JUMPSEAT: the United States’ first-generation, highly elliptical orbit (HEO) signals-collection satellite has been declassified by the NRO.
Launched from 1971 to 1987 under mission numbers 7701 to 7708, JUMPSEAT was the product of the United States Air Force’s (USAF) program at the NRO. Developed under a program called “Project EARPOP,” JUMPSEAT offered the U.S. a way of collecting intelligence during unprecedented geopolitical change and Cold War tensions that lasted until the early 1990s.
Together, the NRO and the USAF launched the first JUMPSEAT mission in 1971 from Vandenberg Air Force Base (now Vandenberg Space Force Base) in California. 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. From there, the data was provided to the Department of Defense, the National Security Agency, and other national security elements.
“Ever since its inception at the dawn of the space age more than 60 years ago, the NRO has brought the farthest reaches of the planet into our grasp – to see it, hear it, and sense it. Today, the NRO is building on that legacy of innovation, harnessing the limitless potential of space to make our nation even safer and stronger.”
Editor – Now that’s a directional antenna!
Released documents:
Coos County Radio Club 