Declassifying JUMPSEAT: an American pioneer in space

[sizzzzlerz]

This blows me away. I worked on systems that processed the signals from these satellites at the ground sites. At the time, these were highly classified, requiring background investigations and a polygraph to be granted access to know about these things. All our work had to be performed in a SCIF and we were forbidden to discuss our work with anyone not cleared to know. The form that we had to sign when being briefed stated that this was a lifetime commitment. I never would have believed that the NRO would declassify this system.

[Neywiny]

I'm sure I don't need to say it, but what got declassified and the work you did are very, very different things. Pretty much everything in the notice is included in this article, so anything you're not reading.... Best to keep to yourself.

[Ms-J]

That's what happens to a large amount of classified info; it ends up getting released eventually for various reasons.

Information needs and wants to be free for humankind.

[pseudohadamard]

Was this really that secret? I've known about JUMPSEAT for at least 20 years and I'm not a US citizen, nor do I have any kind of security clearance. Not sure where the information was published, maybe one of James Bamford's books, but there's nothing terribly new there apart from the USG finally acknowledging what we already knew.

[kevin_thibedeau]

You also lose 4A for life per executive order.

[gpt5]

If you are curious what this is about. The US effectively wanted a geostationary satellite parked right over the high-latitude regions of the Soviet Union to intercept their signals.

The problem is, that geostationary satellites must orbit directly above the equator. If you try to look at northern Russia from the equator, the curvature of the Earth gets in the way.

So, the NRO used a Molniya (HEO) orbit as a clever cheat.

They launched JUMPSEAT into a stretched-out ellipse. Because of orbital mechanics, a satellite moves incredibly fast when it's close to Earth (perigee) but slows down dramatically when it's far away (apogee). It spends about 10 hours of its 12-hour orbit just loitering high above the USSR, slowly drifting across the sky, essentially emulating a geostationary satellite.

[shrubble]

Molniya, the Russian word for “lightning”, of course indicates that the equivalent Russian agency was aware of and used this orbit, also.

[dcrazy]

Thanks for filling in the missing link on why this program was special. Otherwise, it just seems like an announcement that NRO does indeed use satellites.

[mkmk]

Declassification memo: https://www.nro.gov/Portals/135/Documents/foia/JUMPSEAT%20Re...

[dcrazy]

I’m surprised that the classification markings, all of which include “TK, were merely struck through instead of blacked out. But I guess the cat’s been out of the bag on the meaning of TALENT KEYHOLE for quite a while.

[buildbot]

“The fact that JUMPSEAT formed the foundation to follow on HEO systems”

Well that’s an interesting blurb from the declassification memo -https://www.nro.gov/Portals/135/Documents/foia/JUMPSEAT%20Re...

[unwind]

“The historical significance of JUMPSEAT cannot be understated,” said Dr. James Outzen, NRO director of the Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance.

I'm no native speaker but that is backwards, right? Shouldn't it be overstated if it was a success?

[bonzini]

I think so, "whatever you boast it's not overstating" -> cannot be overstated.

[vessenes]

Native here: you’re correct it’s a weird sentence and turn of phrase in English.

That said, can/cannot is a flexible word in English and we could take it to mean “Anyone discussing the significance of JUMPSEAT [accurately] [should never] understate it.”

But I think he meant overstate in this case. Or maybe he hated JUMPSEAT, thought it sucked and put that right out there in the press release.

[ExoticPearTree]

I am kind of curious: if this kind of data collection was possible then, what is it possible today to see and collect using satellites?

Feels like all the crazy satellite capabilities in spy movies are not that crazy after all.

[nradov]

The laws of physics haven't changed. Despite some technical advancements we still can't read a license plate from a satellite like what you see in the movies. This is due to fundamental physical limits.

[halJordan]

The president actually tweeted it out for you