The Secret Space Shuttle

Pictured: the KH-9 Hexagon spy satellite. It is rumored the space shuttle specifically was built to carry it and other top-secret payloads at the behest of US intelligence and the military... At the height of the US Space Shuttle program in the 1980s and 90s, NASA was never really in full control of its missions. At least 11 top-secret shuttle flights were conducted to honor a deal that dated back to 1969 with the National Reconnaissance Office, or NRO, an organization within the Department of Defense so secretive that its name could not be published at the time. The NRO reportedly requested many classified modifications of the shuttle’s design to suit its clandestine objectives against the Soviet Union in the space race, and the military even hand-picked and trained its own team of 13 shuttle astronauts who would be embedded as payload specialists. Little is known about about their missions, even today...

- As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. -

[AustinNebbia]

0:26 Apologies for the slight mix-up in the initials there, folks! Legal blindness will sometimes do that to a guy. :) Thank you for continuing to support my work with Dark Docs!

[JK-ujur]

How refreshing to hear an actual human speak, not some stupid robot.

[triangleofdeath]

Skip one ad, and they immediately play another ad you can't skip! YouTube sucks!

[pbacina]

A unique capability of the shuttle was to RETURN large items to earth. Some of the secret missions were very hushed about in what was in the payload bay once the shuttle was back on earth. I suppose some day we will know if some Russian satellite made it safely back to earth in a shuttle bay.

[chrishudson]

As someone who worked those classified flights and another 90-some unclassified flights, I commend your efforts here. There were far fewer errors that caused me to cringe than most all other treatments of this subject. Keep 'em coming! And, yes the USAF and the NRO drove the design of the Orbiter by specifying 60 ton and 60 foot long payload capacity as hard requirements everything from engines to flight software to thermal protection systems had their designs impacted. Keep up the good work and feel free to contact my re any unclassified stuff.

[timestampterrysassistant]

SpaceX Starship will be doing dope NRO contracts 🔥

[Fortknocker]

These dark channels are some of the most interesting content on youtube right now.
I can really appreciate the effort put forward to research and gathering archival footage.
Good stuff team.

[Auger]

Nobody should be surprised by this. As a nation, we should always use the high ground to our advantage .

[IronWarhorsesFun]

the presence of those payload specialists was a danger to the crew because they knew damn well who's payroll they were on.

[sailingyemaya]

It’s time to put the space shuttles back in service

[lkurowic]

In the early 80's I was all through the Johnson Space Center on business with Ford Aerospace which held the electronics service contract. It was there I saw the military control room and the mean looking uniformed personnel staring back if one dared to look their way. I dare say we have had a Space Force for at least 40 years probably longer.

[qbertq]

No, the launch complex at Vandenberg SFB originally built for the Space Shuttle was not "permanently mothballed." They conduct launch operations at SLC-6 to this day.

[magicman]

The secret payloads are just us bringing snacks for the aliens

[RichardBonomo]

The other reason for the USAF to have it's own shuttle facility at Vandenberg was that its more northern location made it more appropriate for polar-orbiting missions. I once saw a copy of the Shuttle flight list before it started flying. The DoD flights were right there on the list, with no payload details, of course.

[GoodVideos]

I can remember in those days hearing about certain Space Shuttle missions being secret ones, with no information about their purpose.

[mathewhumvee]

Someone I knew who lived near Kennedy space centre said that there was a number of times she could see the space shuttle or other rockets take off.

No new, no warning, no record. Just it there and taking off and that’s it.

[kingmike]

I heard that painting the center fuel tank added 600 lbs to the shuttle. That is why its brown left unpainted.

[tempus_fugit]

I think this is the mission the X37B is currently fulfilling for the NRO. A stable, reusable monitoring platform that can be loaded out with every surveillance method imaginable.

[robertfarr]

Getting rid of the shuttles with replacing them with something similar was a huge mistake

[skibadibop-yeaskitskatskat]

NASA boys likes to play the harmless little book worm role but some of them are very badass no doubt. Going around with neat haircuts, their crisp white shirts and maybe a Garfield themed tie to lighten things up.