From: Allen Thomson (thomsona@flash.net)
Subject: LES-8/9 : semistealthy? 
Newsgroups: sci.space.history
Date: 2000-10-12 12:40:18 PST 

I recently came across the following, which is found on p.30 of 
"Semi Annual History of the Directorate of Space, Period of 1 
January 1971 - 30 June 1971"  The paragraph, originally classified 
SECRET, was declassified on 10 March 1996.  According to a 
correspondent who, to my amazement, knows about such stuff, 
the DoS was a component of the office of the USAF Deputy Chief 
of Staff for Development (also known as DCS/D and later DSC/R&D),  
who  was the Air Staff officer in charge of advanced development 
in the Pentagon.

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"The MIT Lincoln Laboratory is involved in a program to demonstrate
the technology necessary to deploy a highly survivable satellite 
communication system for command and control of the SIOP forces. 
The effort is based upon the use of two satellites (LES-8 and LES-9) 
carefully designed (both electronically and physically) so that 
detection of the satellite presence is extremely difficult.  The 
satellites would use satellite-to-satellite communications links 
and would permit two way communications between aircraft and surface 
forces on a global basis.  The anticipated launch of LES-8/9 is in 
September 1974."

------------

"So that detection of the satellite presence is extremely difficult" 
is consistent with a rumor I'd heard earlier, that one of the two 
LESes was equipped with a plane mirror intended to send the line 
of sight of a terrestrial observer out into starry space.

It also represents the fifth or sixth confirmed or reasonably 
believable report of low-observable satellite studies, technology 
development efforts or actual programs stretching from the early 
1960's to ca. 1990.