USA-4

The QUASAR 5 satellite launched from what was then called the Air Force Western Test Range (AFWTR),^[2] now SLC-4W at Vandenberg SFB, for a launch cost of $25.8 million.^[3] The satellite was inserted into a highly elliptical 287 × 38,156 km orbit at an inclination of 63.3° (near-Molniya orbit). The apogee was set in the northern hemisphere.

The satellite was equipped with a Satellite Data System (SDS) payload developed by the US Air Force Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO) and acted as a communication relay for transmitting real-time data from US reconnaissance satellites such as KH-9 Hexagon.^[4] It was also used for communications to US Air Force aircraft on polar routes. In 1984, the Permanent Representative of the US to the United Nations stated in a report that the spacecraft was engaged with "practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communications".^[5]

• List of USA satellites