Ted Molczan wrote:

(with lots of fascinating information)

I am fairly certain that the only country to have launched a stealth
satellite was the U.S.A.

So far.

Imagine that the North Koreans take a small nuclear device, wrap it
in radar-absorbent material and put it in orbit, the purpose being
to detonate it several hundred miles above Washington, DC (no
crater, no hibakusha, no fallout, no mushroom cloud . . . but the
EMP destroys most of the electronics along the eastern seaboard).
In that scenario, you might want a corps of experienced visual observers
to help track the satellite, in case it turns out that the RAM works
well enough to keep radar from spotting the staellite.

Making the elsats public has an obvious deterrent effect. It proves
that the Defense Department knows which objects are in orbit. Even
Kim il-Dork or Khadaffi Duck might think twice about doing something
clever with a satellite if they knew its presence couldn't be kept
secret.

Thanks for the history of the Misty satellite.

--Bill Thompson