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Prowler (satellite)
Prowler was an American reconnaissance satellite launched aboard in 1990 in order to study Soviet satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The government of the United States has never acknowledged its existence, however it has been identified by amateur observers and through leaked information. Spacecraft Prowler was based on the HS-376 satellite bus, developed by Hughes. It had a mass of around and carried modifications to reduce its visibility to ground-based observers and to radar. Following the satellite's retirement these modifications ceased to be effective, allowing it to be found by amateur observers. Prowler was designed to maneuver to within a few meters of satellites in geosynchronous orbit. Its purpose was either to monitor them and return data about them, or to perform a signals intelligence mission such as intercepting communications between those satellites and the ground. Launch It seems that Prowler was deployed from Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' during the STS-38 mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Reconnaissance Office
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. federal government, and provides satellite intelligence to several government agencies, particularly signals intelligence (SIGINT) to the NSA, imagery intelligence (IMINT) to the NGA, and measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) to the DIA. NRO is considered, along with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), to be one of the "big five" U.S. intelligence agencies. The NRO is headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, south of the Washington Dulles International Airport. The Director of the NRO reports to both the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense. The NRO's federal workforce is a hybrid o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
STS038-84-23 Atlantis
STS, or sts, may refer to: Medicine * Secondary traumatic stress, a condition which leads to a diminished ability to empathize * Sequence-tagged site, a gene-reference in genomics * Soft-tissue sarcoma * Staurosporine, an antibiotic * STS (gene), which codes for steroid sulfatase * Superior temporal sulcus Places * Semipalatinsk Test Site for Soviet nuclear weapons * Staffordshire, county in England, Chapman code Transport * Cadillac STS, a luxury car * NASA Space Transportation System, the system in which the NASA shuttle is part of and only surviving component of; starting as a 1969 NASA proposal system for reusable space vehicles ** NASA Space Shuttle program, the shuttle program itself, whose mission were referred to with STS-numbering * Sail training ship, a ship prefix * Satellite Transit System, now called the SEA Underground, airport transit in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport * Ship-to-ship transfer, between seagoing ships * ''Société de transport de Sherbrook ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spacecraft Launched In 1990
A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, planetary exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo. All spacecraft except single-stage-to-orbit vehicles cannot get into space on their own, and require a launch vehicle (carrier rocket). On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a space vehicle enters space and then returns to the surface without having gained sufficient energy or velocity to make a full Earth orbit. For orbital spaceflights, spacecraft enter closed orbits around the Earth or around other celestial bodies. Spacecraft used for human spaceflight carry people on board as crew or passengers from start or on orbit (space stations) only, whereas those used for robotic space missions operate either autonomously or telerobotically. Robotic spacecraft used to support scientific re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Satellites
A military satellite is an artificial satellite used for a military purpose. The most common missions are intelligence gathering, navigation and military communications. The first military satellites were photographic reconnaissance missions. Some attempts were made to develop satellite based weapons but this work was halted in 1967 following the ratification of international treaties banning the deployment of weapons of mass destruction in orbit. As of 2013, there are 950 satellites of all types in Earth orbit. It is not possible to identify the exact number of these that are military satellites partly due to secrecy and partly due to dual purpose missions such as GPS satellites that serve both civilian and military purposes. As of December 2018 there are 320 known military or dual-use satellites in the sky, half of which are owned by the US, followed by Russia, China and India (13). [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zirconic
Zirconic is the name of a program for the development of stealth reconnaissance satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The program includes the Misty and Prowler spacecraft. External links Stealth Satellite Sourcebook ''The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...'', 11 December 2004 National Reconnaissance Office satellites {{US-spacecraft-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Based Space Surveillance
The Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) system is a planned United States Space Force constellation of satellites and supporting ground infrastructure that will improve the ability of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to detect and track space objects in orbit around the Earth. The primary SBSS contractor, Boeing, characterizes some orbiting space objects as, "Potential future threats to the United States' space assets". The SBSS development work is being conducted in coordination with the Space Situational Awareness Group in the Space Superiority Systems Wing of the Space and Missile Systems Center. The commander of the Space Situational Awareness Group believes the SBSS satellite operations center, "Will transform Space Situational Awareness by providing a gateway to a responsive, taskable sensor. This capability is key to enabling the event-driven operations concept of the future". Pathfinder satellite The first "pathfinder" satellite of the SBSS system (SBS ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MiTEx
The Micro-satellite Technology Experiment (MiTEx) is a microsatellite-based mission launched into geosynchronous orbit 21 June 2006 aboard a Delta II rocket. The USAF described the mission as a "technology demonstration" for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the United States Air Force (USAF) and the United States Navy (US Navy). MiTEx consists of three spacecraft; two inspection satellites, designated USA-187 and USA-188, and an experimental upper stage, designated USA-189. The two inspection satellites were initially used to inspect each other; however, they were later used to inspect DSP-23, a failed missile detection satellite, to find out why it stopped operating. Development MiTEx was developed with funding from the Microsatellite Demonstration Science and Technology Experiment Program (MiDSTEP). Funding for MiDSTEP (and thus MiTEx) is allocated to DARPA through the "Space Programs and Technology" element of the United States Department of D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Misty (satellite)
Misty is reportedly the name of a classified project by the United States National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to operate stealthy reconnaissance satellites. The satellites are conjectured to be photo reconnaissance satellites and the program has been the subject of atypically public debates about its worthiness in the defense budget since December 2004. The estimated project costs in 2004 were, at the time of statement, US$9.5 billion (inflation adjusted US$ billion in ). Launches The first satellite (USA-53 or 1990-019B, 19,600 kg) launched for the program was deployed on 1 March 1990 by the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' as part of Mission STS-36. Objects associated with the satellite decayed on 31 March 1990, but the satellite was seen and tracked later that year and in the mid-1990s by amateur observers. The second satellite (USA-144 or 1999-028A ) was launched on 22 May 1999, and by 2004 the launch of a third satellite was planned for 2009. Circumstantial evidence suggest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Space Agency
, owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (12052189474).jpg , size = , caption = , acronym = , established = , employees = 2,200 , administrator = Director General Josef Aschbacher , budget = €7.2 billion (2022) , language = English and French (working languages) , website = , logo = European Space Agency logo.svg , logo_caption = Logo , image_caption = European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) Main Control Room The European Space Agency (ESA; french: Agence spatiale européenne , it, Agenzia Spaziale Europea, es, Agencia Espacial Europea ASE; german: Europäische Weltraumorganisation) is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states dedicated to the exploration of space. Established in 1975 and headquartered i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted Molczan
Satellite watching or satellite spotting is a hobby which consists of the observation and tracking of artificial satellites that are orbiting Earth. People with this hobby are variously called satellite watchers, trackers, spotters, observers, etc. Since satellites outside Earth's shadow reflect sunlight, those especially in low Earth orbit may visibly glint (or "flare") as they traverse the observer's sky, usually during twilight. History Amateur satellite spotting traces back to the days of early artificial satellites when the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory launched the Operation Moonwatch program in 1956 to enlist amateur astronomers in an early citizen science effort to track Soviet ''sputniks''. The program was an analog to the World War II Ground Observer Corps citizen observation program to spot enemy bombers. Moonwatch was crucial until professional stations were deployed in 1958. The program was discontinued in 1975. The people who had been involved continue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satellite Catalog Number
The Satellite Catalog Number (SATCAT, also known as NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense) Catalog Number, NORAD ID, USSPACECOM object number or simply catalog number, among similar variants) is a sequential nine-digit number assigned by the United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) in the order of launch or discovery to all artificial objects in the orbits of Earth and those that left Earth's orbit. The first catalogued object, catalog number 1, is the Sputnik 1 launch vehicle, with the Sputnik 1 satellite having been assigned catalog number 2. __NOTOC__ Objects that fail to orbit or orbit for a short time are not catalogued. The minimum object size in the catalog is in diameter. , the catalog listed 54,200 objects, including 14,102 satellites that had been launched into orbit since 1957 of which 7,043 were still active. 24,146 of the objects were well tracked while 1,850 were lost. In addition USSPACECOM was also tracking 20,900 analyst objects. Analyst objects are variably tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Designator
The International Designator, also known as COSPAR ID, is an international identifier assigned to artificial objects in space. It consists of the launch year, a three-digit incrementing launch number of that year and up to a three-letter code representing the sequential identifier of a piece in a launch. In TLE format the first two digits of the year and the dash are dropped. For example1990-037Ais the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' on mission STS-31, which carried the Hubble Space Telescope1990-037B into space. This launch was the 37th known successful launch worldwide in 1990. The designation system has been generally known as the COSPAR system, named for the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) of the International Council for Science. COSPAR subsumed the first designation system, devised at Harvard University. That system used letters of the Greek alphabet to designate artificial satellites. This was based on the scientific naming convention for natural satellites. For exampl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
