An amateur astronomer believes he has captured the first image from a top-secret US spacecraft.
Felix Schöfbänker of Austria claims to have photographed a classified fleet of spy satellites operated by a shadowy Defense Department agency to hunt international terrorists, drug traffickers and crime bosses for the U.S. government.
The FIA (Future Imagery Architecture) radars, also called Topaz, are five Boeing-built radars that are powerful enough to provide high-definition images of ground targets 24 hours a day.
Using a telescope built to track and photograph satellites, Schöfbänker observed “things that were previously unknown or only speculated upon,” including their size, shape and position in the sky.
The space observer shared what could be the only images of the secret US spy satellites. The image shows a Future Imaging Architecture (FIA-Radars) satellite, nicknamed Topaz
The FIA (Future Imagery Architecture) radars, also called Topaz, are five Boeing-built aircraft that are powerful enough to provide high-definition images of ground targets 24 hours a day (a mockup is shown).
The United States launched its first spy satellite, CORONA, in 1960 to photograph its adversaries in China and the Soviet Union, focusing on how quickly the latter was producing long-range bombers and ballistic missiles and where they were being deployed.
Satellite images captured all Soviet medium-range, intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missile launch complexes.
“Without CORONA, the United States might well have been wrongly pressured into World War III,” the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said in a statement.
The United States leads the world with more than 200 in space, and Schöfbänker has observed several in recent months.
The sky watcher recently shared his discoveries with Space.comdetailing the mechanics and technologies he observed.
Its telescope, a Dobsonian, detected several FIA radars equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which allows the United States to send radar signals through clouds, foliage and shallow soil.
Images are taken by sending microwave pulses to the Earth’s surface and measuring the reflected signals.
Topaz is a series of five satellites developed by Boeing, the first of which was launched in 2010 and the last in 2018.
The US government has been tight-lipped about its capabilities, sharing details only that Topaz 1 had a nuclear power system, an attitude control system and a cylindrical aluminum monocoque structure.
Although it is unclear what pattern Schöfbänker observed, he was able to make out other details.
“From my images, I conclude that these satellites have a parabolic array antenna approximately 12 meters (39 feet) in diameter and two solar panels with a span of approximately 10 meters (33 feet),” he told Space.com.
Topaz, developed by Boeing, includes a series of five satellites used to gather information on the ground. Felix Schöfbänker from Austria saw all five orbiting in space
Satellites capture by sending microwave pulses to the Earth’s surface and measuring the reflected signals.
‘There is also another bright object between the solar panels that I interpret as an uplink and downlink antenna, although it could also be something else.’
Schöfbänker went on to explain that the satellite’s antenna moved six times to the left and 22 times to the right during his observations.
He also had his sights set on some KH-11 satellites, which convert light into electronic signals.
Another satellite, KH-11, was also detected, which was the first to provide real-time information to officials.
Donald Trump shared a declassified image of an Iranian rocket launch site captured by a KH-11 that launched in 2011 while he was president in 2019
The KH-11, developed by Lockheed Martin, is believed to use a seven-foot primary mirror that allows the satellite to identify objects as small as three inches in diameter.
The first KH-11 was launched in December 1976, allowing for the first real-time intelligence gathering, which previously took days or even weeks to obtain photographs.
The need for real-time observations was frequently mentioned by officials during key events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Six-Day War, and the invasion of Czechoslovakia.
In 2019, Donald Trump, president at the time, shared a declassified image of an Iranian rocket launch site captured by a KH-11 that launched in 2011.
There are four of these satellites in orbit.
“The oldest one currently there was launched in 2005. It is a third-generation KH-11 with the designation USA 186. The next two are called USA 224 and USA 245, and these are the fourth generation from 2011 and 2013,” Schöfbänker explained.
‘The most recent is a fifth-generation spacecraft from the year 2021 and is called USA 314.’
Their observations suggested that they were about 36 feet long and that the mirrors varied in size depending on the generation.
However, there is another satellite of unknown type. Schöfbänker suggested it was a USA 290, something officials have kept secret.
The space observer determined that there were three generations of KH-11 orbiting above, and that the mirror of the fourth measured nearly 10 feet in diameter.
On July 20, Schöfbänker posted a slow-motion image of a satellite on his website, which may be one of the most secret in the US arsenal.
Schöfbänker suggested that it was either a USA 290 or another KH-11, but noted that the images did not match the latter and that the two were launched into different orbits.
Based on observations, he determined that the spacecraft had a panel length of 16 feet and an overall size of about 31 feet.
USA 290 also captures real-time intelligence, but that’s about all that’s known about America’s secret spy satellite.
