Quasar 20, 21 (SDS-4 1, 2) (original) (raw)

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Satellite Data System (SDS) spacecraft are communication relay satellites for transmitting real-time data from US reconnaissance satellites (e.g. KH-11, Onyx, Topaz). They are also used for communications to USAF aircraft and connect the various ground stations of the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN). The spacecraft relay the downlinked data to a ground station at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

These satellites are the fourth generation of the system, the SDS-4, which appears to use only the geostationary orbit and no longer the highly elliptical Molniya orbits of the earlier generations.

The code-name QUASAR has been confirmed by leaked budgets in 2013 to be associated with these satellites.

Note: The numbering is not sure, as it is not confirmed, how many first generation Quasar were launched.

Note: The NROL designations refer to the launch, not to the payload.

Further SDS missions:

• Quasar 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (SDS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
• Quasar 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (SDS-2 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• Quasar 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 (SDS-3 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
• Quasar 20, 21 (SDS-4 1, 2)

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