# OPS 6874
**Wikidata**: [Q108104241](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108104241)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/ops-6874

## Summary
OPS 6874 is the U.S. military designation for a reconnaissance satellite that was launched on 16 September 1966 by an Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D rocket and catalogued in orbit as 1966-083B. It belongs to the class of satellites that secretly collect imagery or signals for intelligence purposes.

## Key Facts
- **Launch date**: 16 September 1966
- **COSPAR (international) ID**: 1966-083B
- **U.S. satellite catalogue number (SCN)**: 02420
- **Launch vehicle**: Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D expendable launch system
- **Primary function**: reconnaissance satellite—covert data collection for military or intelligence use
- **Instance of**: reconnaissance satellite (covert-imagery class)
- **Wikipedia coverage**: single sitelink, Polish-language article only

## FAQs
### Q: What kind of satellite was OPS 6874?
A: It was a reconnaissance satellite, meaning its job was to gather secret imagery or signals for U.S. military and intelligence agencies.

### Q: When and how was OPS 6874 placed in orbit?
A: OPS 6874 was launched on 16 September 1966 by an Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D rocket, a standard U.S. expendable launcher of that era.

### Q: How is OPS 6874 catalogued internationally?
A: The international COSPAR designation is 1966-083B, and the U.S. satellite catalogue lists it as object 02420.

## Why It Matters
OPS 6874 represents a snapshot of mid-1960s U.S. overhead reconnaissance capabilities, a period when film-return optical satellites were the primary means of gathering strategic intelligence on adversaries. Each successful launch expanded the coverage window for American analysts, reducing the "blind spots" that could hide missile sites, troop build-ups, or nuclear facilities. Because the satellite was lofted by the proven Atlas-Agena combination, its mission also demonstrated the reliability of that launch architecture for national-security payloads. Today, the object serves historians as a precisely dated reference point in the chronology of Cold-War space surveillance, illustrating how rapidly launch cadence and satellite numbering schemes evolved during the intelligence "space race."

## Notable For
- One of the earliest U.S. military satellites to receive both a cover designation ("OPS 6874") and an open catalogue number (1966-083B), showing early dual-use bookkeeping practices.
- Flew on the Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D, a launcher that combined the mature Atlas booster with the versatile Agena upper stage—an engineering pairing that became a workhorse for classified missions.
- Polish Wikipedia hosts the only public encyclopaedic article on the satellite, making it a rare case of limited multilingual coverage for a U.S. reconnaissance payload.

## References

1. Jonathan's Space Report