PROBABLE SATELLITE POST-RECOVERY OPERATION KUSTANAY AIRFIELD WEST, USSR (SANITIZED)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82T00709R000100510001-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 14, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 19, 1982
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00709R000100510001-0
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00709R000100510001-0
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00709R000100510001-0
DISSEMINATION CONTROL ABBREVIATIONS
NOFORN- Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals
NOCONTRACT- Not Releasable to Contractors or
Contractor/Consultants
PROPIN- Caution- Proprietary Information Involved
USIBONLY- USIB Departments Only
ORCON- Dissemination and Extraction of Information
Controlled by Originator
REL. . .- This Information has been Authorized for
Release to ...
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00709R000100510001-0
 TOP SECRET RUFF
(c) NATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERPRETATION CENTER
Page 1 of 1 Attachment to
Copy
PROBABLE SATELLITE POST-RECOVERY OPERATION
KUSTAN AIRF D WEST USSR
25X1
NPIC/IEG (4/82)
7 APRIL 1982
1. (S/D) SIGNIFICANCE: A PROBABLE SATELLITE POST-RECOVERY
OPERATION WAS OBSERVED THE FIRST TIME AT KUSTANAY AIRFIELD
WEST ON IMAGERY OF
2. (S/D) REMARKS: A PROBABLE MEDIUM-RESOLUTION PHOTOGRAPHIC
RECONNAISSANCE SATELLITE (MRPRS) CAPSULE WAS OBSERVED NEAR THE
PROBABLE CONTROL TECHNICAL POINT (KTP) BUILDING AT KUSTANAY
AIRFIELD WEST ON 19 MARCH. THE PROBABLE CAPSULE WAS
APPROXIMATELY FIVE METERS LONG AND TWO METERS WIDE.
(S/NOFORN) ANALYST'S COMMENT -- ADDITIONAL SOURCES IDENTIFIED
KUSTANAY WEST AS A PRIMARY RECOVERY FACILITY FOR UNMANNED SOVIET
SATELLITES. A SATELLITE SERVICE GROUP (SLUZHBA KOSMOS), HOUSED
AT THE AIRFIELD, REMOVE AND EVALUATE THE SENSITIVE. ITEMS (FILM
PACKAGE, RECORDING INSTRUMENTS, ETC.), AND PASS THE RECOVERED
EQUIPMENT ON TO THE NEXT DESTINATION. IN A TYPICAL RECOVERY
OPERATION, THE RETRIEVED SPACE CAPSULE IS TRANSPORTED TO THE
AIRFIELD BY EITHER HOOK OR HIP HELICOPTER AND IS PLACED ON AN
APRON NEAR THE KTP BUILDING. THE SENSITIVE MATERIAL IS REMOVED
FROM THE CAPSULE AND EVALUATED IN THE KTP BUILDING. THE CAPSULE
IS LEFT ON THE APRON UNTIL THE CAPSULE, PAYLOAD, AND
PARTICIPATING PERSONNEL ARE LOADED ON A TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT
(PROBABLY CUB) TO BE MOVED TO THE NEXT POINT.
(S/D) THE SOVIETS DEORBITED COSMOS 1342, AN MRPRS CAPSULE, AT
0517Z ON THE PAYLOAD LANDED APPROXIMATELY 225 KM
SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF KUSTANAY. THE CAPSULE WAS PROBABLY
TRANSPORTED TO THE AIRFIELD BY THE HIP, WHICH WAS ON A HELICOPTER
LANDING PAD. THE CAPSULE WAS THEN PROBABLY PLACED ON THE APRON
NEAR THE KTP BUILDING WHERE IT WAS IMAGED. IT CANNOT BE
DETERMINED IF THE POST-RECOVERY EVALUATION HAD OCCURRED;
These notes have been prepared for briefing purposes only and should not be used for detailed ana-
lytical work. Their use should be restricted to the particular briefing board(s) they were prepared for
and must be considered valid only for the reporting period as indicated by the date of issue.
WARNING NOTICE
InteIIinance Sources
and I Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00709R000100510001-0
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00709R000100510001-0
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00709R000100510001-0
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00709R000100510001-0
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00709R000100510001-0
TOP SECRET RUFF
(c) NATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERPRETATION CENTER
Page 2 of 2
Copy
HOWEVER, PERSONNEL, SEVERAL SUPPORT VEHICLES, AND A
TRUCK-MOUNTED CRANE WERE NEAR A CUB PARKED ON AN APRON NEAR THE
HELICOPTER LANDING AREA. THIS AIRCRAFT WAS PROBABLY BEING
PREPARED TO TRANSPORT THE CAPSULE AND PERSONNEL. THE PROBABLE
CAPSULE WAS NOT OBSERVED ON
IMAGERY
OF
2
5X1
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3. (S)
, COORDI
NATES 53-
12-26N 063-32-57E
4.(TS ,
COLLATERAL REFE
RENCES:
2
5X1
DOD
DOD
KUSTA
KUSTA
NAY WEST
NAY WEST
AIRFIELD, 15
AIRFIELD, 13
FEB 78 (C)
JUL 78
2
5X1
(C
2
5X1
DOD
RECOV
ERY AND E
VALUATING SECTION FOR EAR
TH
2
5X1
SATELLITES, KUSTANAY AIRFIELD, 19 DEC 77 (C)
DOD 437TH SEPARATE HELICOPTER REGIMENT,
6 MAY
DEFSMAC S/DQ/206-82 , DTG 191716Z MAR 82, COSMOS 1342 DEORBITED
ON 19 MARCH 1982 (SECRET)
(TSR/ INSET
FTD RFB-22/0005/82 BIIR AEROSPACE AND WEAPON
SYSTEMS, USSR, COSMOS 1313 & 1316, JANUARY 1982 (TSR~
These notes have been prepared for briefing purposes only and should not be used for detailed ana-
lytical work. Their use should be restricted to the particular briefing board(s) they were prepared for
and must be considered valid only for the reporting period as indicated by the date of issue.
WARNING NOTICE
Intelligence Sources
and Methods Involved
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00709R000100510001-0
TOP SECRET RUFF
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