At 02:17 PM 8/6/01 -0700, John Young wrote:
Don't overlook what is reportedly happening on the back side of the moon. The URL for an IF-mooncam was posted here a while ago. The stream is encrypted but with weak crypto -- the crypto-processor is 1968-9 vintage. The cam is part of a data package placed on the dark side in a classified operation. Signals bounced off a reflector stationed at the very edge of the moon's profile.
What else is being done there remains to be disclosed.
Didn't somebody mention also mention here that there's a group which intercepts the stream?
I believe the Smithsonian has an archive of the small amount of public material, and NARA has some of the classified stuff needing clearance for access.
From the date and the discussion of moonbounce in Bamford's latest, I'd guess that listening to deep-interior soviet radar would have been a target. (The US supposedly listened to them using earth-moon-earth path; you gain a lot by listening from the moon and sending amplified telemetry back.)