Spying from Space: Constructing America’s Satellite Command and Control Systems

230 Pages·2004·10.55 MB·English

by  David Christopher Arnold

Spying from Space
Number Twelve:
Centennial of Flight Series
Roger D. Launius, General Editor

Spying
from
Space
Constructing America’s
Satellite Command and
Control Systems
DAVID CHRISTOPHER ARNOLD
Foreword by Lt.Gen.Forrest S.McCartney,USAF,Retired
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY PRESS
COLLEGE STATION
Copyright © 2005by David Christopher Arnold
Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica
All rights reserved
First edition
The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements
ofthe American National Standard for Permanence
ofPaper for Printed Library Materials, Z39.48-1984.
Binding materials have been chosen for durability.
o
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Arnold, David Christopher, 1967–
Spying from space : constructing America’s satellite command and control
systems / David Chritopher Arnold ; foreword by Forrest S. McCartney.
p. cm. — (Centennial offlight series ; no. 12)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-58544-385-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Space surveillance—United States—History. 2. United States. Air Force.
Satellite Control Facility. 3. Command and control systems—United States
I. Title. II. Series.
UG1523.A76 2005
358'.8—dc22
2004012916
The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied within this book are those solely ofthe
author and do not represent the views ofthe United States Air Force, Department ofDefense,
or any other government agency.
For my wife, Doreen, who let me go far, far away
to the exotic British Indian Ocean Territory, where
I served as operations officer at Detachment 2,750th Space
Group, the Diego Garcia Tracking Station, giving rise to
this project.

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Foreword,by Lt. Gen. Forrest S. McCartney, USAF, Retired xi
Preface xv
Introduction 3
“Goldstone Has the Bird!”
1 The Inescapable Premise 9
Inventing Satellite Command and Control
2 Of Vital Strategic Importance 31
Developing a Satellite Command and Control System
3 Getting Off Dead Center 63
Innovating for a Single Customer
4 Too Many Fingers in the Pie 91
Growing into a Satellite Control System
5 Unbounded Faith 116
The Technological Style of the Air Force Satellite Control Facility
6 The Pressure Cooker 140
Overcoming Momentum
Conclusion 158
Inveniemus Viam vel Faciemus
Glossary of Acronyms 169
Notes 173
Bibliography 193
Index 203

List of Illustrations
Air Force Satellite Control Facility, 1960 6
Typical Discoverer/Coronalaunch 32
Satellite Test Center, 1960 50
New Hampshire tracking station, 1962 51
Preparing for first Corona contact, 1959 52
Original radar vans, 1959 56
Inside the original radar vans, 1959 64
Data receiver antenna, 1960 68
6593d Instrumentation Squadron at Hawaii tracking station 86
Catching a “Falling Star” 92
Recovery crew of Discoverer/Corona 14, 1960 93
Discoverer/Coronalaunch sequence 96
Payload control console, 1960 98
Hawaii tracking station, 1961 100
Control Data Corporation 160A computers, 1963 102
Multiple Satellite Augmentation Program’s FM-FM ground
station, 1964 103
Farrington Highway during floods of 1968 114
Satellite Test Center, 1961 119
Blue-suit operators, 1961 121
The WS-117L ground station, 1959 127
Former location of the WS-117L ground station 128
The computer complex for Multiple Satellite Augmentation
Program, 1966 130
Vandenberg tracking station, 1965 131
Integrated air force–contractor team, 1963 162