The world’s first reconnaissance satellite, called Galactic Radiation and Background (GRAB), was launched on June 22, 1960. GRAB was developed by the U.S. Naval Re-search Laboratory. The first satellite, GRABI, rose into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida atop a Thor-Able-Star rocket. The GRAB II satellite was successfully launched on June 29, 1961. The GRAB satellites had a dual mission. The unclassified mission was to gather solar radiation data, which was the basis for the name GRAB. The secret mission was to gather radar pulses within a specific bandwidth from Soviet equipment. A signals intelligence package carried aboard the satellite accomplished this.
Source: National Cryptologic Museum

23 June 2022 at 05:54
Thank you, Mario.
Jim King
CTOC Ret.
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25 June 2022 at 12:22
I was glad to see this information was finally declassified. I think it increased our credibility.
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