''Deep Black: Space Espionage and National Security'' is a 1986

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

book written by American journalist and author

William E. Burrows William E. Burrows is an American author and journalism professor emeritus. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 27, 1937, he was educated at Columbia University and became assistant professor of journalism in 1974. Life Burrows grew up in ...

. The book is

promoted Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

with the

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

"The Startling Truth Behind America's Top Secret Spy Satellites" on the covers of the second (first paperback) and subsequent

editions Edition may refer to: * Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies * Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run * Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text * Edition Records ...

Synopsis

''Deep Black'' recounts the United States'

clandestine Clandestine may refer to: * Secrecy, the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups, perhaps while sharing it with other individuals * Clandestine operation, a secret intelligence or military activity Music and entertainmen ...

intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing t ...

(ISR) program from its inception at the start of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

up to the mid-1980s. Burrows concentrates on aspects of the program which use technical means of collecting intelligence by employing strategic

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

satellites 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 radioisotop ...

and other electronic techniques instead of more traditional espionage activities. Additionally, the work details how the program adapts from, or is directly related to seminal events of the era such as early Soviet successes in their space program, the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

, the downing of

Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (KE007/KAL007)The flight number KAL 007 was used by air traffic control, while the public flight booking system used KE 007 was a scheduled Korean Air Lines flight from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage, Alask ...

and the

Space Shuttle Challenger disaster On January 28, 1986, the broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The spacecraft disintegrated above the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:39a.m. Eastern Time Zone, EST (1 ...

while framing the intragovernmental competition among organizations of the

US Intelligence Community The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

(IC) for tax dollars, equipment and influence.

Title

The title is a reference to the IC

jargon Jargon is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular Context (language use), communicative context and may not be well understood outside that context. The conte ...

term "black", indicating something which is highly classified such as a

black budget A black budget or covert appropriation is a government budget that is allocated for classified or other secret operations of a nation. The black budget is an account expenses and spending related to military research and covert operations. The ...

which is used to finance ''

black ops A black operation or black op is a covert or clandestine operation by a government agency, a military unit or a paramilitary organization; it can include activities by private companies or groups. Key features of a black operation are that it i ...

'' and/or ''

black project A black project is a highly classified, top-secret military or defense project that is not publicly acknowledged by government, military personnel, or contractors. Examples of United States military aircraft developed as black projects include the ...

s'', all of these are discussed in the book. Thus, "Deep Black" alludes that the subject and the material inside are profoundly sensitive in nature.

Reception

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

'' described the book as thick and the information overwhelming, concluding that the piece was germane "to more analytically oriented scholars". In ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'',

John Newhouse Wilfred John Newhouse (February 6, 1929 – December 10, 2016) was an American journalist and author. He was best known as the author of the book '' War and Peace in the Nuclear Age'', published in 1989 as companion to a PBS television series. ...

gives a generally favorable

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

of ''Deep Black'' while taking nuanced exception to Burrows’ depiction of the

Sputnik Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...

launch as "the most pernicious problem" of the Eisenhower White House. The review called the book "very revealing... More remarkable than exploits of human spies". '' Stars and Stripes'' wrote "Deep Black is vital reading for anyone concerned with the national security of the United States".

Carter Page citation

Carter Page Carter William Page (born June 3, 1971) is an American petroleum industry consultant and a former foreign-policy adviser to Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential election campaign. Page is the founder and managing partner of Global Energy C ...

, who served as a foreign-policy adviser to (then candidate)

President Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

during his successful

2016 presidential campaign This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kir ...

, cited ''Deep Black'' while a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

at the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

in a Trident Scholar Program report in 1993.Page, Carter W
"Balancing Congressional Needs for Classified Information: A Case Study of the Strategic Defense Initiative"
May 17, 1993. Page 101. United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD. Retrieved March 27, 2020, vi
Federation of American Scientists
/ref> The portion cited by Page discusses

emerging technologies Emerging technologies are technologies whose development, practical applications, or both are still largely unrealized. These technologies are generally new but also include older technologies finding new applications. Emerging technologies ar ...

from

Strategic Defense Initiative The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), derisively nicknamed the "''Star Wars'' program", was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons (intercontinental ballistic ...

research being applied to surveillance systems.

References

External links

Deep Black: Space Espionage and National Security
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) Technical Information Management Center Bibliography of Unclassified Books, January 1986 – December 1986
from the

Defense Technical Information Center The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC, pronounced "Dee-tick") is the repository for research and engineering information for the United States Department of Defense (DoD). DTIC's services are available to DoD personnel, federal governm ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deep Black Space Espionage and National Security 1986 books 1986 non-fiction books American non-fiction books Berkley Books books Books about foreign relations of the United States Books about intelligence agencies Books about the Cold War Cold War history of the Soviet Union Cold War history of the United States Cold War military history of the Soviet Union Cold War military history of the United States Military space program of the United States Non-fiction books about espionage Non-fiction books about United States intelligence agencies Random House books Soviet Union–United States relations Works about the Cold War