Aaron Bateman @aaronbateman22 Twitter profile

Pinned Tweet

Aaron Bateman

6 months

First copies of my book have arrived! Celebrating with my wonderful partner, @Fiona_Cunning , makes it all the more special

34

25

331

Last Seen Profiles

@docmurdomain

@HipHop_PhD

@Indresh19925

@amitkambojvlogs

@Unagi_rutiko

@Unionmhockey

@HillAFBUtah

@LETANGVE1

@domo0709

@kampart2

@AigriDuTwitt

@HungVo7968

@stw46

@quantumbigideas

@Harri_Oakland89

@BNaostro

@stwmaniax

@emme_fox

@iam_neezy

@SeiWot

@tee2thejay_

@NativeNetwork

@memo_jax

@TruePyroShad

@LigaValkyria

@b0neCH

@XunTrun04276626

@vuongminh_le_vn

@corpbizhq

@Kissshower1

@CjRecruiting1

@ChaosgoatLaw666

@maquinabelleza

@sunfucker13

@festi3334

@CosmicMads

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

Another image of one of the "Texas Towers" offshore U.S. Air Force radar platforms

15

137

2K

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

In 1971 the NRO launched its first Hexagon “Big Bird” imaging satellite. Here’s a declassified Hexagon image of the World Trade Center

13

172

1K

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

I highly recommend Andrew Krepinevich’s new book to anyone interested in technology and military strategy.

8

151

928

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

6 months

It’s not everyday that you get to see the one remaining Brilliant Pebble space-based interceptor from the Strategic Defense Initiative. Thanks to the folks at Lawrence Livermore for hosting me!

20

100

802

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 months

Info kit on BMEWS from the 1960s

14

60

783

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 years

Pretty damn awesome picture of Endeavour (courtesy of @everydayaerospace )

15

94

760

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

Abandoned Distant Early Warning radar site in Greenland

15

71

764

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

I think this is the best picture of the Soviet IS anti-satellite weapon that I have ever seen. credit: @dutchspace found this via tvzvezda

22

102

543

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

8 months

Interesting declassified report on the covert communications systems used by Soviet intelligence organizations

8

155

437

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

I never get tired of looking through maps of undersea telecommunications cables. I’m really excited about diving deeper into this subject in my spring graduate-level course “Science, Technology, and Global Statecraft”

20

41

418

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

Early overhead reconnaissance. Pigeon with specially made camera strapped to it and sample images on the right.

15

45

355

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 years

132,000 words later...dissertation submitted. Onward to the defense!

38

14

366

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

Declassified 1987 CIA report on the Soviet campaign against Pakistan’s nuclear program.

7

131

341

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 years

I successfully defended my doctoral dissertation today, it’s a great feeling!

55

5

348

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 years

I am thrilled to announce that in the fall I will be starting as a tenure-track assistant professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University. I am beyond excited!

41

7

345

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

This looks fantastic

9

46

329

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

Declassified list of British security markings from the early 1960s

15

66

311

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

9 months

My book, Weapons in Space, Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative ( @mitpress )now has a cover!

17

59

305

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

I am thrilled to announce that my book: The Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative: Politics, Technology, and the Militarization of Space is under contract with @mitpress !

42

19

272

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

4 months

Declassified CIA map showing telecommunications connections between the Soviet Union and China in the early 1960s

1

68

271

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

This declassified UK Ministry of Defence study (1985) discusses the possibility of taking over command & control of Soviet recon satellites and covertly using Soviet communications satellites

7

57

262

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

I was delighted to learn that the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics has awarded me its 2024 aerospace history manuscript award for my dissertation on the Strategic Defense Initiative.

32

15

246

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

This dissertation by @norwegianspace on Norway’s military (and intelligence) space strategy is really fantastic!

14

58

238

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

Very excited to dive into these declassified British documents on the security of submarine cables in the 1960s.

9

17

230

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

6 months

First successful image taken by a Corona reconnaissance satellite (Mys Shmidta Air Field, USSR, 1960). Low resolution, but inaugurated an intelligence revolution.

2

43

227

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

My book Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative (MIT Press) is now available for pre-order on Amazon!

14

52

224

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 years

1962: "space traffic jam: keeping track of what's up" USAF member manually plots data provided on U.S. satellites from SPADATS

12

38

223

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

This is a site that displays all the declassified KH-1 through KH-9 imagery on a 3D globe. Thanks to @shell_jim for bringing it to my attention!

KEYHOLE

An experimental visualization of ground swaths from declassified spy satellite imagery.

keyhole.engelsjk.com

10

50

217

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

During the Cold War, the Air Force created the Emergency Rocket Communications System that consisted of UHF transmitters placed on ICBMs, instead of a warhead, that would transmit nuclear orders if terrestrial command and control links had been destroyed.

6

50

217

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 years

CIA declassified part I of its 1980 assessment “Soviet Military Capabilities and Intentions in Space.” I’m hoping part II soon follows.

4

52

207

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

8 months

I’m going to shamelessly use the sudden explosion of interest in space weapons to promote my forthcoming book Weapons in Space (comes out 7 May). Take a look if you want a deep dive on the history of military space competition.

Weapons in Space

A new and provocative take on the formerly classified history of accelerating superpower military competition in space in the late Cold War and beyond.In Mar...

mitpress.mit.edu

9

44

213

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

4 months

Declassified layout of Britain’s strategic communications networks (c. 1970)

8

41

206

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

My latest article on the National Reconnaissance Office and the U.S. intelligence-industrial-academic complex is currently open access.

10

57

200

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

5 months

My book Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative is officially published today!

Weapons in Space

A new and provocative take on the formerly classified history of accelerating superpower military competition in space in the late Cold War and beyond.In Mar...

mitpress.mit.edu

14

63

205

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

This declassified 1956 document from the Australian National Archives details Australia’s entrance into what became known as the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.

6

66

196

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

4 years

Coercive space diplomacy: in ‘83 the French informed the UK that if London agreed to launch its next Skynet comm satellite on Ariane, rather than the shuttle, it would abstain from a UN vote condemning the UK

3

36

188

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

Declassified remarks from Ronald Reagan given to members of the National Reconnaissance Office: Due to the NRO, "I can request photographs of almost any area of the surface of the earth and have them in my hands in a matter of hours."

0

25

191

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 month

Really interesting book on the history of DARPA and machine intelligence

6

29

188

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 years

animals as intelligence assets: 1965 CIA memo discussing attaching sensors to dolphins to collect intelligence on Soviet submarines

10

22

181

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

Depiction of satellite communications infrastructure from the First Gulf War.

16

30

185

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

16 days

My article 'Hunting the Red Bear: Satellite Reconnaissance and the 'Second Offset' Strategy' is now published. I detail the influence of reconnaissance tech on the US shift towards flexible conventional and nuclear targeting.

6

58

188

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

In 1959 and 1960, Soviet trawlers cut multiple transatlantic cables including one that carried nuclear early warning data from Thule Greenland to North America. I write about it here:

1

75

188

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

6 months

The Google Books preview of my book, Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative, is now available. The book will be out in less than 30 days!

7

50

185

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

4 years

Very pleased to announce that I have been selected for the Guggenheim predoctoral fellowship at the National Air and Space Museum ( @airandspace ) where I will finish my dissertation on the Cold War space arms competition

25

3

182

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

British Black Arrow rocket

6

17

171

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

4 years

According to a declassified CIA report, in 1987 there was still no evidence that the Soviet Union had started to spend significantly more money to counter the Strategic Defense Initiative. This further undermines the "spending them out of existence argument." cc @russianforces

8

51

179

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 years

This is a great, concise history of telemetry intelligence during the Cold War published in 2016 by the National Security Agency's Center for Cryptologic History. Full documents:

2

54

176

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

Declassified NRO study detailing how satellite reconnaissance overwhelmed the intelligence analysis apparatus. "The avalanche of data" began to "occlude the system that interpreted and passed it on to national command authorities"

9

33

174

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

The 1911 Committee of Imperial Defence report that identified the need to cut German submarine cables right at the outbreak of hostilities. The cable-laying ship Alert would indeed set sail for this mission just hours after the declaration of war in 1914.

7

41

168

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 month

Spotted in the wild at APSA

4

13

170

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

Soviet Buran shuttle on a Bison bomber from “Soviet Military Power” (1985)

3

21

170

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

Unique job opportunity! The National Security Agency is currently accepting applications for a historian position in the Center for Cryptologic History.

10

66

158

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

Copyedits for my forthcoming book, Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative, arrived today!

17

21

161

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

Declassified US Navy memo: “Until we hold a Russian submarine to exhaustion, make it surface and pay our respects to the Captain and offer him assistance - we will not have control of the problem”

8

18

162

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 years

NSA released documents on telemetry collection efforts on Soviet space and missile programs.

8

52

157

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

Map from 1922 showing all submarine cables in the Atlantic

6

27

158

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

New addition to the office wall art ... a 1918 map of cable and wireless stations.

7

20

155

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

5 months

Some nuclear command and control graphics from the 1980s. If you made the graphics a bit more messy, they would look like current representations of CJADC2.

5

38

155

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

Declassified 1972 report about the deep-sea recovery of a Hexagon satellite reconnaissance film capsule that went into the Pacific in 1971. The Trieste II deep-sea submersible recovered it

6

30

153

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

Good documentary on the intended military missions of the Soviet Union’s Buran spacecraft, including the deployment of space-to-ground munitions.

6

23

151

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

Unexpected archival find: a British space policy paper from 1982 advocating a UK “capability to damage enemy satellites by lasers…”

13

29

148

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

Image of the 1971 launch of Britain’s Black Arrow rocket from Woomera, Australia that carried its Prospero satellite into orbit. Shortly after this, the UK cancelled its space launch program.

8

28

149

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

Hexagon reconnaissance satellite film return capsule on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

Declassified 1972 report about the deep-sea recovery of a Hexagon satellite reconnaissance film capsule that went into the Pacific in 1971. The Trieste II deep-sea submersible recovered it

6

30

153

6

33

145

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 months

SOSUS detections and visual sightings of Soviet submarines in Nov 1962

5

30

144

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 years

“In Dnipro, Yuzhmash and Yuzhnoye have not been bombed or targeted by missile attacks so far. One of the possible reasons is that Russia’s plan is to take them over as part of their invasion, so they intend to keep these facilities intact”

Ukrainian space industry players continue work, eye European projects amid war

While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to impact the Ukrainian space sector, senior industry representatives say that local companies have so far managed to adapt their activities to the real…

spacenews.com

2

15

143

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

1981 memo from Robert Gates on the purpose of covert action and its limits.

5

39

140

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

6 months

The U.S. intelligence community was able to collect the satellite-to-ground signal used by the Soviets to monitor Yuri Gagarin's activities inside his Vostok space capsule. At various points, this particular signal was intercepted by U.S. SIGINT sites in Iran, Alaska, & Hawaii.

12

43

143

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

5 months

Found a color image of the Defense National Communications Control Center. The map displayed the status of submarine cables, HF radio, microwave, telegraph, & tropo scatter radio that carried vital intel & command & control messages across the world.

5

29

140

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

5 months

I’m delighted to now be formally affiliated with the Institute for Eurasian, Russian, and Eurasian Studies within the Elliott School in addition to the Space Policy Institute.

14

9

141

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 months

Declassified overview of the Brilliant Pebbles test program, which I cover in the final chapter of my book Weapons in Space.

6

21

139

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 years

In my @jststs article I ask: if recon satellites were stabilizing, why did the superpowers develop anti-satellite weapons? I explore the US rationale for ASATs & the the divergent approaches of Carter & Reagan to ASAT arms control. 50 free copies here:

Mutually assured surveillance at risk: Anti-satellite weapons and cold war arms control

In the early 1970s, Moscow and Washington had established a satellite verification regime to monitor arms control treaty compliance. Satellites had become a primary source of transparency and stabi...

www.tandfonline.com

4

36

136

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

6 months

Finding declassified command and control documents in the archives makes me very happy

4

10

138

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

This did not get a lot of attention, but last year France joined the small club of nations with an independent signals intelligence satellite capability. This French ambition goes back over 40 years.

3

39

133

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

Declassified UK MoD study that gives a good overview of how the Soviet co-orbital anti-satellite weapon engaged its target

3

36

138

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

7 months

I am delighted that my @jststs article on Britain’s Skynet defense satellite communications system has been selected for the Amos Perlmutter prize.

9

25

139

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

5 months

Good news! The digital version of my book Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative is now open access! Thank you to @mitpress for generously making this possible!

Weapons in Space

A new and provocative take on the formerly classified history of accelerating superpower military competition in space in the late Cold War and beyond.In Mar...

mitpress.mit.edu

5

50

138

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

4 years

Reagan said that SDI aka "Star Wars" was only for missile defense. Declassified DoD documents show that the Pentagon was planning on using it for offensive #space control as well.

9

48

134

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

24 days

Pleased to share that my article, Hunting the Red Bear: Satellite Reconnaissance and the Second Offset Strategy, has been accepted by International History Review. It details the role of satellite recon in the US shift towards more flexible nuclear and conventional targeting

7

32

137

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

40 years ago today, Ronald Reagan delivered a speech to the nation that would lead to the Strategic Defense Initiative. My forthcoming book, Weapons in Space: The Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative (in production w/ @mitpress ) details the origins & evolution of SDI

9

23

135

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

Declassified JCS study of the evolution of U.S. nuclear command and control systems.

1

38

130

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

5 months

Highly recommend Entangled Geographies: Empire and Technopolitics in the Global Cold War

0

22

135

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 year

This declassified description of the U.K. Foreign Office telegram system describes "the sinner" who "sprinkles his text with picturesque adjectives" that slow down the cypher officers.

13

36

133

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

The National Security Agency declassified (with redactions) a 221-page report on North Korea's seizure of the USS Pueblo. It includes information about the damage to U.S. SIGINT capabilities.

2

41

128

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

Feels real now! I’m so looking forward to teaching this fall!

12

2

129

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

This declassified study details how satellite imagery analysis had to become a 24/7 business after the advent of near-real time imaging in 1976. The President began requesting “immediate pictures of targets of interest”

7

33

131

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

5 months

I’m very happy to share that the Journal of Strategic Studies has accepted my article “The Weakest Link: The Vulnerability of US and Allied Global Information Networks in the Nuclear Age.” The published version will be available soon.

4

24

130

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

Antenna at Kagnew Station, a clandestine NSA site in Ethiopia, used to collect telemetry from Soviet spacecraft

2

22

125

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

Declassified UK Joint Intelligence Committee report from 1963 concerning the interception of telemetry from spacecraft

4

29

123

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

Recently declassified, but heavily redacted, NIE on China's space ambitions. full NIE:

10

22

114

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

Declassified memo from Henry Kissinger to Richard Nixon outlining the pros and cons of using various crewed and uncrewed aerial reconnaissance platforms for overflight of China

3

37

122

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

5 months

In this @EngelsbergIdeas article I explore the vulnerabilities of submarine cables and how their security can be enhanced. Since submarine cables carry ~99% of global message traffic, their insecurity is an increasingly urgent issue.

Undersea cables and the vulnerability of American power

Undersea cables are the soft underbelly of American power and history demonstrates the critical importance of protecting them.

engelsbergideas.com

4

52

124

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

Today we're discussing Able Archer in my intel class. Simon Miles' article on the subject is the very best. He heavily uses sources from Warsaw Pact countries. This bit here on Soviet SIGINT monitoring of NATO nuke C2 comms is really fascinating.

4

28

122

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

3 months

In 1967 US early warning radars malfunctioned, leading to concern that they were being jammed. In reality, solar flares were to blame. Due to events such as this, the Air Force regularly sends out space weather warnings when space weather will affect radar and HF communications

0

28

120

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

1 month

The National Security Agency is launching a podcast called "No Such Podcast" to tell the agency's history. Info here:

NSA to Launch ‘No Such Podcast,’ Pulling Back Curtain on Mission, Cult

The National Security Agency (NSA) is launching a podcast on September 5 to share the stories of the world's best codemakers and codebreakers.

www.nsa.gov

1

35

120

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

Tomorrow in my space class we are discussing one of my favorite topics: SDI. I'm picking some of the best Soviet anti-SDI propaganda for the students to look through. I dedicate a whole week to SDI, though I could happily do more.

11

17

119

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

7 months

As part of my new book project I’m examining NC3 comms systems during the Cold War, and it is striking how US officials through the Reagan years had so little confidence in its survivability.

4

23

119

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 months

Declassified 1965 CIA memo that discusses using dolphins to carry sensors that could record the acoustic signatures of Soviet nuclear submarines as a supplement to SOSUS.

10

28

117

Aaron Bateman

@aaronbateman22

2 years

Remains of the Cold War SIGINT infrastructure. The listening station at Teufelsberg known colloquially as "the Hill."

7

19

119