MEMORANDUM FOR GENERAL WALTERS FROM ED PROCTOR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01731R002300120024-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 12, 2003
• Sequence Number: 24
• Publication Date: January 22, 1973
• Content Type: FORM

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MEMORANDUM FO s
7Vk
eral Walters
Attached is the aVticle (in RussialVnd
English) concerning Soviet estimates of the
resolution of our photo-satellites.
The reference to resolution is on
page 2 of the English version. It gives the
equivalent of about 6 to 18 feet, with "some
sources, even to" about 1 foot.
E r c or
FORM 101 RELACES FORM 10-101
22 January 1973
(DATE)
STAT
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Next 2 Page(s) In Document Exempt
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"For Aggression, for Piracy - Global ?leans of: Espionage
of the Pentagon," by Yu, yu'yev, Colonel-Engineer and
L. Shevchuk', Major-Engineer and Candidate of Technical
Sciences, Aviatsiya i Kosmona-%rtika, No. s' 1972, pp. n6-47.
"American imperialism constantly confirms its
aspiration to play the role of a unique guarantor and
protector of an international system of exploitation and
oppression. Everywhere it strives' to rule over, to
interfere in. the affairs of other peoples , and to
unce.remoniorjsly transgress their legal rights and sover-
.eignty. By force, corruption and by economic penetration
thPj; try to impress their will on governments and entire
regi-oils of the world, Conclusive evidence of the
mmili.taristic tendencies of the ruling circles of the USA
is the active reconnaissance, the particular attention
to improvement of its form and metthods, and the alloca-
l:ion of enormous funds for its needs. The goals of global
espionage are graphically demonstrated in the Korean
and IndoChinese wars and i;n_ the support of the aggressive
coursefof -Israel's militarists
"For a long time artificial earth satellites have been
an important means of global espionage of the Pentagon.
They form a signif'i_cant-pmrtion of the strategic reconnais-
sance forces of the American military command.
"Works connected with the development of cosmic
means of reconnaissance were begi4 in the USA long
before the orbiting of the first artificial earth
satellite, and.are being conducted on ever-increasing
scale.
."Reconnaiss'ance satellites of the- US are being
used to conduct photo-, radio, radio. engineering,
television, radar reconnaissance, for the detection
of nuclear explosions, and for the detection of
launches of ballistic rockets from land-based
installations and submarines. Reconnaissance satel-
lites are controlled by the Control Center located
in Sunnyvale (state of California) that directs the
command-measuring complex that includes ground-based
-stations located in the territory of the US and
beyond its borders.
"To obtain the data of interest to the Pentagon,
use is made of survey and high-detail/search and
spotting or low and high resolution./photoreconnaissance
satellites placed',-in low, near-polar orbits with a
perigee of 120-200 km. With them regular' observations
are conducted of rocket launch positions, airdromes,
troop movements and, in particular, tank forces.
"Search-type satellites which are equipped with
photo apparatus with wide-angle lenses, are intended
for photographing large areas with relatively low
resolution. Such a method makes it possible to
conduct continuous photography of territories of
interest. From the. photographs the most important
objects are defined and then high-resolution
photoreconnaissance is used for further investigation
of the objects.
"At the present time in the US use is being made
in photoreconnaissance of satellites developed in the
"'Discoverer' (figure 1) and 1770' programs. Their
typical orbit is elliptical with a perigee of 160-200 km,
an apogee of 450 km and an inclination of 75-900. As
arule, the Time spent in orbit does not exceed 3-4
weeks. The film exposed while in orbit is ejected from
the satellites to the earth in containers that are
recovered in the air by aircraft. To facilitate location
the containers are equipped with radio beacons and
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"According to published information in the latest
versions of satellite; A- -c!", ill,,'77
1
0
equipment for radio-.teCh nical/Llifi`t/ and radar/
(,,,.4)radint/reconnaissance is ilistailed in addition to the
photographic equipment. Signals from commnunication
and radar stations are recorded on magnetic tape that
is ej e Lied in a container together, with the exposed
photographic film. The radar equipment makes it
poss_ib1le to cc,nduct reconnaissance under any meteoro-
logical conch Lion and- to detect objects concealed by
foliage and even those locate;. several centimeters
below the surface of the earth.
"High-resolution photoreconnaissance satellites
were intended for large-scale photographing of
individual objects detected. during analysis of low-
resolution materials. A characteristic feature of
these satellites is: their low perigee (130-145 km).
"Together with the long focal length lenses the
low-perigees: make it possib'le to obtain photographs .
with. a resolution of 1.8-5.5 m (according to some (6"" 1
sources , even'.to 0 3~ m) . 0
"In the period 1962-64 there were 12-14 low-
resolution satellites orbited each year. Beginning
in 1965 the number, of satellites of this type orbited
decreased to 8-9. Also, the photography was conducted
without overlapping since the maps had' obviously been
already compiled and it was only necessary to refine
them.
"The total time that the photoreconnaissance
satellites spent in orbit was about 180 days a year.
The number of high-resolution satellites orbited has
reached 8-9 per year. The one exception was 1966 when
15 high-resolution satellites were launched.
"The next step in cosmic reconnaissance systems
was the development of satellites in the '6471
..program. These are multipurpose satellites that are
intended for simultaneous solution of such problems
as detecting launches of intercontinental ballistic
missiles, the conduct of photographic and radio-
technical/E1int/reconnaissance, the recording of
troop movements and observation of military objects,
the determination of the coordinates of nuclear explo-
sions and the monitoring of nuclear strikes, and the
conduct of strategic meteorological reconnaissance.
The weight of such a satellite is about 800 kg,
the length 7 m and the diameter 3 in. The launches
began in 1970.
The launches of satellites in the '6471 program
into synchronous orbits makes it possible to observe
not only regions in the equatorial and mean latitudes,
but also to monitor the near-polar regions of the
North and South Poles. Information from orbit is
transmitted on radio channels to ground stations.
In addition, the exposed film and magnetic tape can
be returned to the earth in containers.
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a "while acknowledging the advantage of the satellites
as me
o. a ns for str tegic. reconilaissance, :~merican
also point out their shortcomings . One of the basic
deficiencies of photorec.onnaissance satellites, in their
opinion, is that they do not make it possible to obtain
information in real time. Even in the best case from
the momemt of photographing to the beginning of film
r eveloping several tens of hours pass, whereas in this
time thc.~ situation could change considerably. Also, in
low-resclution reconnaissance many photographs are
obtained that are of no interest.
"Several years ago attempvs to install television
equipment on reconnaissance satellites ended is failure
due mainly to its poor resolution (compared to photo
equipment) and difficulties in transmitting television
images to the earth. However,, since the first
experiments the television equipment has been improved
considerably. Transmitting.tubes have-appeared that.
permit a resolution approaching that of photographs.
They are now being used in the search-type satellites.
"The Pentagon also assigns h..i)gh significance to
means for radio-technical/Elin/'reconnaissance from
space. Special satellites are being used to determine
the characteristics and location of ground-based radar
and communications stations and to intercept radio signals
that ground-based radio-intercept means can detect only
along their line-of-sight. One of the most. widely
used American means of radio-technical reconnaissance
are the-'Ferret'.satell.ites. They weigh over one ton,
are 6.7 m long,-1.5 mein diameter and 4rS intended for
radio-technical/Elint7/Wand radio/Comintfreconnaissance,
particularly for intercepting conversations from ships
and submarines at sea, and even conversations of ( E
staff members with various subordinate divisions.
According to certain information the satellite can be
used to receive information from low-power transmitters,
i,e., transmitters used by undercover agents. The
received information is recorded on board and, transmitted
.to the earth when the satellite passes over tracking
stations.. The typical orbit of 'Ferret' satellites
is almost circular--with an altitude of about 500 km and
an inclination of 75-82?.
"Approximately the same tasks are being carried
out by radio-technical satellites of the ''-11' type
(.figure 2), which weigh 60-160 kg and have a. maximum
dimension of 0.9 m. These satellites are placed in
orbit together with photoreconnaissance satellites as
an auxiliary/'piggybac1c /)payload.
"To increase the capability and accuracy of
collecting information by radio-technical means, the
Lockheed firm on contract with the USAF is developing
a new photo- and radio-technical reconnaissance 'Sigint' (_I; .z
satellite which is to replace not only the 'Ferret'
and I P-111 satellites, but also the reconnaissance
aircraft-and vessels that constantly fly and sail along
the borders of the Soviet Union. The satellite is
equipped with a three-axis system of orientation, a
high-precision stabilization system, a power source
using solar elements and chemical batteries and also
equipment for generating interference fj amrui.ng3 . The
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satvliitc vleigAhs ovc? 10 tolls. It is placed in
circular I30.1.~11" orbits, with Atli sai.Lt4ud2 oI: about 1~;
polar
o:lclLUCt rcco;inai. sailcc above foreign Lerr itorles ,
"The 'Sigillt' orbit must pass twice a day over
the ai.rbase~ at Buckley (state of Colorado) Where
special equipment has. boon installed to receive
i.l~rormatic;n from the satellite
"Since 1963 the USA has been launching satellites
f:,r detecting nuclear explosions on the surface of the
earth, in the atmosphere and in distant space. On board
such satellites are installed detectors of X-ray and
gamma radiation, neutron fluxes ? the change of phonon
radiation and also an electron-proton. spectrometer.
With this equipment are recorded radiation and flows
of particles that appea-L not only during nuclear
explosions of artificial origin,but also during
increases in solar activity. The information obtained
from the satellites is used in training and in
flights of the Apollo spacecraft to ensure safety
of the astronauits .
"A special feature of the method used to monitor
nuclear explosions and solar flares'ia the paired launch
of satellites into orbits with an altitude of 90-110-
thousand kilometers. According to published infor-
mation, in the make-up of the system that is now in
operation there are 12 satellites that permit around-
the-clock observation of the entire surface of the
earth and of near-earth space.
"Despite such diversified means of space reconnaissance
the efforts of the USA are not limited to specialized
satellite systems. The military-industrial circles of
the USA pose the question of the possibility of using
space complexes of .any designation for military purposes.
"For example, in the flights of the piloted Gemini
spacecraft a study was made of means for detecting ICBMs..
Using special equipment the Gemini crew made repeated -
fixes of ballistic rocket launches from ranges and
recorded infrared radiation from the plumes of rockets
in flight and on special test stands. In photographing
the surface of the earth the Apollo spacecraft used
film with the same'super sensitivity as the film in
reconnaissance satellites. It is not mere chance that
the US Department of Defense and the Atomic Energy
.Commission prohibited publication of a large number of
photographs. There appeared in the press information
to the effect that specialists of the US Department of
Defense regularly examine photographs taken by NASA
'Tiros' and 'Nimbus' meteorological satellites.
"Military circles in the USA have also manifested
great interest i.n? satellites intended for experiments on
the compilation of soil utilization maps of the USA,
geological-soil maps, agricultural maps, on the collection
of data from observation points concerning the continental
shelf, bays, estuaries of rivers and other regions where
observations are being conducted on tides, shorelines, and
regions hazardous to shipping. These satellites will
be equipped with color television cameras with a
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resolution of 60 in when photographing from a polar
or" t with an altwtud c' ~?t; 900 ,7 - ' ,c rding
on video film, In the case of transmitti1,~T infor
mation in real time the resolution of this -,equipment
should -increase t:,;ofold. Therefore the Pentagon is
interested in these satellites also,
"Another object that interests the US military
command is thfr 'Skylab' orbital station being
developed under the supervision of NASA, Its
launch is intended in 1973 for the purpose of
conducting s-'ientific-technical and iedical-
biological e periments and also several
experiments fin a Department of Defense program.
"To ser,ice orbital stations of any type and also
to solve in ependent military problems of the USAF,
.it isaropo, led to develop multi.-purpose transport
craft for shuttle flights along the earth-orbit-
earth route. Such a craft will be able to maneuver
in space, solving a wide range of military tasks
(reconnaissance, inspection and, if necessary,
destrubtion.in orbit. of space objects of a potential
adversary, repair of space objects either in orbit
or returning them to earth for repair, and others.)
"According to plans of the Americans the Air
Force should use spac;ecraft for the launch of recon-
naissance satellites. and other equipment of military
designation,. return to the earth capsules of exposed
film, inspect enemy satellites, and perform military
assignments having a total duration of up to two days.
"The above enumerated works do not encompass
the entire circle of interests of the 'US. military-
industrial complex pertaining to the development of
space reconnaissance systems. The reconnaissance
systems of the USA are constantly developing in the
direction of increased effectiveness and operation
capability for the purpose of ensuring military
supremacy over the countries of the socialist camp..
"But let the Pentagon leaders not fool them-.
selves with their vain illusions. 'We have everything
we need; said Comrade L.I. Brezhnev at the 24th Congress
of the CPSU, 'we have the straightforward policy of
peace, the military might, and the solidarity of the
Soviet people to ensure the freedom of our borders from
any encroachment, and to protect the conquest of
socialism.' At the same time the fighting men of the
Soviet Armed Forces should never forget the global
espionage of the American imperialists, and they should
manifest high vigilance and solidarity."
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6i
flay, 1, C)Mti
!~ ~~I1I+I~It ,' y?a t ilsJilll+r~' ~ ~ ' /''.r,i"
~6 ~}:;~~iN.. 111E+111++?ir+1111 a--,~~,.,y~~
Figure 1. The Discover low-resolution reconnaissance
satellite
1. computer
2. inertial platform
3. -horizon sensor
4. destruct charge
5. nitrogen bottles
6. payload
Figure 2.
7, fuel pressurization
8 fuel
9, oxidizer
10. engine
11, helium bottles
"R-'l" satellite for radio-technical
reconnaissance.
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