The top secret URSALA, RAQUEL, and FARRAH satellites
This article details the history of the U.S. Air Force's 'hitchhiker' satellite program, which operated for over 40 years to gather electronic intelligence. It explains how these small, standardized satellites transitioned from experimental tools to essential assets for tactical military operations.
Why it matters
The declassification of these programs provides new insight into the evolution of Cold War-era space-based surveillance and military intelligence gathering.
In 1963, the Air Force launched the first “hitchhiker” off the side of a larger satellite. This began a secretive program that lasted more than 40 years under a variety of names and designations. The satellites, about the size of a large suitcase, were festooned with antennas and spun rapidly as they orbited the Earth, sweeping their antennas over the ground and gathering radar and other signals, so-called electronic intelligence, or ELINT. They usually recorded the signals for later transmission to the ground, but occasionally directly re-transmitted them to a ground station.
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