Jumpseat, also known as AFP-711
Jonathan's Space Report, No. 135 (1992 Dec 1)
/ref> is reportedly a code name for a class of SIGINT
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...
reconnaissance satellites 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 ...
for the United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
in the 1970s and 1980s. The program is classified, and much of the information in the open is speculative.
Satellites
It is believed that six Jumpseat satellites were successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to:
* Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name
* USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida
* Vandenberg Sp ...
on Titan IIIB
Titan IIIB was the collective name for a number of derivatives of the Titan II ICBM and Titan III launch vehicle, modified by the addition of an Agena upper stage. It consisted of four separate rockets. The Titan 23B was a basic Titan II with an ...
launch vehicles with Agena D boosters between 21 March 1971 and 31 July 1983, the primary purpose of them being to monitor Soviet ABM radars. There was one failure, when the second satellite's Agena malfunctioned and left it in a useless orbit.
The 700-kg Jumpseat satellites were manufactured by Hughes Aircraft
The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other pro ...
and were inserted into highly elliptical Molniya orbit
A Molniya orbit ( rus, Молния, p=ˈmolnʲɪjə, a=Ru-молния.ogg, "Lightning") is a type of satellite orbit designed to provide communications and remote sensing coverage over high latitudes. It is a highly elliptical orbit with an ...
s with an inclination of 63 degrees and orbital periods of close to 12 hours.
These were in similar orbits to the Satellite Data System
The Satellite Data System (SDS) is a system of United States military communications satellites. At least three generations have been used: SDS-1 from 1976 to 1987; SDS-2 from 1989 to 1996; SDS-3 from 1998 to the present. It is believed that ...
relay satellites.
The successors to the Jumpseat series are the Trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
satellites.
Satellites
References
General
* Richelson, Jeffrey T. ed. ''U.S. Military Uses of Space, 1945-1991 Vol 1, Guide.'' National Security Archive. 1991.
External links
Entry at astronautix.comLog of satellite launches
from Jonathan's Space Report
''Jonathan's Space Report'' (JSR) is a newsletter about the Space Age, hosted at Jonathan's Space Page. It is written by Jonathan McDowell, a Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian astrophysicist. It is updated as McDowell's schedule pe ...
JUMPSEAT
- SIGINT Spacecraft Series (NRO/USAF/ NSA - Program AFP-711) at GlobalSecurity.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jumpseat (Satellite)
1971 in spaceflight
1973 in spaceflight
National Reconnaissance Office satellites
Signals intelligence satellites
Military equipment introduced in the 1970s