Jumpseat missions were launched between 1971 and 1987 under mission numbers 7701 to 7708. The satellites were developed by the US Air Force as part of an NRO program known as Project Earpop and were designed to collect signals intelligence during a period marked by Cold War rivalry and rapid geopolitical change.
Dr James Outzen, director of the NRO’s Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance, said the program played a foundational role in space-based intelligence collection.
“The historical significance of Jumpseat cannot be understated,” Outzen said. “Its orbit provided the United States with a new vantage point for collecting unique and critical signals intelligence from space.”
In the years following the Second World War, fears of expanding communism and the spread of nuclear weapons dominated strategic thinking in Washington.
US intelligence agencies suspected adversaries were rapidly expanding their military capabilities, including long-range missile systems and nuclear arsenals.
The Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957 reinforced concerns that space itself could become a new domain of strategic competition.
At the time, the newly established NRO was already operating electronic surveillance satellites in low-Earth orbit, including the GRAB and POPPY programs.
However, officials judged that a satellite operating in a highly elliptical or Molniya orbit could provide new intelligence advantages, particularly over high northern latitudes.
Working under the NRO’s “Program A”, the US Air Force moved quickly to develop the Jumpseat system. The satellites were designed to monitor the development of foreign offensive and defensive weapons, collecting electronic emissions, communications intelligence and instrumentation signals from a more distant orbital position.
The first Jumpseat satellite was launched in 1971 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, now known as Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Once operational, the satellites transmitted their collected data to ground stations in the United States, where it was analysed and distributed to agencies including the Department of Defense and the National Security Agency.
Jumpseat satellites remained in service for decades, later operating in a transponder mode before being progressively retired. The final satellites were taken out of service in 2006, following coordination between the NRO and senior national security decision makers.
The declassification of Jumpseat formally recognises the program’s long contribution to US intelligence capabilities, as well as its role as the forerunner of later highly elliptical orbit satellite systems.