Download or read book Birth of Air Force Satellite Reconnaissance Facts Recollections and Reflections written by Peter Swan and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2015-09-08 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This history of SAFSP is dedicated to all those men and women who fought the Cold War, in silence - from above. No organization is better at gathering overhead intelligence than the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Today's NRO grew out of 3 organizations: AF, CIA, and Navy. The AF office for satellite reconnaissance was called the Secretary of Air Force's Office of Special Projects [SAFSP]. This monograph describes the birth of Air Force satellite reconnaissance. When SAFSP was created in response to Presidential recognition of a national imperative, 4 tenets captured the sense of urgency: direct access to national leadership, covert management/operations, highest national priority, and rapid procurement.
Download or read book Onizuka Air Force Base written by Joseph T. Page II and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2019 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For nearly five decades, some of the United States military's most secretive operations were conducted out of a collection of nondescript buildings at the intersection of State Route 237 and Mathilda Avenue in Sunnyvale, California. The installation was known by a variety of names in its early years: Satellite Test Center, Air Force Satellite Control Facility, the "Blue Cube," and Sunnyvale Air Force Station. In July 1986, the facility was renamed Onizuka Air Force Base after Col. Ellison S. Onizuka, the first Asian American astronaut, who was killed during the space shuttle Challenger accident. The location was selected due to its proximity to Lockheed Missiles and Space Company's Sunnyvale facilities and supported early satellite reconnaissance programs such as Corona, Gambit, and Hexagon. As the nation's nucleus for satellite command and control, workers at Onizuka Air Force Base directed efforts for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), US military, and NASA's space shuttle program until the closure of the base in 2010.
Download or read book A History of Satellite Reconnaissance written by James D. Outzen and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 602 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book West Point Graduates and the United States Air Force written by Charles F.G. Kuyk, Jr. and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2020-06-15 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: West Point graduates played a central role in developing U.S. military air and space power from the earliest days of mechanized flight through the establishment of the U.S. Air Force in 1947, and continuing through the Persian Gulf War. These graduates served at a time when the world's greatest wave of technological advancement occurred: in aviation, nuclear weapons, rocketry, ICBMs, computers, satellite systems in inner space and man in outer space. This history traces the advancement of weapons and space technology that became the hallmark of the U.S. Air Force, and the pivotal role that West Point graduates played in integrating them into a wide variety of Air Force systems and programs. Many became aircraft commanders, test pilots, astronauts and, later in their careers, general officers who helped shape and implement technologies still in use today.
Download or read book Beyond Horizons written by David N. Spires and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Our Mission Revealed written by Lloyd R. Spanberger and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2014-07-26 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was the early 1960s and our country was in the midst of the cold war with the Soviet Union. President Eisenhower had, earlier, decided to initiate development of a spy satellite system to obtain strategic intelligence data on the Soviets. A massive program was instituted to accomplish this goal and, as part of the overall program, the concept of an all-military facility to provide R&D support and duplicate imagery processing from these satellites, was ordered. This began the establishment of the AFSPPF, which operated for 15 years in that capacity. This story describes the mission of the AFSPPF and what it was like to work in an Ultra Top Secret operation, whose mission was not disclosed until now. No-one involved with our operation could talk about it to anyone, including family, friends or anyone else in the military, unless they were properly cleared and were amongst those who needed to know. All content herein was derived from the personal recollections of our remaining members and from what little official declassified documentation we could find. It is hoped the reader will enjoy learning what it was like to work in such a unique Top Secret unit of the U.S. Air Force. AFSPPF was an Air Force Headquarters unit created in 1961 to conduct the research and development (R&D) necessary to provide the best possible production equipment and techniques in support of special projects specified by the Secretary of the Air Force. There is no declassified documented record of the activity within the facility. The facility operated in a Top Secret, Black Opps mode throughout its entire 15-year lifetime. Aspects of the units mission evolved over time, however the mainstay was production, evaluation and distribution of classified imagery, from spy satellites and aircraft, to our nations intelligence community, in a timely manner. The production and evaluation directorates, within the facility, also assisted with the many R&D projects in support of the overall national reconnaissance program. It was an exciting time for all of us. We not only provided the best photographic intelligence possible to our nations leaders, but also had a lot of fun doing it. It was hard work and long hours, all with no individual recognition given. There was, however a degree of self-satisfaction involved. We knew and understood the objectives and often saw details of our advisories military capabilities that were never exposed to the public eye. The satellites and aircraft involved have now all been declassified and our mission can now be revealed, so all can see what really went on in such a Top Secret operation. This true story is not only about our mission, but about the unique, exciting and sometimes humorous experiences of the people who did the work.
Download or read book The National Reconnaissance Office at 50 Years written by Bruce Berkowitz and published by National Reconnaissance Office. This book was released on 2011 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book High Frontier written by Curtis Peebles and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Spying from Space written by David Christopher Arnold and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2008-06-12 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On August 14, 1960, a revolution quietly occurred in the reconnaissance capabilities of America. When the Air Force C-119 Flying Boxcar Pelican 9 caught a bucket returning from space with film from a satellite, the American intelligence community gained access to previously denied information about the Soviet Union. The Corona reconnaissance satellite missions that followed lifted the veil of secrecy from the communist bloc, revealing, among other things, that no “Missile Gap” existed. This revolution in military intelligence could not have occurred without the development of the command and control systems that made the Space Race possible. In Spying from Space, David Christopher Arnold tells the story of how military officers and civilian contractors built the Air Force Satellite Control Facility (AFSCF) to support the National Reconnaissance Program. The AFSCF also had a unique relationship with the National Reconnaissance Office, a secret organization that the U.S. government officially concealed as late as the 1990s. Like every large technology system, the AFSCF evolved as a result of the interaction of human beings with technology and with each other. Spying from Space fills a gap in space history by telling the story of the command and control systems that made rockets and satellites useful. Those interested in space flight or intelligence efforts will benefit from this revealing look into a little-known aspect of American achievement. Those fascinated by how large, complex organizations work will also find this an intriguing study of inter-service rivalries and clashes between military and civilian cultures.
Download or read book A History of Satellite Reconnaissance written by Robert L. Perry and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A History of Satellite Reconnaissance written by Robert L. Perry and published by Military Bookshop. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Full color photographs and illustrations throughout. Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance Classics. Originally publihed in November 1973, declassified September 17, 2011. Includes a preface by James D. Outzen.
Download or read book History of Satellite Reconnaissance written by Robert L. Perry and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Reflections and Remembrances Veterans of the United States Army Air Forces Reminisce about World War II written by Office of Air Force History and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2015-03-02 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An anniversary gives us the opportunity to recognize the deeds of our predecessors, take pride in our heritage, show gratitude for our victories, reflect on our losses, and review the past with the benefit of the longer perspective of history. Each generation tends to see the past in terms of its own experience. History both illuminates what has lain hidden and reinforces what we know. For its 1995 observance of the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II, the Air Force History and Museums Program sponsored a series of commemorative events. One, a National Day of Recognition for Veterans of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), held on August 7th in the Washington, D.C. area, was celebrated at three locations. First, at the Pentagon's center court, Secretary of the Air Force Sheila E. Widnall and Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Ronald R. Fogleman, praised the veterans' numberless contributions to Allied victory in the war. The Air Force Historian, Richard P. Hallion, read a congressional resolution marking the day and then Lieutenant Colonel Donald S. Lopez, USAF, retired, spoke on behalf of all World War II airmen. A flyover by vintage USAAF aircraft capped the festivities. During the afternoon in a symposium at the National Archives and Records Administration, eleven USAAF veterans, in separate sessions covering the conflicts in Europe and Asia, reflected on their own wartime experiences of half a century ago. They spoke with clarity and authority and in remarkable detail on such topics as military preparedness, leadership, training, racial segregation, the treatment of American prisoners of war, military technology, the Allied invasion of Japan, and the use of atomic weapons. Historians Richard G. Davis and William T. Y'Blood presented overviews at the respective sessions. That evening, the Daughters of the American Revolution gave a reception in honor of the symposium participants and opened Constitution Hall for an outstanding musical tribute, which was performed before a packed house by the United States Air Force Band. Dr. Hallion, joined by General Bryce Poe, II, president of the Air Force Historical Foundation, hosted the symposium. Reminiscences and remarks are faithfully preserved herein.
Download or read book Meeting the Challenge written by Philip Pressel and published by AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics). This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents the recently declassified story of the design, development, production, and operation of the Hexagon KH-9 reconnaissance satellite, that provided photographic intelligence to the United States government, and it stands as one of the most complicated systems ever put into space.
Download or read book Supporting New Horizons written by David Christopher Arnold and published by . This book was released on 2002-05 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like every large technological system, military or civilian, the Air Force Satellite Control Facility evolved because of the interaction of human beings with technology. The Air Force Satellite Control Facility did not simply turn out the way it did because the technology evolved autonomously. The United States Air Force purposefully built the Air Force Satellite Control Facility to support the National Reconnaissance Program. In his large body of writing, historian Thomas Parke Hughes has shown that large technological systems evolve as social constructions according to a pattern of systems development. The Air Force Satellite Control Facility grew in the early 1960's into a true satellite command and control network following this Hughesian pattern of development. The air force system of satellite command and control, therefore, provides an example of how a large technological system, designed not for the marketplace but for government needs, still evolved as a socially constructed technology. The Air Force Satellite Control Facility illustrates a pattern of systems development that applies whether the system is a large private venture like an electrical power network or an important government project like a satellite command and control system. In the case of the Air Force Satellite Control Facility, however, there was an extraordinary player in the background pulling strings. The Air Force Satellite Control Facility had a unique relationship with the National Reconnaissance Office, a secret organization that the government officially concealed into the 1990's. In the special relationship between the National Reconnaissance Office and the Air Force Satellite Control Facility, one sees a social construction of technology at the behest of a particular interest group most clearly revealed.
Download or read book Reflections on Research and Development in the United States Air Force written by Office of Air Force History and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2015-02-28 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reflections on Research and Development in the United States Air Force was intended to be part of the now-defunct Warrior Series. While the necessity for that particular series has lapsed, its long-term goal remains valid-to produce books which will appeal to all levels of Air Force people, who may learn from the past and perhaps apply the experiences of past generations to the present. This publication should interest readers who have scant familiarity with research and development, as well as those intimately familiar with the subject. The former will gain an understanding of the outline history of Air Force research and development, while the latter will obtain fresh, personal perspectives. In 1982 General Lew Allen, Jr. called for "the continuing study of military history, combat leadership, the principles of war, and particularly, the applications of air power." All of us in the Air Force community can benefit from such study and reflection. The challenges of today and the future demand no less.
Download or read book Spies in Space written by Courtney J V Homer and published by Nimble Books. This book was released on 2023-12-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the world of deeply classified military projects, "never-weres" and "might have beens" can shed great light on what actually has been happening behind the scenes. The Manned Orbital Laboratory, a secret project that was cancelled in 1969, illustrates that for more than sixty years, the US government has been energetically seeking persistent, easily-retasked, adaptive, and above all intelligent capabilities for monitoring adversaries from space. For those interested in military space[1], the history offers an essential reference point. If the MOL had flown, it would have been super cool; but the US secured the desired capabilities by other means, many of which are still deep black. This document provides a comprehensive overview of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program, a United States Air Force initiative in the 1960s aimed at developing a manned space platform for military reconnaissance during the Cold War. The document explores the objectives, challenges, and eventual cancellation of the program, as well as the debates and differing opinions surrounding MOL. It discusses concerns about cost, international relations, and the role of humans in space. The document also covers the training program for MOL crew members, their roles and responsibilities, and the development of the MOL system. Personal accounts express shock and disappointment over the program's termination, and mention the consequences such as layoffs and the transfer of MOL crew members to NASA. Overall, this document offers insights into the complexities and controversies surrounding the MOL program. This annotated edition illustrates the capabilities of the AI Lab for Book-Lovers to add context and ease-of-use to manuscripts. It includes five types of abstracts, building from simplest to more complex: TLDR (one word), ELI5, TLDR (vanilla), Scientific Style, and Action Items; four essays to increase viewpoint diversity: Context in the Discourse, Formal Dissent; Red Team Critique; and MAGA Perspective; and Notable Passages and Nutshell Summaries for each page. [1] Indeed, "For All Mankind."-Ed.
