Aerospace Data Facility-East (ADF-E), also known as Area 58 and formerly known as Defense Communications Electronics Evaluation and Testing Activity (DCEETA), is one of three
satellite ground station
A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fro ...
s operated by the
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. fe ...
(NRO) in the
continental United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
. Located within
Fort Belvoir, Virginia
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, the facility is responsible for the command and control of reconnaissance satellites involved in the collection of intelligence information and for the dissemination of that intelligence to other U.S. government agencies.
[National Reconnaissance Office, Mission Ground Station Declassification, Questions and Answers]
/ref>
Function
ADF East is co-located with elements of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of natio ...
, the agency responsible for the operation of the U.S. space-based imagery constellation. Authors James Bamford
James Bamford (born September 15, 1946) is an American author, journalist and documentary producer noted for his writing about United States intelligence agencies, especially the National Security Agency (NSA). ''The New York Times'' has call ...
and Jeffrey Richelson report that the site manages the 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 1 ...
imagery spacecraft and the Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...
radar imaging spacecraft.
History
First use
The first documented use of material downloaded at ADF East was on January 21, 1977, when the acting director of Central Intelligence E. Henry Knoche delivered reconnaissance satellite photographs that had been downloaded at ADF East to U.S. President Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
.
Y2K
On the morning of January 1, 2000, ADF East experienced a technical glitch caused by the Y2K bug, which resulted in the facility being temporarily unable to capture any more than 70 percent of its planned imagery satellite coverage. At a press conference on January 4, United States Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre
John Julian Hamre (born July 3, 1950) is a specialist in international studies, a former Washington government official and President and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a position he has held with that think tank since ...
stated, "The problem wasn't with the satellite system – they were under positive control at all times. The problem was on the ground in the processing station."
Declassification
On October 15, 2008, the NRO declassified its three Mission Ground Stations: ADF-East, ADF-Colorado, and ADF-Southwest.[ The term "Area 58" is still classified, however, with the exception of very general associations with the NRO, intelligence activities, imagery intelligence, or satellite reconnaissance.]
List of commanders
* Col Robert J. Bonner
See also
* Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado
* Aerospace Data Facility-Southwest
* Pine Gap
Pine Gap is a satellite surveillance base and Australian Earth station approximately south-west of the town of Alice Springs, Northern Territory in the center of Australia. It is jointly operated by Australia and the United States, and sinc ...
* RAF Menwith Hill
Royal Air Force Menwith Hill is a Royal Air Force station near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which provides communications and intelligence support services to the United Kingdom and the United States. The site contains an extensive sat ...
* Spy satellite
A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications.
The ...
References
Further reading
*{{cite book, last=Burrows, first=William, author-link=William E. Burrows, title=Deep Black: Space Espionage and National Security, publisher=Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, location= New York, year=1986, isbn=0394541243
Buildings and structures in Fairfax County, Virginia
National Reconnaissance Office
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Installations of the U.S. Department of Defense
1977 establishments in Virginia