HISTORY OF THE FOREIGN MISSILE AND SPACE ANALYSIS CENTER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85B00803R000200060003-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 16, 2003
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: August 31, 1966
• Content Type: REPORT

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31 August 1966
HISTORY OF THE FOREIGN MISSILE
To provide a history of the Foreign Missile and Space
Analysis Center a certain framework of events which began
almost 10 years ago must be reconstructed. The missile and
space age for the Intelligence Community began in 1957 when
the USSR fired its first full range ICBM and placed Sputniks I
and II into orbit around the earth. For the next few years,
Soviet missile and space activity was of great interest to the
major intelligence consumers in government and it was analyzed
and reported on in great detail by various segments of the
community. By 1960, however, it became apparent that Soviet
efforts in this field were expanding in both complexity and in
the number of operations. As a result, the first major external
research contract calling for technical assistance in missile
and sace analysis was let by the Office of Scientific Intelligence
to n 1960.
The next several years continued to witness an expand-
ing Soviet effort in missilery; in space the first full orbital
flight was accomplished by Yuriy Gagarin in April 1961. During
this period the great majority of the actual technical analysis
was performed by external contractors
One segment of the Intelligence Community,
however, strongly urged that technical analytical competence
within the government be increased, not to replace the con-
tractual relations with the aerospace industries but to develop
the ability to understand, assess, build on and present their
work.
The Cuban missile crisis in 1962 served to endorse
the views of this faction. When the first aerial photographs
of the deployed missiles in Cuba were obtained, it was possible
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to identify these weapons with a fair degree of confidence as
the SS-4 MRBM. It was also possible to inform the highest
policy levels of the government exactly what this weapon could
be expected to do in terms of its yield, accuracy, refire
capability, and other technical characteristics if it were fired
against the U.S.
Another situation in Washington also had a bearing
on the formation of the Foreign Missile and Space Analysis
Center. The DCI had become increasingly uncomfortable about
community assessments of Soviet weapon systems -- notably
those involving the SS-8 ICBM. As Chairman of the United
States Intelligence Board, he was disturbed to see that different
agencies could take the same technical information and from
that information derive conclusions that were poles apart.
This led him to conclude that he needed an organization within
CIA with the technical expertise to provide him assessments
of foreign missile and space systems. He recognized that
such an organization could also evaluate for him the effective-
ness of various technical collection systems targeted against
foreign missile and space activity. These systems consumed
a sizeable position of the annual national intelligence budget
and it was his responsibility, as DCI, to identify which systems
were not performing in an effective manner.
As a result of these many inter-related factors, the
Foreign Missile and Space Analysis Center was formally estab-
lished 7 November 1963 by a CIA Headquarters Notice. This
notice identified FMSAC as an office of the DD/S&T and it also
outlined its substantive responsibilities which included reference
to the evaluation of collection activities. Mr. Carl E. Duckett
was named as the Director of FMSAC. In January 1964 FMSAC
moved into its own space in the "A" corridor on the first floor
of the Headquarters Building. from
the Office of Current Intelligence, joined FMSAC as Executive
Officer at this time. The organization then consisted of the
Office of the Director and the Activities Interpretation Division
with a total compliment of The Activities Inter-
pretation Division, which was headed by
was staffed by personnel from the former Test Range Branch of
the Office of Scientific Intelligence. In February 1964,
Mr. David S. Brandwein, formerly of the Space Technology
Laboratories in California, joined FMSAC as Deputy Director.
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On 1 March 1964 construction of the FMSAC Control
Center was completed and a 24-hour watch office was estab-
lished which has been maintained to the present time. In
March personnel on duty in the Control Center began publication
of a Daily Missile and Space Summary for CIA internal use which
described significant foreign missile and space activity on a
current basis. In November 1964 certain articles from this
publication were selected for inclusion in a :dail ? wire version
which was circulated to various elements
Both of these publications
still exist. As of 31 August 1966, 446 issues of the external
Missile and Space Summary have been disseminated.
The initial substantive responsibilities that were
assigned FMSAC involved only the analysis of significant
missile and space firing events. FMSAC did not have the
responsibility for analyzing the characteristics of weapon or
space systems. This responsibility rested with the Ballistic
Missile and Space Division of the Office of Scientific Intelligence.
By early 1964, the organizational structure required to fulfill its
analytical responsibilities had been constructed by FMSAC.
In addition to the office of the Director and the Activities
Interpretation Division which already existed, a Trajectory
Analysis Division was formed with
who had recently joined CIA from the Department of the Army,
named as acting chief. A Signal Analysis Division was also
created in the same time period
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division. A Reentry Physics Division was also created but its
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sole incumbent was ,
I who was serving with FMSAC as
an industrial service contract employee. A technical staff was
also organized to advise the Director/FMSAC in such diverse
matters as computer application and collection effectiveness.
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Advisory Board to the DCI.
to that unit. He had come to FMSAC from the Office of the
Deputy Director for Science and Technology. I also
had additional duties as Executive Secretary of the Scientific
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was named ac ing cniet ot that
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In April 1964, FMSAC commenced the publication of a
series of Event Reports. These reports contain a detailed techni-
cal analysis of significant Soviet missile and space operations
based on all of the information collected by this government on
each particular event. Through 31 August 1966, 138 of these
reports have been disseminated
Personnel recruiting during 1964 concentrated on attempt-
ing to obtain professional personnel with scientific and engineering
backgrounds with various levels of experience and education. By
the end of 1964 FMSAC had increased its on-board strength
On 25 October 1965 the missions, functions, and
analytical responsibilities of the Ballistic Missile and Space
Division of the Office of Scientific Intelligence and the Foreign
Missile and Space Analysis Center were combined
The new organization retained the name an
Messrs. Duckett and Brandwein remained as Director and Deputy
Director, respectively.
The original FMSAC had, by the time of this organizational
change, achieved a personnel strength of
personnel were transferred from OSI to FNfSA-C-7i'th this merger.
Certain elements of the organizational structure of the
original FMSAC organization, including the Activities Interpretation
Division, the Trajectory Analysis Division, and the Signal
Analysis Division were retained. In order to fulfill the new
responsibilities of FMSAC three other organizational units were
created. A Project Staff,
replacing the former Technical a , was established as a unit
directly responsible to the Director and Deputy Director of FMSAC.
This staff was given the responsibility for systems analysis of
all foreign missile and space systems except defensive weapons,
the preparation of various special assessments, and submissions
to National Intelligence Estimates. It was organized into groups
responsible for such problems as ICBM and IRBM systems, space
systems, tactical, naval, and the various non-Soviet missile
and space efforts.
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The second new unit established within the new organi-
zation was the Applied Physics Division. This division incor-
porated the responsibilities of the old Reentry Physics Division,
but its interests were ex anded to cover a wider variety of subjects
in the field of physics. -who ha4 -recently
jainesl-FMSACfrom was named to head this
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An Executive Staff, headed by 25X1
as also formed. This syaff was given the responsibility or
1 administrative functi9ns of the office including the editorial
fort. The FMSAC re resentative at the Defense Special Missile
nd Astronautics Cenfer at Fort Meade and the Secretaat of the
guided Missile and Astronautics Intelligence Comma(tee were also
placed under the Executive Staff for administratye..purposes .
Following this merger, arrangements were made with
the Office of Scientific Intelligence to continue producing certain
types of reports through the Production Staff of that Office, thereby
negating the need for duplicative production establishments. A
technical editor from OSI was assigned to FMSAC in a liaison
capacity. Since late 1965, a total of 20 reports have been published
through this mechanism.
On 16 May 1966, Mr. Carl E. Duckett was appointed
Assistant Deputy Director for Science and Technology and
Mr. David S. Brandwein was named to succeed him as Director,
Foreign Missile and Space Analysis Center. As of this writing,
no Deputy Director of FMSAC has been appointed.
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