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hemisphere—additional facilities were constructed in Australia national borders. Major radio facilities in the UKUSA network and New Zealand."” include: Tangimoana, New Zealand; Bamaga, Cape York, Today, the Morwenstow station directs its ears towards the Australia; and the joint NSA/GCHQ facility at the Indian Ocean Intelsats traversing the atmosphere above the Atlantic and Indian _ atoll, Diego Garcia.'* A separate high-frequency direction-finding oceans and transmitting to Europe, Africa and western parts of (HFDF) network intercepts communications signals for the Asia. The Yakima station, located in the grounds of the Yakima unique purpose of locating the position of ships and aircraft. Firing Station, targets the Far East and Pacific Ocean communica- While these stations are not actually involved in the analysis of tions in the northern hemisphere. Another NSA facility at Sugar messages, they play a critical role in monitoring the movements Grove, West Virginia, covers traffic for the whole of North and _ of mobile military targets. South America. A DSD station at Geraldton, WA, Australia, and The Canadian CSE figures prominently in the UKUSA HFDF the GCSB facility at Waihopai, New Zealand, cover Asia, the network, code-named CLASSIC BULLSEYE, hosting a major South Pacific countries and the Pacific Ocean. An additional sta- portion of the Atlantic and Pacific stations that monitored Soviet tion on Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean between Brazil ship and submarine movements during the Cold War. Stations and Angola is suspected of covering from Kingston and Leitrim in the Atlantic Intelsat's southern hemi- Ontario, to Gander, Newfoundland, sphere communications."! on the Atlantic side, from Alert in the Non-Intelsat satellites are moni- Another major support for the Northwest Territories (located at the tored from these same stations, as northernmost tip of Canada on the well as from bases in: Menwith Hill, ECHELON system is the US spy Arctic Ocean, and able to listen to the England; Shoal Bay, near Darwin, satellite network and its Russian submarine : bases at Australia; Leitrim, Canada; Bad Petropavlovsk and Vladivostok) and Aibling, Germany; and Misawa, | Corresponding reception bases finally toM set, British Columbia, Japan. These satellites typically carr in the Pacific, monitor shipping and Russian and regional communica, scattered about the UKUSA flight lanes under the direction of the tions.’ It is known that the Shoal empire. NSA." The CSE also maintains a Bay facility targets a series of Indonesian satellites, and that the Leitrim station intercepts communi- cations from Latin American satel- small contingent at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, which probably monitors Latin American communications targets. lites, including the Mexican telephone company's Morelos Another major support for the ECHELON system is the US spy satellite." satellite network and its corresponding reception bases scattered Several dozen other radio listening posts operated by the about the UKUSA empire. These space-based electronic commu- UKUSA allies dot the globe as well, located at military bases on nications "vacuum cleaners" pick up radio, microwave and cell- foreign soil and in remote locations. These stations played a criti- phone traffic on the ground. They were launched by the NSA in cal role in the time prior to the development of satellite communi- cooperation with its sister spy agencies, the National cations because much of the world's communications traffic was Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and the Central Intelligence transmitted on radio-frequency bands. Agency (CIA). The Ferret series of satellites in the 1960s, the Particularly in the high-frequency (HF) range, radio communi- Canyon, Rhyolite and Aquacade satellites in the 1970s, and the cations continue to serve an important purpose, despite the wide- Chalet, Vortex, Magnum, Orion and Jumpseat series of satellites spread use of satellite technology, because their signals can be in the 1980s have given way to the new and improved Mercury, transmitted to military ships and aircraft across the globe. Shorter | Mentor and Trumpet satellites during the 1990s (see table 1). range, very high frequencies (VHF) and ultra high frequencies These surveillance satellites act as giant scoops, picking up (UHF) are also used for tactical military communications within electronic communications, cellphone conversations and various Another major support for the ECHELON system is the US spy satellite network and its corresponding reception bases scattered about the UKUSA empire. Table I. US Spy Satellites in Current Use Satellite No. Orbit Manufacturer Purpose Advanced KH-11 3 200 miles Lockheed Martin 5-inch-resolution spy photographs LaCrosse Radar Imaging 2 200-400 miles Lockheed Martin 3-10-foot-resolution spy photographs Orion/Vortex 3 22,300 miles TRW. Telecom surveillance Trumpet 2 200-22,300 miles Boeing Surveillance of cellular phones Parsae 3 600 miles TRW Ocean surveillance Satellite Data Systems 2 200-22,300 miles Hughes Data relay Defence Support Program 4+ 22,300 miles TRW/Aerojet Missile early warning Defence Meteorological 2 500 miles Lockheed Martin Meteorology, Support Program nuclear blast detection (Source: MSNBC’) 200 miles Lockheed Martin 200-400 miles Lockheed Martin 22,300 miles TRW Telecom surveillance 200-22,300 miles Boeing 600 miles TRW Ocean surveillance 200-22,300 miles inlehnes Data relay 22,300 miles TRW/Aerojet Missile early warning 4+ 500 miles Lockheed Martin 22 - NEXUS 5-inch-resolution spy photographs Surveillance of cellular phones Meteorology, nuclear blast detection AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 1999