Introduction

The way the United States perfected and used space technology to solve intelligence problems is an important story; this remarkable technology helped ensure that the Cold War never turned “hot.” In parallel with the crucially important development of ballistic missiles for our defense, there was the equally urgent program to develop reconnaissance satellites to provide advance warning of enemy military activity. Information about-military, industrial, and political activities in the Soviet Union was the key to providing the United States with a survivable nuclear retaliatory force. This story involves the challenge of collecting electronic signals being radiated from the Soviet Union using satellites in Earth orbit, some as high as geosynchronous altitude; sending those signals back to Earth; sorting and analyzing those signals with computers and with people; and providing to our national leaders the information needed to give our country a valuable advantage in confronting the threat of Soviet Communism during the most perilous times of the Cold War. The story now to be told is about the US SIGINT satellites.

NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASE 10 FEBRUARY 2016
Source: National Reconnaissance Office, The SIGINT Satellite Story