an ultimate goal of eliminating the threat posed by nuclear ballistic missiles." (Eliminating the Threat from Ballistic Missiles, 3/25/83)

Early April 1983:

The Reagan Administration issues National Security Study Directive (NSSD) 6-83, entitled "Defense against Ballistic Missiles." The NSSD calls for three studies to look into SDI. The studies are to "...assess the role defensive system deployments could play in future security strategy [of the United States and its allies] and...develop a long-term R&D plan aimed at developing and validating technologies required for systems [which would be] militarily effective in defending against ballistic missiles." The responsibility for producing the studies requested in NSSD 6-83 is given primarily to the Department of Defense, which establishes the Defensive Technologies Study Group (DTSG) and the Future Security Strategy Study group, to be chaired by James Fletcher and Fred Hoffman, respectively. (Stares, p. 226; Report of the Study on Eliminating the Threat Posed by Nuclear Ballistic Missiles, Volume I: The Defense Technology Plan, 10/83)

April 15, 1983:

A Titan 3B booster is launched successfully from Vandenberg AFB, California, carrying a KH-8 satellite. (SD, p. 75; Richelson, p. 360)

May 1983:

The first DSCS 3 satellite becomes operational after more than five months of operational test and evaluation. (House Appropriations Committee, DOD Appropriations for 1985, Pt. 4, p. 661)

June 1983:

A computer upgrade at DSP processing stations is completed. (SD, p. 76)

June-August 1983:

KEYHOLE photography uncovers a new phased-array radar being constructed at Krasnoyarsk, USSR, in violation of the ABM Treaty. (Richelson, p. 352)

June 15, 1983:

Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman, Jr. announces the establishment of the Naval Space Command (NAVSPACECOM). (Downey, p. 47)

June 20, 1983:

A Titan 34D booster is launched successfully from Vandenberg, AFB, carrying a KH-9 satellite. (SD, p. 77; Richelson, p. 361)

June 27, 1983:

Flight 83-1 (HILAT) of Space Division's Space Test Program is launched from Vandenberg AFB. The flight carries five experiments, four supplied by the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) and one by the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory (AFGL). The experiments are integrated into a spare TRANSIT satellite, which the Navy has provided at no cost. The launch vehicle is a Scout booster obtained from NASA at no cost. The AFGL experiment is known as an Auroral Ionospheric Mapper, and it is intended to provide the first images of auroras on the sunlit side of the earth using ultraviolet sensors. This experiment fails during August 1983, but the AFGL obtains enough data to prove the feasibility of photographing the auroras in daylight by using ultraviolet sensors. (SD, p. 78)

June 29, 1983:

NASA places a Tracking and Data Relay satellite in its proper orbit, 22,300 miles over Brazil, almost two months after it was almost lost when a rocket motor misfired. (WP 6/30/83)

July 1983:

Senator Paul Tsongas (D-Massachusetts) introduces an amendment to the FY 84 Defense Appropriations Bill prohibiting testing of the ASAT against a space target unless certain conditions are met. The President would have to certify that the United States is trying to negotiate a treaty banning ASATs and that pending completion of such negotiations testing of an ASAT against a space target is vital to the interests of the United States. The amendment is subsequently passed by Congress and becomes law in 1983. (SD, p. 78)

July 14, 1983:

An Atlas E booster and SGS-2 upper stage successfully launch NAVSTAR 8 into orbit for the GPS. NAVSTAR 8 is the first GPS satellite to carry an IONDS payload for the detection of nuclear detonations. (SD, p. 78)

July 31, 1983:

A Titan 3B booster is successfully launched from Vandenberg AFB carrying an SDS spacecraft. (SD, p. 79)

August 1983:

The Space Division's Satellite Data System Program office, which was created in 1973, is abolished after it completes the procurement of all of the satellites in its directed program. (SD, p. 79)

October 1983:

The findings and recommendations of three studies ordered by the president are delivered. The Defense Technology Study focuses on the technical feasibility of a ballistic missile defense, and concludes that "powerful new technologies are becoming available that justify a major technology development effort offering future technical options to implement a defensive strategy." The study recommends a five-year program to determine the technical feasibility of future ballistic missile defenses. The two Future Security Strategy Studies explore the strategy and policy implications of a strategic defense. (SDI, p. 1)

October 1, 1983:

The Naval Space Command (NAVSPACECOM), headquartered at Dahlgren, Virginia, is activated. (Downey, p. 47)

November 8, 1983:

The Joint Chiefs of Staff approve, in concept, the creation of a unified space command. (Downey, p. 51)

November 17, 1983:

An Atlas E successfully launches DMSP satellite F-7 into orbit from Vandenberg AFB. The Space Test Program's Flight S81-2 is successfully launched as a secondary payload on the same satellite. Flight S81-2 consists of the AFGL's Ionospheric Current Systems and Auroras Experiment (ICSA). (SD, p. 81)

November 28, 1983:

NAVSTAR 5 becomes non-operational due to an attitude control problem. Over the next several months, ground personnel work hard to deal with the problem, but their efforts are unsuccessful and are abandoned on May 11, 1984. (SD, p. 81)

November 28, 1983:

The Space Division's Space Test Program (STP) flies the first of a new class of payloads called Quick Response Shuttle Payloads (QRSPs) on Space Shuttle Mission STS-9. These missions would consist of small, carry-on payloads which require little notice for manifesting. STP began to establish procedures for QRSPs early in FY 1983, drafting a proposed charter on the subject for issuance by the under secretary of defense for research and engineering. It suggests that such payloads be required to have little or no interface with the orbiter, be stowed in the orbiters mid-deck lockers and be operated on the basis of non-interference with the shuttle's primary missions. The first QRSP, designated Q0001, is called the Aurora Photography Experiment (APE). It is sponsored by the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory and involves photographing auroras to learn their size, intensity and characteristics, as well as to understand how they are affected by the orbiter. (SD, p. 82)

December 13, 1983:

DSCS satellite 2-B4 reaches its tenth anniversary in orbit--although its design life is only five years. Changes in the inclination of the satellite's orbit were making it difficult for some users to maintain communication with it. The satellite is therefore placed in a spare status on January 7, 1984, and is later taken out of the operational inventory and dedicated to experimental purposes. (SD, p. 83)

December 23, 1983:

Edward Aldridge issues the memorandum "Assured Access to Space" calling on AFSC and the Space Division to plan for a concept definition of a new procurement of ELVs. The candidates for the new ELV are an upgraded Atlas, an upgraded Titan 34D and an expendable vehicle derived from components of the space shuttle. It is to be capable of placing 10,000 pounds in geosynchronous orbit in a payload envelope the size of the space shuttles. Eventually it is named the Complementary Expendable Launch Vehicle (CELV) to underscore its benign relationship to the space shuttle program. (SD, p. 83)

January 1984:

The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) is created to undertake a "comprehensive program to develop the key technologies associated with concepts for defense against ballistic missiles." The SDIO charter notes that the technology plan identified by the Defense Technology Study and the policy approach derived from the Future Security Strategy Studies will "serve as general guides" to the program. (SDI, p. 1)

January 6, 1984:

NSDD 119, entitled "Strategic Defense Initiative," is signed calling for implementation of the Strategic Defense Initiative proposed by OSD's Defensive Technology Study Team. The directive also indicates the SDI program is to place principal emphasis on technologies involving non-nuclear kill concepts, although research on strategic defense concepts utilizing nuclear devices will continue as a hedge against Soviet ABM breakout. (SD, p. 84; Strategic Defense Initiative, 1/6/84)

January 21, 1984:

The Air Force conducts the first test in flight of an advanced missile, the U.S. Air Launched Miniature Vehicle Anti-Satellite, designed to destroy satellites. The missile is fired from an F-15 fighter in California and involves only the booster and booster guidance system and not any targets. (NYT 1/22/84)

January 30, 1984:

The first flight model microwave imager is delivered by the Hughes Aircraft Company. The microwave imager is a special sensor that will be flown on DMSP satellites beginning with satellites 9 and 10. (SD, p. 84)

January 30, 1984:

A Titan 34D booster with a Transtage-1 upper stage is launched successfully from Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida. The payload is apparently a VORTEX. (SD, p. 84; Jeffrey Richelson, The U.S. Intelligence Community, 1989, 2nd ed., p. 174).

February 3-11, 1984:

The Space Test Program's Flight S84-5 is successfully operated during space shuttle mission STS-41B. Flight S84-5 is also known as CRUX (Cosmic Ray Upset Experiment). It is the second getaway special (GAS) payload sponsored by STP. (SD, p. 85)

March 15, 1984:

DMSP satellite 8 is put in storage after completing integration and system-level testing. With this satellite in storage and available for launch when needed, DMSP has a call-up capability for the first time in 10 years. (SD, p. 85)

April 14, 1984:

A Titan 34D booster with a Transtage-2 upper stage is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral AFS. It carries the eleventh DSP satellite. (SD, p. 86)

April 15, 1984:

Lt. Gen. James A. Abrahamson becomes the director of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO). (SDI, p. 2)

April 17, 1984:

A Titan 3B is launched successfully from Vandenberg AFB. The booster carries the final KH-8 satellite into orbit. (SD, pp. 86-87; Richelson, p. 351)

May 1984:

The Army Space Office is activated. The office serves as the focal point for Army space-related matters, interfacing with the JCS and OSD. (Pistone)

June 10, 1984:

The DOD conducts a successful test in which an Army missile, known as the Homing Overlay Experiment (HOE), launched from the area of the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, collides with and destroys a Minuteman I missile more than 100 miles above the earth's atmosphere. The experiment demonstrates the technologies involved in the U.S. Army's 6-year, $300 million ERIS (Exo-Atmospheric Reentry Interceptor System). Pentagon officials, exultant over the results after three similar tests end in failure, call the experiment an "absolutely tremendous success" and state that they have demonstrated "an area of technology where we are ahead of the Soviets." Tass reacts to the tests by calling it a step toward the "militarization of outer space." (NYT 6/13/84; Newsweek 6/25/84)

June 12, 1984:

The Senate approves by a 61-28 vote a compromise measure that forbids Pentagon spending on testing of American anti-satellite weapons unless President Reagan certifies that he is "endeavoring, in good faith, to negotiate the strictest possible limitations on anti-satellite weapons." (NYT 6/13/84)

June 13, 1984:

NAVSTAR 9 is successfully launched from Vandenberg AFB by an Atlas booster and SGS-2 upper stage. The satellite is declared operational on July 12. (SD, p. 88)

June 25, 1984:

A Titan 34D is successfully launched from Vandenberg AFB. The launch marks the beginning of the final KH-9 mission. (SD, p. 89)

July 5, 1984:

Construction of the NAVSTAR Processing Facility begins at Cape Canaveral AFS. (SD, p. 89)

July 6, 1984:

TRW starts mating a prototype Extremely High Frequency (EHF) package into a qualification model FLTSATCOM spacecraft. A successful series of integration and electromagnetic compatibility tests are performed on the two, ending on August 20, 1984. EHF packages are to be flown on FLTSATCOM satellites F-7 and F-8 as precursors to the EHF payloads that would later be flown on the new MILSTAR satellites. (SD, p. 89)

July 27, 1984:

Under Secretary of the Air Force Edward C. Aldridge briefs the Defense Resources Board (DRB) about converting inactivated Titan 2 ICBMs to space launch vehicles. The DRB, which makes the final budgetary decisions in DOD, directs that the Titan 2 modification program proceed. (SD, p. 90)

August 1984:

President Reagan approves a National Space Strategy issued as NSDD-144. Among other subjects, the directive deals with the relationship of expendable launch vehicles to the space shuttle and endorses the Air Forces use of a limited number of expendable launch vehicles. This endorsement approves the Air Forces proposal to develop the Complementary Expendable Launch Vehicle. (SD, p. 90)

August 1984:

Installation and testing of a weather terminal on board the USS Nimitz is successfully completed. The Nimitz is the eighth aircraft carrier to receive a DMSP production model shipboard weather terminal. (SD, p. 90)

August 11, 1984:

Jane's Defence Weekly publishes KH-11 photos of the first Soviet nuclear aircraft carrier under construction. Naval intelligence analyst Samuel Loring Morison receives a two-year sentence for leaking the photos. (Richelson, p. 351)

August 23, 1984:

A Program Decision Memorandum is issued by the deputy secretary of defense which contains the final direction to proceed with the modification of inactivated Titan 2 ICBMs into space launch vehicles. (SD, p. 91)

August 29, 1984:

Space Division's Space Test Program flies the second Quick Response Shuttle Payload on space shuttle mission STS 41D, CLOUDS--Cloud Formation, Dissipation and Opaqueness. It is sponsored by the Air Weather Service, and its purpose is to document cloud cover, dynamics and morphology near weather stations where ground measurements could be made concurrently. (SD, p. 91)

September 1984:

The Army Staff Field Element (ASFE) is activated. The ASFE is a five-person office at Colorado Springs, Colorado, which interfaces with the USAF Space Command and assists the Army Space Office (ASO) in developing and articulating space policy. (Pistone)

September 8, 1984:

NAVSTAR 10 is successfully launched from Vandenberg AFB by an Atlas booster and an SGS-2 upper stage. It is declared operational on October 3, 1984. (SD, p. 91)

October 1984:

An expendable booster launched from Vandenberg AFB successfully places the STP's Flight S85-1 in orbit. S85-1 consists of two experiments: an Upper Atmospheric Composition Spectrometer (UACS) sponsored by AFSC and a Polar Ozone and Aerosols Measurement (POAM) experiment sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. The UACS fails after three hours of operation. (SD, p. 92).

October 1984:

The Army Space Council, a departmental committee chaired by the Army vice chief of staff to provide space policy recommendations and guidance through the chief of staff to the secretary of the Army, holds its first meeting. (Pistone)

December 4, 1984:

The sixth KH-11 satellite is launched. (Richelson, p. 362)

January 24, 1985:

MAGNUM, the follow-on to RHYOLITE, is launched by the space shuttle Discovery into geosynchronous orbit. Prior to the launch, the Air Force director of public relations warns the press not even to speculate on the payload, but The Washington Post identifies it. (WP 12/19/84)

February 25, 1985:

President Reagan signs NSDD 164, "National Security Launch Strategy." While it continues the policy of primary reliance on the space shuttle for DOD payloads, it also permits the Air Force to buy 10 expendable launch vehicles and launch them at the rate of two per year in the 1988-1992 period. The change in policy is a reflection of Air Force and intelligence community concern that a space shuttle disaster would prevent the launching of "critical national security payloads" (e.g., early warning and intelligence satellites) for prolonged periods of time. (National Security Launch Strategy, 2/25/85; Richelson, p. 208)

March 1985:

The Navy's Geodesy Satellite (GEOSAT) is launched into a 500-mile circular orbit to measure worldwide gravity fields at the ocean's surface. The spacecraft uses a single instrument, a radar altimeter, to measure the distance between the satellite and the ocean surface with a precision of a few centimeters. Since the shape of the orbit can be measured independently, the altimeter gives a precise measurement of the shape of the ocean's surface. (Space Tracks 3/90, p. 10)

June 1985:

The Army Space Study Group is activated at the Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. (Pistone)

August 2, 1985:

Two U.S. Navy TRANSIT satellites are launched by a single Scout from Vandenberg AFB, California. (Spaceflight 11/85, p. 393)

August 13, 1985:

The fifth KH-11 is deorbited. (Richelson, p. 351)

August 28, 1985:

The replacement for the fifth KH-11 fails to attain orbit and is destroyed. (Richelson, p. 352)

September 13, 1985:

An Air Force anti-satellite weapon destroys Air Force Space Test Program satellite P78-1, which was orbiting the earth in a low polar orbit 319 to 335 miles above the earth. The satellite, still functioning at the time of its destruction, was providing data on the sun's corona to scientists. Since its launch in February 1979, an experiment called Solwind, piggybacked with five other experiments on P78-1, provided photos of the sun's corona. (Science, 10/4/85, pp. 44-45)

September 23, 1985:

The United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) is activated in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with the Air Force designated as executive agent. (USAF FY 87 Report to the 99th Congress of the United States of America, p. 79)

October 3, 1985:

The second shuttle mission devoted to military operations is launched from Cape Canaveral. Unlike the first mission, and as with subsequent missions, the nature of the payload is classified. However, press reports identify the payload as two Defense Satellite Communications System 3 (DSCS 3) satellites to be stationed in geosynchronous orbit. (NYT 10/4/85)

January 26, 1986:

The space shuttle orbiter Challenger explodes shortly after launch. (Richelson, p. 352)

April 18, 1986:

A Titan 34D carrying the last KH-9 explodes shortly after launch from Vandenberg AFB. (Richelson, p. 352)

April 26, 1986:

A nuclear accident occurs at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (Richelson, p. 352)

April 29, 1986:

A KH-11 obtains the first good photographs of the damaged Chernobyl nuclear reactor. (Richelson, p. 352)

July 1986:

The Air Force decides to put the $3.3 billion space shuttle launch complex at Vandenberg AFB in mothballs. No shuttle launches will take place from Vandenberg for "an extended period of time," according to Pentagon and congressional sources. The action precludes launches of the next generation of KH-11 satellites and new LACROSSE radar imagery satellites until a Titan 4 capability is established at Vandenberg. (WP 7/29/86; Richelson, pp. 222-223)

August 1, 1986:

The U.S. Army Space Agency is provisionally established as the Army's component of the U.S. Space Command and the forerunner to the U.S. Army Space Command. (Army Space Master Plan, 4/87, p. 1)

August 22, 1986:

The Air Force successfully tests its anti-satellite weapon, firing it from an F-15. By firing it against the energy source of a distant star, the Air Force avoids violating a congressional prohibition against testing the weapon on a physical target in space. (WP 8/23/86)

September 5, 1986:

The Pentagon conducts a space experiment called DELTA 180. The primary object of the test is to observe for the first time how certain types of rockets perform in space, information needed to provide input into sensor design. The test also utilizes an infrared sensor on a satellite to discriminate between a rocket and its exhaust plume. At the finale, a radar-seeking device guides the third stage of a Delta launch vehicle over a 120 degree path into a direct hit on the second stage of the vehicle, simulating a space-based kinetic kill. The test, which involves six aircraft, 38 radars and 31 satellite links tied together by more than one million lines of computer code, is the most sophisticated SDI flight test to date. SDIO officials, pleased by the test, say that it shows that reliable command and control systems can be designed for a full-scale defensive system. The experiment is carried aloft by a Delta rocket in the first successful launch for NASA since January's Challenger disaster. (AWST 9/15/86)

September 30, 1986:

The Air Force conducts another successful test of its infrared guidance systems for its ASAT missile, the fifth "live test" and the second in as many months. (PI 10/1/86)

November 13, 1986:

A Scout booster is launched from Vandenberg AFB, placing a Polar Beacon Experiment and Auroral Research (POLAR BEAR) satellite in orbit. Part of the Space Test Program, the POLAR BEAR satellite's mission is to image the Aurora Borealis in both daylight and darkness in support of communications interference predictions in the polar region. The satellite was retrieved from the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum where it resided for years. (House Appropriations Committee, Department of Defense Appropriations for FY 1988, Pt. 5, 1987, p. 88)

December 4, 1986:

An Atlas Centaur is launched from Cape Canaveral to place a FLTSATCOM satellite in geosynchronous orbit at 105W longitude. (AWST 12/15/86, p. 21)

December 27, 1986:

President Reagan signs NSDD 164 on "United States Space Launch Strategy." In the aftermath of the Challenger tragedy, the new policy proclaims that the "strategy will be based on a balanced mix of launches, consisting of the Space Transportation System (STS) and expendable launch vehicles." It also specifies that "selected critical payloads will be designed for dual-compatibility, i.e., capable of being launched by either the STS or ELVs." (United States Space Launch Strategy, 12/27/86)

Early 1987:

The 1987 revised DOD Space Policy specifies that ELVs are the primary launch capability. The policy introduces the concept of Assured Mission Capability (AMC), a balanced force structure which avoids a single mode of catastrophic failure and is "sufficiently survivable" from enemy actions. There are four components of the AMC: (1) endurance, to be achieved by proliferation and surge capability; (2) survivability through active and passive defense measures; (3) satellite control through robust telemetry, tracking and command, increased satellite autonomy, crosslinks in space and redundant, mobile ground facilities; (4) access to space through a robust, survivable launch capability. (Defense Science Board, Assured Space Launch Strategy, 1990, p. 6)

February 1987:

The Defense Department decides temporarily to end funding of the Shuttle Operations Planning Complex (SOPC) at CSOC. Eventually the cessation of funding becomes permanent. The SOPC was to supplement the Johnson Space Center's capabilities and provide an extra margin of security for secret, manned shuttle missions. As a result of the Challenger disaster, the Air Force program to rely in part on ELVs was transformed into a program for eventual total reliance on ELVs. (AWST 2/9/87, p. 29)

March 26, 1987:

An Atlas Centaur launch vehicle with a FLTSATCOM spacecraft is destroyed by a range safety officer 51 seconds after launch when it pitches over and stops transmitting telemetry. (AWST 3/30/87, p. 20)

April 1987:

The Army issues its first Space Master Plan. The plans purpose is to provide strategy, guidance and tasking to develop and institutionalize the Army's exploitation of space. The document covers the Army's history in space, the threat from Soviet space activities, international space law, the military uses of space, requirements, architecture and investment strategy and implementation. (Army Space Master Plan, 4/87)

Early May 1987:

The DOD sends a classified report to the White House urging the development of a new rocket system. A strong program to develop the new rocket system, the Advanced Launch System (previously known as the Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle), is recommended on the grounds that it is needed to loft elements of a strategic defense system into space, as well as transport new satellites and materials for construction of the U.S. space station. (WP 5/12/87)

August 5, 1987:

The Defense Acquisition Board recommends that six SDI sensor and kinetic energy interceptor technologies be advanced into a demonstration/validation phase of development rather than the SDI program as a whole. The six technologies are: Boost Surveillance and Tracking System, Space-based Surveillance and Tracking System, Ground-based Surveillance and Tracking System, Space-based Interceptor, Exo-Atmospheric Reentry Interceptor System, Battle Management/Command, Control and Communications. (AFJI 9/87, p. 82)

October 26, 1987:

A new KH-11 is placed in orbit. It is the first KEYHOLE satellite to reach orbit since the sixth KH-11 on December 4, 1984. (Richelson, p. 352)

November 28, 1987:

A Titan 34D launches DSP Flight 13 from Cape Canaveral. (AWST 12/7/87, pp. 30-31)

December 1987:

In light of continual congressional resistance and the need to cut the Defense Department budget, the Air Force proposes cancellation of the ASAT program. (NYT 12/18/87)

December 1987:

A KH-11 detects construction at a site at Rabta, Libya. It is later determined to be a chemical weapons plant. (Richelson, p. 352)

February 8, 1988:

A 6,000-pound Strategic Defense Initiative payload, DELTA 181, is launched from Cape Canaveral on a DELTA rocket. The payload conducts a 12-hour data-gathering mission to provide information on plume and other missile phenomena as viewed from space. The sensor module deploys 14 test objects and, using an assortment of active and passive sensing instruments, characterizes the objects in a variety of space environments. Sensors also observe the launching of research rockets to collect data on rocket plumes. The data gathered from this unmanned, orbital space mission will help design the sensors for a Strategic Defense System. According to the SDIO, the DELTA 181 experiment also helps demonstrate that it is possible to discriminate between reentry vehicles and decoys with passive sensors. (AWST 2/15/88, pp. 16-17; SDI, p. 8)

April 7, 1988:

The Army Space Command is established. (AWST 4/18/88, p. 29)

December 2, 1988:

The space shuttle Atlantis lifts off carrying the first LACROSSE satellite. LACROSSE produces imagery using radar rather than visible light photography. (Richelson, p. 352)

February 1989:

Lt. Gen. George L. Monahan, Jr. becomes the second director of the SDIO. (SDI, p. 9)

February 14, 1989:

The first Delta 2 rocket places the first operational GPS satellite in an 11,000-mile orbit. Seven previous test versions have been launched. The NAVSTAR GPS satellites have two functions--providing precise locational information to air, sea and ground forces and detection and precise location of nuclear detonations. (WP 2/15/89)

March 13, 1989:

The shuttle Discovery is launched from Cape Canaveral on STS-29. After six hours in orbit, it releases a TDRS satellite (TDRSS-4), which will ultimately reside in geosynchronous orbit. TDRSS-4 joins two other TDRS satellites in orbit and completes the constellation of two operational satellites and one spare. (WP 3/14/89)

March 24, 1989:

The DELTA STAR spacecraft carries aloft a laser radar and seven imaging sensors. Several sounding rockets are launched during the course of the experiment, enabling DELTA STAR's sensors to collect data characterizing their plumes. (SDI, p. 9)

June 10, 1989:

A Delta 2 rocket places a GPS satellite in orbit. (WP 6/11/89)

June 14, 1989:

The first Titan 4 rocket is launched from Cape Canaveral. The Titan can carry heavier payloads than previous rockets--it is capable of placing satellites weighing 40,000 pounds in low-earth orbit and satellites weighing 10,000 pounds in geosynchronous orbit. The satellite launched by the first Titan 4 is an improved Defense Support Program satellite (DSP-14), which is heavier, more sensitive and more survivable than its predecessors. (NYT 6/15/89)

August 8, 1989:

The space shuttle Columbia deploys the first Advanced KENNAN/Improved CRYSTAL satellite, with infrared imaging capability. (Richelson, p. 352)

August 18, 1989:

The third Delta 2/Global Positioning System satellite is launched from Cape Canaveral. The satellite is boosted into an 11,000-nautical-mile orbit. (AWST 8/28/89, p. 21; AFM 10/89, p. 29)

September 25, 1989:

An Atlas Centaur rocket places a Navy FLTSATCOM satellite in geosynchronous orbit. In addition to its usual 23 UHF channels for Navy, Air Force and National Command Authority communications, the spacecraft also carries an extremely high frequency (EHF) experimental package to communicate with ground terminals for the coming generation of MILSTAR military communications satellites. (AWST 10/2/89, p. 23)

November 2, 1989:

President Bush signs a National Security Directive on "National Space Policy." Included in the national security space sector guidelines is the provision that the national security space sector "may use both manned and unmanned launch systems as determined by specific mission requirements. Payloads will be distributed among launch systems and launch sites to minimize the impact of loss of any single launch system or launch site or mission performance." (National Space Policy, 11/2/89)

December 11, 1989:

A GPS satellite is successfully launched by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral. (Defense Electronics 2/90, p. 20)

December 1989-January 1990:

The Defense Acquisition Board recommends that the Army take the lead in rejuvenating the U.S. anti-satellite effort. The recommendation is approved by Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci. (AWST 1/16/90, p. 31)

January 12, 1990:

The crew of the space shuttle Columbia successfully pluck an 11-ton spacecraft, the Long Duration Exposure Facility, from orbit. The recovery demonstrates the use of the shuttle for removing heavy reconnaissance-type spacecraft from orbit for repair or refurbishment. The crew also deploys a Navy Leasat F5 communications satellite. (SN 1/15/90-1/21/90, p. 26)

January 24, 1990:

The sixth GPS operational satellite is launched on a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral. (SN 1/29/90-2/4/90, p. 5)

February 1990:

The Army kicks off a new U.S. anti-satellite weapons development program with release of a request for proposals for a demonstration/validation of ground-launched kinetic kill ASAT. (AFJI 4/90, p. 19)

February 14, 1990:

The first SDI long-term directed-energy space experiments are launched from Cape Canaveral. The 30-month Low-Power Atmospheric Compensation Experiment (LACE) will measure the distorting effects of the earth's atmosphere on low-power laser beams. The one-year Relay Mirror Experiment (RME) will demonstrate the relay element of a Ground-Based Laser (GBL) system and measure the accuracy of the system in pointing a laser beam uplinked from the ground to a space platform. (SDI, p. 12)

March 1990:

The Defense Science Board issues its report on national space launch strategy. The report recommends that the secretary of defense: 1) develop and promulgate a national space launch strategy, 2) authorize construction of a second Titan 4 launch pad at Vandenberg AFB and 3) redirect the Advanced Launch System to produce improvements in existing launch vehicles. (Defense Science Board, National Space Launch Strategy, 1990, pp. 37-38)

March 25, 1990:

A Delta 2 rocket places a GPS satellite in orbit. (AWST 4/2/90, p. 28)

April 11, 1990:

An Atlas E booster combined with a Scout-Altair upper stage is launched from Vandenberg AFB carrying three small satellites, collectively known as STACKSAT, into polar orbit with altitudes of approximately 400 miles. The mission of the 150-200-pound satellites is to collect data relevant to navigation and space-to-ground radio communications. The three satellites are the Polar Orbiting Geomagnetic Survey, the Transceiver Experiment and the Selective Communications Experiment. (SN 4/16/90-4/22/90, p. 45)

May 9, 1990:

Two experimental 150-pound Multiple Access Communications Satellites are placed in orbit. The satellites are intended to be the forerunners of several small, polar orbiting, UHF communication satellites to provide better communications links to Navy ships close to the North Pole, which cannot be reached by the FLTSATCOM satellites. (SN 6/25/90-7/1/90, p. 4)

June 8, 1990:

A Titan 4 rocket launches a surveillance satellite into a 51-degree orbit. Martin C. Faga, assistant secretary of the Air Force and director of the National Reconnaissance Office notes that "this was an important launch for America's space program....The Titan 4 provides our nation a vital path to space for critical national security payloads." (AWST 6/18/90, p. 27; OSD-Public Affairs, "Air Force Launches Second Titan 4 Rocket," 6/8/90)

August 2, 1990:

The eighth operational NAVSTAR/GPS satellite is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral by a Delta 2 rocket. The satellite is moved to its final orbital position two days after launch. (AFM 10/90, p. 29)

September 28, 1990:

The Air Force announces that Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg AFB, California, will become the west coast launch site for the Titan 4 booster. Modification of SLC-6 is chosen over the alternative of building a new launch site. SLC-6 was originally built in the 1960s for the Air Forces Manned Orbiting Laboratory and was modified at a cost of $3 billion for space shuttle launches. No shuttles are ever launched from the site and it is placed in caretaker status after the Challenger accident. The SLC-6 Titan 4 launch is scheduled for FY 1996. (AFM 12/90, p. 27)

October 1, 1990:

A Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral places the ninth NAVSTAR/GPS satellite in orbit. (AWST 10/8/90, p. 17)

October 1, 1990:

The Air Force Space Command begins to take over responsibility from the Air Force Systems Command for the launching of U.S. military rockets, assuming sole responsibility for the launches of Delta 2 and Atlas E boosters. Subsequently, it will assume responsibility for launches of payloads to be carried on Atlas 2, Titan 2 and Titan 4 boosters. (SN 6/18/90-6/24/90, p. 2)

Late October 1990:

Congress reduces the number of satellites in the projected MILSTAR constellation from eight to six and orders other changes designed to make MILSTAR more attuned to the communications needs of tactical commanders. It had been estimated by the Senate Armed Services Committee that an eight-satellite constellation would cost between 35 and 40 billion dollars. Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Martin C. Faga says that limiting MILSTAR to six satellites "limits 24-hour coverage in some parts of the world." Faga also states that some of the planned features for making MILSTAR more survivable in the event of a nuclear war would probably be worth eliminating. (SN 11/5/90-11/11/90, p. 4)

November 12, 1990:

A Titan 4 rocket, launched from Cape Canaveral, launches a Defense Support Program early warning/nuclear detonation detection satellite into orbit. (WP 11/13/90)

November 26, 1990:

The 10th NAVSTAR/Global Positioning System is launched successfully by a new version of the Delta 2 rocket. Launches continue every 60 days until the complete constellation of 21 operational spacecraft and three spares are in orbit. (AWST 12/3/90, p. 77)

December 1990:

The Army's program to develop an anti-satellite weapon is canceled, as is the Air Forces Advanced Warning System, a planned follow-on system to the Defense Support Program. Cancellation of the Advanced Warning System is subject to review in 1991. (SN 1/7/91-1/20/91, pp. 1, 11)

December 1, 1990:

A DMSP satellite is launched into a circular 518-mile polar orbit from Vandenberg AFB aboard an Atlas E booster. The satellite joins two other functioning DMSP satellites--one already past its expected three-year lifetime, the other due to exceed its lifetime in February 1991. Along with the other two satellites, it has provided weather information to U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia. In the event of a chemical attack by Iraq, information from DMSP would be vital for tracking the chemical clouds and forecasting when the chemicals would dissipate. The satellite falls short of its intended orbit by about 62 miles, possibly because of a premature shut-off of its rocket engine. However, all the sensors continue to operate normally and the Air Force predicts minimal impact on the satellites mission. (SN 12/10/90-12/16/90, p. 6; SN 12/17/90-12/23/90, p. 2)

December 12, 1990:

The GPS satellite launched on November 26 develops a problem which renders it useless. A fuze has apparently blown in the circuitry that controls the solar panels. The satellite is the first advanced, slightly heavier version of the GPS spacecraft. The impact is to reduce the precision of position location information provided by the GPS system to U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf. (AWST 1/14/91, p. 24; SN 1/7/91-1/20/91, p. 3)

January 15, 1991:

The Air Force Space Command assumes control of Vandenberg Air Force Base. (Space Trace 1/91, p. 11)

January 29, 1991:

President Bush, in his State of the Union Address, announces a basic shift in SDIO priorities. He announces that the focus will be on Global Protection Against Limited Strikes (G-PALS). The G-PALS objective will be to stop every warhead in an attack of up to 200 reentry vehicles and extend protection to all U.S. territories, as well as to allies and to U.S. troops operating overseas. (AWST 2/18/91, pp. 28-29)

February 13, 1991:

A new version of the Tomahawk cruise missile with a receiver attuned to GPS signals has its first successful test flight. Launched from San Nicholas Island, off southern California, it flies approximately 700 miles to its target at the Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, California. (SN 3/4/91-3/10/91, p. 13)

March 6, 1991:

Ground controllers deactivate an ailing NAVSTAR/GPS satellite that had aided U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf War. (SN 3/11/91-3/17/91, p. 21)

March 8, 1991:

The first Titan 4 launch from Vandenberg AFB takes place. Martin C. Faga, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Space states that "we now have the capability to launch the Titan 4 from the both the East and West Coasts." The payload is believed to be the second LACROSSE radar imagery satellite. (WP 3/9/91)

April 28, 1991:

The shuttle Discovery is launched on an eight-day mission to obtain detailed Earth atmospheric and other data important to characterize the background against which future surveillance systems will image satellite or missile targets. The data is collected by five instruments mounted on a 15-by-15-foot pallet (the AFP-675 or Experiment Support System) that remains attached to the payload bay. The main instrument is the Cryogenic Infrared Radiance Instrument (CIRRIS). (SN 5/6/91-5/12/91, p. 3)

July 5, 1991:

The STS-44 mission, which will involve the deployment of a DSP satellite, is originally scheduled for launch on this date. The date is later pushed back to December 1991. (SN 9/3/90-9/9/90, p. 2)