US spy satellite agency declassifies high-flying Cold War listening post
13 days ago
- #satellites
- #Cold War
- #espionage
- The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) declassified the Jumpseat program, a spy satellite initiative used to eavesdrop on Soviet military communications.
- Jumpseat was the US's first-generation highly elliptical orbit (HEO) signals-collection satellite, operational from 1971 to 2006.
- Eight Jumpseat satellites were launched, focusing on monitoring adversarial weapon systems and collecting electronic emissions, communication intelligence, and foreign instrumentation intelligence.
- The intercepted data was shared with the Department of Defense, the National Security Agency, and other national security elements.
- The Soviet Union was the primary target, with satellites in highly elliptical orbits providing persistent coverage over the Arctic and Soviet territories.
- The orbit, known as Molniya by the Soviets, allowed satellites to loiter over key areas for extended periods.
- The name Jumpseat was first revealed in a 1986 book by Seymour Hersh, detailing its capability to intercept various communications, including voice messages.