The GRAB II (Galactic Radiation And Background) satellite depicts one of the earliest signals intelligence satellites launched by the U.S. Government. The first GRAB satellite was launched on June 22, 1960, following the loss in May of the U-2 spy plane flown by Gary Powers. The successful launch of the GRAB II satellite occurred on June 29, 1961. The GRAB satellites had a dual mission. The unclassified mission was to gather solar radiation data. The secret mission gathered radar pulses within a specific bandwidth from Soviet equipment. The data was then downloaded to ground stations, recorded on magnetic tape, and couriered to the NRL, whose engineers had designed and built GRAB. Following initial analysis, the tapes were duplicated and sent to Strategic Air Command and the National Security Agency (NSA). Based on the information NSA received, analysts determined that the Soviets had radars that supported the capability to destroy ballistic missiles.