Declassifying JUMPSEAT: an American pioneer in space

The director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) recently declassified the existence of JUMPSEAT: the United States’ first-generation, highly elliptical orbit (HEO) signals-collection satellite. Launched from 1971 to 1987 under mission numbers 7701 to 7708, JUMPSEAT was the product of the United States Air Force’s (USAF) program at the NRO. Developed under a program called “Project EARPOP,” JUMPSEAT offered the U.S. a way of collecting intelligence during unprecedented geopolitical change and Cold War tensions that lasted until the early 1990s. More

(Source: NRO.gov - Jan 30)