Poppy (satellite)
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Poppy is the code name for a series of US spy satellites from the 1960s and 70s. They were used for the electronic reconnaissance of Soviet radar systems and are thus the successors of the GRAB satellites. The secrecy was only lifted in 2005 by the National Reconnaissance Office .
description
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The Poppy satellites were essentially spherical in shape and did not have an attitude control system . That is why evenly distributed solar cells and antennas were installed on all sides . The determination of radar positions was carried out by measuring the transit time differences during signal reception . Four different variants were developed and launched during the program:
- 51 × 61 cm, 25 kg, spherical
- 61 × 81 cm, 59 kg, spherical
- 89 × 81 cm, 73 kg, 12 flat pages
- 89 × 86 cm, 128 kg, 12 flat sides
The average lifespan of a Poppy satellite was 34 months. Staff from the Naval Security Group , Army Security Agency, and Air Force Security Service worked in the various data reception and processing facilities . The prepared material was then sent to the National Security Agency .
Start list
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| Surname | Start, UTC | Launch site | International designation | Alternative name |
Launcher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poppy 1 | December 13, 1962, 4:07 am | VAFB | 1962-067A or 1962-BETA-TAU-1 , 1962-067C or 1962-BETA-TAU-3 | NRL-PL 120, NRL PL 121, SURCAL 2A | Thor - Agena-D |
| Poppy 2 | June 15, 1963, 2:29 pm | VAFB | 1963-021E | NRL PL 112 | Thor-Agena-D |
| Poppy 3 | January 11, 1964 | VAFB | 1964-001E | NRL PL 135 | TAT-Agena-D (TAT = Thrust Augumated Thor) |
| Poppy 4 | March 9, 1965, 6:29 pm | VAFB | 1965-016A | NRL PL 142, Solrad 6B | Thor-Agena-D |
| Poppy 5 | May 31, 1967 | VAFB | 1967-053G , 1967-053H | NRL PL 151, NRL PL 153 | Thor-Agena-D |
| Poppy 6 | September 30, 1969, 1:40 pm | VAFB | 1969-082D , 1969-082E , 1969-082F , 1969-082G (OPS 7613) | NRL PL 162, 163, 161, 164 | Thorad -Agena |
| Poppy 7 | 14 December 1971, 12:13 | VAFB | 1971-110A , 1971-110C, 1971-110D, 1979-110E (OPS 7898) | NRL PL 171, 172, 173, 174 | Thorad-Agena |
Web links
- NGO press release on the lifting of confidentiality (PDF; 163 kB)
- Poppy factsheet (PDF; 19 kB)
- Gunter's Space Page: Poppy first series , second series , third series (English)
literature
- Robert A. McDonald and Sharon K. Moreno: Grab and Poppy: America's Early ELINT Satellites. NGO, Chantilly 2005. ( online )