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Document · Government record · 1989-2023

The NORAD fast-walker papers (1989, 2008) and the FOIA denials

'Fast walker' is NORAD's term for an object entering or leaving the atmosphere, seen mainly by Defense Support Program early-warning satellites. Asked for fast-walker records, NORTHCOM said in 2013 that they are classified but released two technical papers, from 1989 and 2008, which confirm that such objects have been logged since 1972 and that their orbits could not be worked out. The Space Force denied a 2023 request in full.

Cover of the 1989 AFIT thesis 'Orbit Determination of Sunlight Illuminated Objects Detected by Overhead Platforms' (Capt. Richard P. Osedacz), one of the two papers NORTHCOM released.
Cover of the 1989 AFIT thesis 'Orbit Determination of Sunlight Illuminated Objects Detected by Overhead Platforms' (Capt. Richard P. Osedacz), one of the two papers NORTHCOM released. · Air Force Institute of Technology, via The Black Vault
Cover of the 2008 AFIT thesis 'Space Based Satellite Tracking and Characterization Utilizing Non-Imaging Passive Sensors' (Capt. Bradley R. Townsend).
USNORTHCOM's December 2013 FOIA reply to The Black Vault: fast-walker records are 'currently and properly classified'.

On the record

  • The two released papers (1989 NORAD/FTD; 2008 AFIT).
  • Denials in 2013 (NORTHCOM) and 2023 (Space Force).

Open questions

  • How many fast walkers DSP has logged, and how many stay unexplained.

Cases (1)

Connected

The Aerospace Corporation orgNational Air and Space Intelligence Center org

Sources

Mentioned on (1)

A research project by Igor FrancePrivacy