Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, 'Out There,' was published on Nov. 13, 2018.
Space.com headlines crossword quiz for week of Jan. 19, 2026: What is the name of Blue Origin's new communications megasatellite?Blue Origin lands huge New Glenn rocket booster for 1st time after acing Mars ESCAPADE launch for NASA The National Reconnaissance Office just revealed the existence of its"JUMPSEAT" line of spy satellites, eight of which launched to Earth orbit between 1971 and 1987.
We just learned about a pioneering U.S. spy satellite program, nearly 40 years after its final spacecraft launched to the final frontier."The historical significance of JUMPSEAT cannot be stated," James Outzen, NRO director of the Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance, said in aon Wednesday."Its orbit provided the U.S. a new vantage point for the collection of unique and critical signals intelligence from space.”As the term implies, signals intelligence involves the detection and decryption of electromagnetic signals — adversary communications, for example, or emissions from missiles or other weapons systems.The agency, which was founded in 1961, worked with the U.S. Air Force toward this end on a program that came to be known as"Project EARPOP." The result was JUMPSEAT, a satellite designed to operate in a type of HEO called a Molniya orbit.approach) of about 620 miles and an apogee of roughly 24,855 miles .Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors These characteristics allow satellites in Molniya orbits to linger over high-latitude stretches of the Northern Hemisphere for extended periods. Not coincidentally, this fits the geography of the Soviet Union, the United States' Cold War rival. "JUMPSEAT's core mission focus was to monitor adversarial offensive and defensive weapon system development," NRO officials wrote in the same statement."From its further orbital position, it aimed to collect data that might offer unique insight into existing and emerging threats.""Once in orbit, JUMPSEAT successfully collected electronic emissions and signals, communication intelligence and foreign instrumentation intelligence — invaluable information that was downlinked to ground processing facilities within the U.S.," agency officials wrote.. But JUMPSEAT's utility extended far beyond that final launch; the final one wasn't taken out of service until 2006, after operating for a spell in"transponder mode." Many other U.S. spy satellites have followed JUMPSEAT to space; the NRO is always upgrading its fleet of reconnaissance spacecraft. For example, the agency is currently building out its new"," a constellation of hundreds of small satellites that are designed to be flexible, cost-effective and resilient to anti-satellite actions such as jamming. and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life,"Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.Jupiter's moon Europa has an ice shell about 18 miles thick — and that could be bad news for alien life NASA's Artemis 2 crewed mission to the moon shows how US space strategy has changed since Apollo – and contrasts with China's closed program Jupiter's moon Europa has an ice shell about 18 miles thick — and that could be bad news for alien life
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