From: Allen Thomson (thomsona@flash.net) Subject: LES-8/9 : semistealthy? Newsgroups: sci.space.history Date: 2000/10/12 I recently came across the following, which is found on p.30 of "Semi Annual History of the Directorate of Space, Period of 1 January 1971 - 30 June 1971" The paragraph, originally classified SECRET, was declassified on 10 March 1996. According to a correspondent who, to my amazement, knows about such stuff, the DoS was a component of the office of the USAF Deputy Chief of Staff for Development (also known as DCS/D and later DSC/R&D), who was the Air Staff officer in charge of advanced development in the Pentagon. ------------ "The MIT Lincoln Laboratory is involved in a program to demonstrate the technology necessary to deploy a highly survivable satellite communication system for command and control of the SIOP forces. The effort is based upon the use of two satellites (LES-8 and LES-9) carefully designed (both electronically and physically) so that detection of the satellite presence is extremely difficult. The satellites would use satellite-to-satellite communications links and would permit two way communications between aircraft and surface forces on a global basis. The anticipated launch of LES-8/9 is in September 1974." ------------ "So that detection of the satellite presence is extremely difficult" is consistent with a rumor I'd heard earlier, that one of the two LESes was equipped with a plane mirror intended to send the line of sight of a terrestrial observer out into starry space. It also represents the fifth or sixth confirmed or reasonably believable report of low-observable satellite studies, technology development efforts or actual programs stretching from the early 1960's to ca. 1990.