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List Of USA Satellites
This is a list of satellites and spacecraft which have been given USA designations by the United States Air Force. These designations have been applied to most United States military satellites since 1984, and replaced the earlier OPS designation. As of June 2022, USA designations have been assigned to 331 space satellites. There is not always a one-to-one mapping between launch vehicles and mission spacecraft. This can occasionally result in gaps when maintaining records that incorrectly make that assumption, such as the "missing" entries for USA-163 (which are, symmetrically, contemporary with confusion over "splitting" spacecraft tracks). List See also * List of NRO launches References External links Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles - Satellite Launch ListEncyclopedia Astronautica {{Space exploration lists and timelines USA Satellites A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). Most satellites also have a method of communication to ground stations, called transponders. Many satellites use a standardized bus to save cost and work, the most popular of which is small CubeSats. Similar satellites can work together as a group, forming constellations. Because of the high launch cost to space, satellites are designed to be as lightweight and robust as possible. Most communication satellites are radio relay stations in orbit and carry dozens of transponders, each with a bandwidth of tens of megahertz. Satellites are placed from the surface to orbit by launch vehicles, high enough to avoid orbital decay by the atmosphere. Satellites can then change or maintain the orbit by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Communications Satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications. Many communications satellites are in geostationary orbit above the equator, so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point in the sky; therefore the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that spot and do not have to move to track the satellite. Others form satellite constellations in low Earth orbit, where antennas on the ground have to follow the position of the satellites and switch between satellites frequently. The high frequency radio waves used for telecommunications links travel by line of sight and so are obstructed by the curve of the Earth. The purpose of communications ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USA-11
STS-51-J was the 21st NASA Space Shuttle mission and the first flight of Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. It launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on October 3, 1985, carrying a payload for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 7, 1985. Crew Backup crew Crew notes All five astronauts on the secret mission were active-duty military officers. Before William A. Pailes was assigned to the STS-51-J flight, Mike Mullane was rumored to have been assigned as Mission Specialist 3 on his second trip to space. Mission summary STS-51-J launched on October 3, 1985, at 15:15:30 UTC (11:15:30 a.m. EDT), from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The launch was delayed by 22 minutes and 30 seconds due to a problem with a main engine liquid hydrogen prevalve close remote power controller; the controller was showing a faulty "on" indication. The mission was the second shuttle flight totally dedicated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USA-10
USA-10, also known as Navstar 11, GPS I-11 and GPS SVN-11, was an American navigation satellite launched in 1985 as part of the Global Positioning System The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sys ... development programme. It was the last of eleven GPS satellite blocks, Block I GPS satellites to be launched. Background Global Positioning System (GPS) was developed by the United States Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense to provide all-weather round-the-clock navigation capabilities for military ground, sea, and air forces. Since its implementation, GPS has also become an integral asset in numerous civilian applications and industries around the globe, including recreational used (e.g., boating, aircraft, hiking), corporate vehicle fleet tracking, and surveying ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magnum (satellite)
Magnum was a class of SIGINT spy satellites reportedly operated by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The program remains classified, and the information that exists is speculative. Launch It is believed that two Magnum satellites were launched from Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103) during the missions STS-51-C in 1985 and STS-33 in 1989. The satellites reportedly have a mass of , operating in near-geosynchronous orbits, using Inertial Upper Stages (IUS) to get from the shuttle's orbit to the higher geosynchronous orbit. According to Jim Slade of ABC News, the second satellite, USA-48, replaced the first, USA-8, which after more than 4 years in orbit was running out of maneuvering fuel required for keeping its station over the Indian Ocean. The mission of the two satellites was to listen in to military and diplomatic communications from the Soviet Union, China, and neighbouring countries. USA-67 satellit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USA-8
STS-51-C (formerly STS-10) was the 15th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the third flight of Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. It launched on January 24, 1985, and made the fourth shuttle landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on January 27, 1985. STS-51-C was the first shuttle mission to deploy a dedicated United States Department of Defense (DoD) payload, and consequently many mission details remain classified. Crew Backup crew Crew seating arrangements Mission summary STS-51-C launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on January 24, 1985, at 19:50:00 UTC, and was the first of nine shuttle missions in 1985. It was originally scheduled for January 23, 1985, but was delayed because of freezing weather. ''Challenger'' had been scheduled for this flight, but ''Discovery'' was substituted when problems were encountered with ''Challenger'' thermal protection tiles. STS-51-C marked the 100th human spaceflight to achieve orbit. The mission's length of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defense Support Program
The Defense Support Program (DSP) is a program of the United States Space Force that operated the reconnaissance satellites which form the principal component of the ''Satellite Early Warning System'' used by the United States. DSP satellites, which are operated by the 460th Space Wing, detect missile or spacecraft launches and nuclear explosions using sensors that detect the infrared emissions from these intense sources of heat. During Desert Storm, for example, DSP was able to detect the launches of Iraqi Scud missiles and provide timely warnings to civilians and military forces in Israel and Saudi Arabia. The satellites are in geosynchronous orbits, and are equipped with infrared sensors operating through a wide-angle Schmidt camera. The entire satellite spins so that the linear sensor array in the focal plane scans over the Earth six times every minute. Typically, DSP satellites were launched on Titan IVB boosters with Inertial Upper Stages. However, one DSP satellite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transtage
Transtage, given the United States Air Force designation SSB-10A, was an American upper stage used on Titan III rockets, developed by Martin Marietta and Aerojet. History Transtage was developed in anticipation of a requirement to launch military payloads to geostationary orbit; a contract for development of the stage was issued on 20 August 1962. Transtage used a pressure-fed two-chamber configuration, using Aerozine 50 fuel and nitrogen tetroxide as oxidizer; the thrust chambers were gimbaled for steering and each produced of thrust. The design specification required up to three restarts during the first six hours of a mission.Hunley 2007, p. 168. Forty-seven Titan III launches are known to have used Transtage upper stages; of those, three are known to have suffered launch failures.Heyman 2003 The first launch, boosted by a Titan IIIA, occurred on 1 September 1964; the Transtage failed to pressurize, resulting in premature engine cutoff, and a failure to reach orbit. The s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KH-11
The KH-11 KENNEN (later renamed CRYSTAL,p.199-200 then Evolved Enhanced CRYSTAL System, and codenamed 1010 and Key Hole) is a type of reconnaissance satellite first launched by the American National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in December 1976. Manufactured by Lockheed in Sunnyvale, California, the KH-11 was the first American spy satellite to use electro-optical digital imaging, and so offer real-time optical observations. Later KH-11 satellites have been referred to by outside observers as KH-11B or KH-12, and by the names "Advanced KENNEN", "Improved Crystal" and "Ikon". Official budget documents refer to the latest generation of electro-optical satellites as ''Evolved Enhanced CRYSTAL System''. The Key Hole series was officially discontinued in favor of a random numbering scheme after repeated public references to KH-7 GAMBIT, KH-8 GAMBIT 3, KH-9 HEXAGON, and KH-11 KENNEN satellites. The capabilities of the KH-11 are highly classified, as are images they produce. The s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
