Aquacade / Rhyolite

Country of origin	United States
Operator	National Reconnaissance Office Central Intelligence Agency National Security Agency
Applications	Espionage
Specifications
Launch mass	700 kilograms (1,500 lb)
Regime	Geostationary
Production
Built	4
Launched	4
Maiden launch	19 June 1970
Last launch	7 April 1978

Aquacade, previously designatedRhyolite, was a class ofSIGINTspy satellites operated by theNational Reconnaissance Office for the United StatesCentral Intelligence Agency. TheNational Security Agency (NSA) was also reportedly involved.^[1] The program, also known bySIGAD AFP-720 and SIGAD AFP-472, respectively,^[2] is still classified. During the same period, theCanyon SIGINT satellites were in use with an apparently somewhat different set of capabilities.

The name of the program, originally "Rhyolite", was changed to "Aquacade" in 1975 following the disclosure of the codeword "Rhyolite" in the trial ofChristopher Boyce andAndrew Lee.

National Reconnaissance Office co-founderFrank W. Lehan was involved in the program.

The Rhyolite/Aquacade satellites, made byTRW, are rumored to have an umbrella-like reflecting dish 20 meters in diameter. They were succeeded by theMagnum/Orion andMentor series of satellites.

During the Cold War, the US intelligence agencies, such as theNational Security Agency (NSA), were reportedly able to intercept Soviet microwave traffic using satellites such as Rhyolite/Aquacade.^[1] Much of the beam of a microwave link passes the receiving antenna and radiates toward the horizon, into space. By positioning a geosynchronous satellite in the path of the beam, the microwave beam can be received.

The satellites had a mass of approximately 700 kg and operated in near-geosynchronous orbits over theMiddle East. Signals were relayed to a remote NSAEarth station in Australia,Pine Gap, out of range of Soviet detection. From there, they would be encrypted and sent via another satellite to the NSA's headquarters atFort Meade for analysis.^[3]

It is believed that at least four Rhyolite/Aquacade satellites were launched fromCape Canaveral Air Force StationLC-13 between June 1970 and April 1978 onAtlas-Agena D launch vehicles, all of which sported distinctive elongated payload shrouds (presumably to house the satellite's large parabolic antenna). Secrecy around the program was tight and the initial Rhyolite mission in 1970 was the first space launch at Cape Canaveral in seven years that reporters were not invited to cover. These were among the final Atlas-Agena launches as well as the last use of LC-13 at CCAS.

TheCanyon Satellite Program was a contemporaneous, near-geosynchronous program with closer ties to theUnited States Air Force.

• Richelson, Jeffrey T. ed.U.S. Military Uses of Space, 1945-1991 Vol 1, Guide. National Security Archive. 1991.
• SIGINT overview fromFederation of American Scientists

• 1973 in spaceflight
• National Reconnaissance Office satellites
• Signals intelligence satellites
• Cold War
• Military equipment introduced in the 1970s

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata