Satellite Data System

The primary purpose of the SDS satellites is to relay imagery from low-flying KH-11 Reconnaissance Satellites to ground stations in the United States.

Each SDS-1 satellite had 12 channels available for Ultra-high Frequency communication. They were Cylindrical in shape, roughly 25 feet long. 980 Watt s of electrical power were available from Solar Panel s and Batteries . The SDS-1 had a mass of 1385 Pound s (630 Kilogram s) and was launched on Titan-3B rockets.

The SDS-2 is significantly more massive at 5150 pounds (2335 kg), with three separate communication dishes, including one for a K Band downlink. Two dishes are 15 Feet (4.5 Meter s) in diameter, while the third is 6.6 feet (2 meters) in diameter. The solar arrays generate 1238 watts of power. It is believed that the Space Shuttle has been used to launch one or two satellites, possibly one on STS-28 , and another on STS-53 . Other launches have used the Titan-4 rocket.

REFERENCES

Vick, Berman, Lindborg, Fellow (March 19, 1997). SDS-1 Military Communications Satellite . ''Federation of American Scientists''. Accessed April 24, 2004.

Vick, Berman, Lindborg, Fellow, Pike, Aftergood (March 19, 1997). SDS-2 Military Communications Satellite . ''Federation of American Scientists''. Accessed April 24, 2004.

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Satellite Data System