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.


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"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."


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"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.