The US has been using stealth technology to complement its espionage programme in space since at least the 1980s. Misty is a CIA-developed satellite more than ten years in the making that has several signature reduction features which will be discussed in more detail below. It was launched into orbit by the space shuttle Atlantis in 1990. While the project has been beset by difficulties in funding and political support, the space stealth programme continues to be an important part of the country’s wider surveillance environment.