AMERICA'S SPACE SENTINELS: DSP Satellites and National Security, by (AFIO member) Jeffrey Richelson, University Press of Kansas, 1999, ISBN 0-7006-0942-3.

The Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites were a series of infrared sensors orbiting 22,000 miles above the earth, and provided Cold War warning of missile firings - and still play a role in monitoring missile programs of China,. India etc. In this book Richelson, who has written a series of insightful books on US space reconnaissance and on the US intelligence system, provides a first comprehensive history of the DSP program from the 1950's until the present. Spanning the range from early systems to future missions (transitioning from DSP to SBIRS - Space Based Infra Red system), he covers both systems and context, including false alarms, foreign partnerships, and uses in conflict, such as Desert Storm, in easy-reading prose. Highly recommended. (RoyJ)

Reviewed in AFIO Weekly Intelligence Notes #19-99, 14 May 1999

AFIO Central Office
6723 Whittier Avenue
Suite 303A
McLean, Virginia 22101-4582
Telephone: 703 790 0320
Facsimile: 703 991 1278
Email: afio@afio.com
© 2006 AFIO
Copyright and Privacy Notice