Background

The Space Surveillance Sigint Program came into existence in the early 1960s when both the United States and the Soviet Union were racing to get satellites launched and were preparing for unmanned and manned exploration of outer space.

This history was prepared in draft in 1968, and a limited number of copies were circulated throughout the Agency. We are indebted to [ REDACTED ] who served as project officer of the SSS program, for reviewing this history and locating the photographs used, and to [ REDACTED ] of the History and Publications Staff for performing the copy editing and seeing the manuscript through the printing process.

Document Archive

United States Cryptologic History, Space Surveillance SIGINT Program, Originally Drafted in 1968 (highlighted version) [59 Pages, 33.5MB] – This version of the document was released after a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) request I filed in May of 2018. The record was released in April of 2019. Newly released information is highlighted.

United States Cryptologic History, Space Surveillance SIGINT Program, Originally Drafted in 1968 (clean version) [59 Pages, 33.5MB] – This version of the document was released after a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) request I filed in May of 2018. The record was released in April of 2019.

United States Cryptologic History, Space Surveillance SIGINT Program, Originally Drafted in 1968 (clean version) [59 Pages, 32.5MB]