Deep Black: Space Espionage and National Security

by William E. Burrows, William E. Burroughs

Examines how space technology is being used for espionage, discusses the clashes between the Air Force and the CIA for control of the vast system, and details the rivalry between Washington and Moscow

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Space, Military Fiction, War, Espionage, Science

405 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1986, the Soviet Union was still alive and kicking. I read this book 35 years later, in 2021. Is it still relevant? Seems like it. Some good historical perspective on all forms of technological surveillance and reconnaissance. Starts with people going up in balloons and takes you through U2s and SR71s, then all the way to Keyhole satellites. Even gives some speculation about what to expect in the future...like 2000 haha. I actually found some information related to on-orbit servicing and satellite refueling that’s germane to some of my current work. Good perspective on the defense uses of the Space Shuttle, how it was designed for defense missions, how NASA tried to push DOD to exclusively use the shuttle for defense and NRO launches, and why the shuttle ultimately wasn’t up to the task. Lots of good info.

It’s thorough. I know one reviewer was complaining about too much detail, but some of us actually want to know the name of the satellite busses used or the resolution of various assets or the orbital lifetime of these assets. I know I do!

[Mike Barretta · Rating 4 out of 5]

a nice history of the development and growth of overhead reconnaissance in the US. Despite not being an insider and obviously not having access to classified materials, the author describes the types, capabilities, and missions of the major platforms and speculates about the coming generations. Keeping in mind that this was written in the mid-80s when the Russian threat was still real, it's an overall objective and scholarly work.

[Rick]

Excellent background for my novel: Vantage

[Michael Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not entirely sure what to think about this book. At times it reads like a good Tom Clancy techno-thriller - yet it's definitly non-fiction. Other sections are repetitive and bland and exactly what you'd think bad non-fiction should read like. At the same time you sometimes feel that Burrows is sharing "secrets" that he's not supposed to be sharing. Most of what he says is probably declassified today, but back when this was first published (late 80s) this must have created quite some waves. For today's (2024) reader most of this isn't shocking... but then again we've been spoiled by Hollywood.

All in all this is an excellent book to start understanding the cold war and how space reconnaissance played a major role in this conflict. I for starters didn't know that the USA would and could launch a satellite to get 5 or 10 pictures and then decommission that same satellite 10 days later...

If you're an author and writing spy-thrillers this possibly is very good reference work. The glossary at the back with all the acronyms is worth more than what you're paying for a copy when visiting the flea market...

[Marti Martinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Authoritative. Comprehensive.

Too authoritative, too comprehensive. I felt assaulted, not informed; and I was a file clerk/librarian for 9 years on a project like he detailed.

It was an inter-library loan, so I had to finish it in compressed time. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I could have read it leisurely. I hate giving it 2 stars.

I can say this: I'll have to answer for my participation in the military industrial complex, but there was not 1 single day on that NRO project where I was not made to feel included, valued, and appreciated.

[Dave Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was shocked by all of the sensitive stuff disclosed in this novel. I guess a lot of the programs that I was read into have been declassified over time. Most interesting I found was the thorough background of the SR-71 program.

[John Min · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this more than a decade ago and for most folks reading this today (2017), they would be shocked by our spy technology.

[Avery Gonzales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly kind of a banger if you're into space and defense

[Ushan · Rating 3 out of 5]

During the Cold War, the United States wanted to learn as much as possible about its adversary: how many weapons it had, what their characteristics were, what it was up to; naturally, the Soviet Union wanted the same. Overflying Soviet territory and photographing air bases and missile silos ended on May 1, 1960, when Francis Gary Powers was shot down. After that, the United States switched completely to reconnaissance satellites; however, the U-2 and the A-12/SR-71 continued to fly over the Third World. In the 1960s, they could tell the ZiSes and the ZiMs apart on the Red Square; by the 1980s, they could tell if a car had a license plate, although they couldn't read it. The satellites used charge-coupled devices long before consumer digital cameras. At first the satellites dropped out of orbit with their payload; later, they only dropped rolls of film, which were recovered in flight by specially modified aircraft; later still they transmitted images over a radio link, like commercial communications satellites. The whole business cost billions of dollars per year.

How much sense did the Americans make of all these photographs of Soviet territory? The book starts with an interview with Major General George J. Keegan, the head of the US Air Force intelligence. The general's obsessive analysis of the photographs of Soviet civil defense installations led him to conclude that the Soviets were determined to survive a nuclear war, and were therefore preparing to start it. We now know that the Soviets did expend enormous effort on building bomb shelters and underground command posts (such as the Moscow Metro-2), but this does not mean that they were preparing to start a nuclear war. In fact, they were afraid that the Americans were; the Soviet leadership seriously believed that the Able Archer 83 NATO exercise was really a preparation for nuclear war masquerading as a military exercise. Major General Keegan also misinterpreted certain installations at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site as being a particle beam weapon that could be fired from space and destroy American ballistic missiles. We now know that these installations housed the Soviet nuclear rocket program, similar to the American NERVA. I think that this shows that some people's ideological preconceptions stand so firm that even billions of dollars' worth of intelligence cannot move them.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth look at air borne surveillance starting with the planes and cameras of WW II and ends with reconnaissance satellite. One problem, the book was published in 1986 so it is outdated. Still a great read though.

[Ubikuberalles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book opened my eyes to the whole world of Military Intelligence gathering. Highly recommended.

[elsalmon L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deep Black: Space Espionage & National Security... Too bad there hasn't been an update published since 1986 that I'm aware of !!!

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a fairly unique read on some interesting history.