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Naval Ocean Surveillance System
Series of signals intelligence satellites of the U.S. Navy

The Naval Ocean Surveillance System (NOSS) is a series of signals-intelligence satellites that have conducted electronic signals intelligence for the U.S. Navy since the early 1970s. The first series of satellites were codenamed "White Cloud" or "PARCAE", while second- and third-generation satellites have used the codenames "Ranger" and "Intruder".

The system is operated by the United States Navy, and its main purpose was tactical geolocation of Soviet Navy assets during the Cold War. NOSS involves satellite clusters operating in low Earth orbit to detect radar and other electronic transmissions from ships at sea and locate them using the time difference of arrival technique.

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Satellites

NameIDLaunch dateLaunch vehicleLaunch siteNROL designationPerigeeApogeeInclinationRemarks

First generation (Parcae)

OPS 6431 SSU-11976-038C30 April 1976Atlas E/F-MSDVAFB, SLC-3WN/A1,092 km1,128 km63.5°Dispenser designated OPS 6431 and catalogued as 1976-038A.
OPS 6431 SSU-21976-038D
OPS 6431 SSU-31976-038J
OPS 8781 SSU-11977-112D8 December 1977Atlas E/F-MSDVAFB, SLC-3W1,054 km1,169 km63.4°Dispenser designated OPS 8781 and catalogued as 1977-112A.
OPS 8781 SSU-21977-112E
OPS 8781 SSU-31977-112F
OPS 7245 SSU-11980-019C3 March 1980Atlas E/F-MSDVAFB, SLC-3W1,035 km1,150 km63.0°Dispenser designated OPS 7245 and catalogued as 1980-019A.
OPS 7245 SSU-21980-019D
OPS 7245 SSU-31980-019G
OPS 3255 SSU-1N/A9 December 1980Atlas E/F-MSDVAFB, SLC-3WFailed to orbitDispenser designated OPS 3255, loss of control after engine failure, followed by explosion.
OPS 3255 SSU-2N/A
OPS 3255 SSU-3N/A
OPS 0252 SSU-11983-008E9 February 1983Atlas H-MSDVAFB, SLC-3E1,063 km1,186 km63.40°Dispenser designated OPS 0252 and catalogued as 1983-008A.
OPS 0252 SSU-21983-008F
OPS 0252 SSU-31983-008H
OPS 6432 SSU-11983-056C9 June 1983Atlas H-MSDVAFB, SLC-3E851 km1,363 km63.4°Dispenser designated OPS 6432 and catalogued as 1983-056A.
OPS 6432 SSU-21983-056D
OPS 6432 SSU-31983-056G
OPS 8737 SSU-11984-012C5 February 1984Atlas H-MSDVAFB, SLC-3E1,052 km1,172 km63.4°Dispenser designated OPS 8737 and catalogued as 1984-012A.
OPS 8737 SSU-21984-012D
OPS 8737 SSU-31984-012F
USA-161986-014E9 February 1986Atlas H-MSDVAFB, SLC-3E1,049 km1,166 km63.0°Dispenser designated USA-15 and catalogued as 1986-014A.
USA-171986-014F
USA-181986-014H
USA-231987-043E15 May 1987Atlas H-MSDVAFB, SLC-3E1,045 km1,179 km62.9°Dispenser designated USA-22 and catalogued as 1987-043A.
USA-241987-043F
USA-261987-043H

Second generation

USA-601990-050E8 June 1990Titan IV(405)ACCAFS, LC-41N/A1,071 km1,146 km63.4°Dispenser designated USA-59 and catalogued as 1990-050A.
USA-611990-050F
USA-621990-050H
USA-741991-076C8 November 1991Titan IV(403)AVAFB, SLC-4E1,052 km1,164 km63.4°Dispenser designated USA-72 and catalogued as 1991-076A.
USA-761991-076D
USA-771991-076E
UnnamedN/A2 August 1993Titan IV(403)AVAFB, SLC-4EFailed to orbitExploded due to crack in solid rocket motor caused by poor repair.
UnnamedN/A
UnnamedN/A
USA-1191996-029A12 May 1996Titan IV(403)AVAFB, SLC-4E1,050 km1,166 km63.4°Dispenser designated USA-122 and catalogued as 1996-029D.
USA-1201996-029B
USA-1211996-029C

Third generation (Intruder)

USA-1602001-040A8 September 2001Atlas IIASVAFB, SLC-3ENROL-131,100 km1,100 km63.0°
Unnamed*2001-040C
USA-1732003-054A2 December 2003Atlas IIASVAFB, SLC-3ENROL-181,013 km1,200 km63.4°
Unnamed*2003-054C
USA-1812005-004A3 February 2005Atlas IIIBCCAFS, SLC-36BNROL-231,011 km1,209 km63.4°
Unnamed*2005-004C
USA-1942007-027A15 June 2007Atlas V 401CCAFS, SLC-41NROL-301,053 km1,163 km63.4°Launched into lower orbit than planned, spacecraft corrected under own power, at expense of operational life.
Unnamed*2007-027C
USA-2292011-014A15 April 2011Atlas V 411VAFB, SLC-3ENROL-341,015 km1,207 km63.46°
Unnamed*2011-014B
USA-2382012-048A13 September 2012Atlas V 401VAFB, SLC-3ENROL-361,056 km1,158 km63.4°
Unnamed*2012-048P
USA-2642015-058A8 October 2015Atlas V 401VAFB, SLC-3ENROL-551,013 km1,201 km63.4°
Unnamed*2015-058R
USA-2742017-011A1 March 2017Atlas V 401VAFB, SLC-3ENROL-791,010 km1,204 km63.4°
Unnamed*2017-011B

Fourth generation (Intruder F/O)

USA-3272022-040A17 April 2022Falcon 9 Block 5VAFB, SLC-4ENROL-8531,100 km1,100 km63.4°Launched.
USA-49824 March 2025Falcon 9 Block 5CCAFS, SLC-40NROL-691,100 km1,100 km63.4°Launched.
* One satellite from each third generation pair is officially catalogued as debris. data from [1], [2]

Cost

The costs of the NOSS satellites (excluding costs for the launch vehicle), which were destroyed in a Titan IV launch failure in 1993, were US$800 million (inflation adjusted US$ 1.7 billion in 2025).4

See also

References

  1. "Display: SSU 1/2 1976-038C". NASA. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1976-038C ↩

  2. "NOSS Double and Triple Satellite Formations". satobs.org. http://www.satobs.org/noss.html ↩

  3. Krebs, Gunter (2 December 2021). "Intruder F/O 1, 2 (NOSS-4 1, 2) ?". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 16 March 2022. https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/noss-4.htm ↩

  4. Weiner, Tim (4 August 1993). "Titan Lost Payload: Spy-Satellite System Worth $800 Million". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/04/us/titan-lost-payload-spy-satellite-system-worth-800-million.html?src=pm ↩