50th Anniversary of DEFSMAC April 27, 1964 the Department of Defense created the Defense Special Missile and Astronautics Center (DEFSMAC.) It was renamed in 2002 changing “Astronautics” to “Aerospace”. DEFSMAC is a joint NSA-DIA-NGA organization headquartered at NSA. Its mission is to coordinate the collection of intelligence information from foreign missiles and satellites. Initially focused in the 1960s on Soviet missile testing, DEFSMAC’s mission grew over the decades as more foreign countries developed indigenous missile and space systems. A new exhibit at the Cryptologic Museum highlights some of the activities involved in gathering foreign missile and space signals in its Telemetry exhibit. To learn more about DEFSMAC’s mission and history, read “In the Forefront of Foreign Missile and Space Intelligence.” http://www.nsa.gov/about/_files/cryptologic_heritage/center_crypt_history/publications/DEFSMAC_Brochure.pdf
