AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1

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Hexagon system was the last satellite employing film reentry vehicles.167 Hexagon was
declassified in 2011.168
Space Transportation System/Space Shuttle (1972 - 2011)
The Space Shuttle program was NASA’s fourth human spaceflight program and was
comprised of the first reusable spacecraft to carry humans into Earth’s orbit.169 The space shuttle
fleet—Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour—flew 135 missions, serviced
the Hubble space telescope, and helped construct the International Space Station.170 The first
shuttle launch, Columbia, was conducted on April 12, 1981.171
HAVE Blue/F-117A Nighthawk/TACIT Blue (1975)
The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) oversaw the development of
HAVE Blue in the mid-1970s, which was the first practical, combat-stealth aircraft. HAVE Blue
completed its first test flight in 1977, and the success of this program led the USAF to later
produce the F-117A Nighthawk, as well as the TACIT Blue aircraft. The HAVE Blue, F-117A
Nighthawk, and TACIT Blue programs laid the foundations for the later development of the B-2
stealth bomber.172
Advanced Technology Bomber/B-2 Spirit (1980)
The B-2 is a USAF low-observable stealth bomber capable of delivering conventional
and nuclear payloads. It uses a combination of reduced infrared, acoustic, and electromagnetic
signatures. It was first publicly displayed on November 22, 1988 in Palmdale, California and
conducted its first flight on July 17, 1989. The first aircraft was delivered on December 17,
1993.173
Strategic Defense Initiative (March 1983)
At the initiative of President Ronald Reagan, the Strategic Defense Initiative
Organization was established in 1984 to explore a multi-layered strategic defense against
ballistic missiles; this program involved research into space-based and ground-based systems
including laser and interceptor missiles. This intensive research effort involved national
laboratories and academia. Some of the technologies researched were determined to be years
from development, and funding was reduced. The program ended in 1993 and was replaced by
the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization.174
Advent of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles 1980s-Present
The research and development, flight testing, evaluation, deployment, and the operation
of drones—Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Remotely
Piloted Aircraft (RPA), and Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS)—almost certainly
resulted in reported sightings of UAP. Some of these systems had a “saucer” or triangle-shaped
appearance and were capable of loitering aloft.
The USG acquired and operated a number of systems for a range of missions including
intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike, among others. The below systems