U.S. OUTSTRIPPED BY SOVIETS IN SPACE LAUNCHES FOR 1985

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000807470022-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 13, 2012
• Sequence Number: 22
• Publication Date: December 31, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

J Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/13: CIA-RDP96-00965R000807470022-5
WASHINGTON POST
31 December 1985
U.S. Outstripped. by Soviets
In Space Launches for 1985
'Moscow Concentrates on Short-Lived Reconnaissance Satellites
By George C. Wilson
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Soviet Union outgunned the
United States, 96 to 17, in space
launches in 1985, largely because
Moscow's spy satellites burn out
within weeks while the U.S. variety
often remain in orbit for years,
space specialists said yesterday.
The Soviets' interest in keeping
track of events on Earth was re-
flected in the 33 photo reconnais-
sance satellites launched by Mos-
cow, amounting to more than one-
third of the total Soviet launches
from Jan. 1 through Dec. 26.
Nine of the U.S. launches this
year involved the space shuttle, in-
cluding two that placed secret mil-
itary satellites into orbit. U.S. spy
satellites no longer eject packets of
Silm that must be snatched out of
the air by planes; instead, they send
electronic signals to Earth stations,
which translate the impulses into
photo images of Soviet shipyards,
space centers and'other areas of
interest.
Other nations, particularly Brit-
ain and Israel, have sought U.S.
satellite information, according to
U.S. officials. Some allies have even
sought their own Earth stations for
direct access to the satellite signals.
How much should be shared is a
matter of contention within the gov-
ernment.
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.),
vice chairman of the Senate Intel-
ligence Committee, said he opposes
sharing reconnaissance photos with
any foreign nation for fear it would
pinpoint U.S. interests at a given
moment. .
If other nations had noticed a
sudden U.S. interest in the back
country of Iran in 1980, Leahy said,
they could have concluded that
some kind of military mission was
being planned there. Satellite pho-
tos were used for the aborted res-
cue mission of American hostages
in Tehran in April 1980.
The Soviets through espionage
have learned an immense amount
about U.S. spy satellite capabilities
and have taken steps to mask some
of their military activities from the
eyes in the sky, according to intel-
ligence officials. Space specialists
seem to agree that the United
States is still well ahead of the So-
viets in. the art of spying from
space, although Moscow's recon-
naissance satellites are steadily im-
proving.
The Soviets in 1985 continued to
stress the ability. to locate U.S.
ships on the open oceans with sat-
ellites, according to worried Navy
officials. One type of Soviet ocean
surveillance satellite seeks aircraft
carriers and other big ships with
radar beams which can penetrate
clouds. The radar provides location
of ships below the satellite, forcing
the Navy to resort to new methods
to foil radar detection.
Nicholas L. Johnson, advisory
scientist to Teledyne Brown Engi-
neering of Colorado Springs, keeps
a widely used log of U.S. and Soviet
space launches. He said yesterday
that the Soviets launched five ocean
surveillance satellites in 1985, two
carrying radar and three equipped
with electronic eavesdropping gear.
Johnson said the 96 Soviet
launches this year also included 19
communication satellites, two of a
variety never seen before. Seven
How much space
information should
be shared with
allies is a matter of
contention.
other satellites are designed to
warn Moscow of a nuclear attack.
There was also one mystery launch
on June 21 when only fragments of
some kind of space vehicle were
detected by U.S. sensors.
The 96-to-17 ratio of Soviet to
U.S. launches this year continued a
five-year trend, according to John-
son. The difference in 1984 was 97
to 22; in 1983, 98 to 22; in 1982,
101 to 18; in 1981, 98 to 18; in
1980, 89 to 13.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/13: CIA-RDP90-00965R000807470022-5