Zircon (satellite): Difference between revisions

During the [[Cold War]], Britain's [[GCHQ]] was heavily reliant on America's [[National Security Agency]] (NSA) for communications interception from space. Concern heightened at the time of the Falklands War. GCHQ requested access to American Signals Intelligence satellites to assist in monitoring Argentine Communications, but reportedly struggled with the National Security Agency to gain appropriate tasking time, despite the special relationship between the two countries. The United States satellites were engaged in monitoring SIGINT traffic elsewhere in South America related to El Salvador.<ref>See Mark Urban (1997). [http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/alpha/zircon.htm UK Eyes Alpha: The Inside Story of British Intelligence (Chapter 5)]. Faber and Faber.</ref> GCHQ therefore decided to produce a UK-designed-and-built signals intelligence satellite, to be called Zircon, a code-name derived from [[Zircon|zirconium silicate]], a diamond substitute. Its function was to intercept radio and other signals from the [[USSR]], [[Europe]] and other areas. The satellite was to be launched on a [[NASA]] [[Space Shuttle]] under the guise of [[Skynet_(satellite)|Skynet IV]]. Launch on the Shuttle would have entitled a British National to fly as a [[Mission Specialist]] and a group of military pilots were presented to the press as candidates for 'Britain's first man in space'.