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The Corona program was a series of American strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Directorate of Science & Technology with substantial assistance from the U.S. Air Force. The CORONA satellites were used for photographic surveillance of the Soviet Union (USSR), China, and other areas beginning in June 1959 and ending in May 1972.
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. federal government, and provides satellite intelligence to several government agencies, particularly signals intelligence (SIGINT) to the NSA, imagery intelligence (IMINT) to the NGA, and measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) to the DIA. The NRO announced in 2023 that it plans within the following decade to quadruple the number of satellites it operates and increase the number of signals and images it delivers by a factor of ten.
KH-5 ARGON was a series of reconnaissance satellites produced by the United States from February 1961 to August 1964. The KH-5 operated similarly to the CORONA series of satellites, as it ejected a canister of photographic film. At least 12 missions were attempted, but at least 7 resulted in failure. The satellite was manufactured by Lockheed. Launches used Thor-Agena launch vehicles flying from Vandenberg Air Force Base, with the payload being integrated into the Agena.
BYEMAN codenamed LANYARD, the KH-6 was the unsuccessful first attempt to develop and deploy a very high-resolution optical reconnaissance satellite by the United States National Reconnaissance Office. Launches and launch attempts spanned the period from March to July 1963. The project was quickly put together to get imagery of a site near Leningrad suspected of having anti-ballistic missiles. The satellite carried Itek's "E-5" camera developed for the SAMOS program, which had been cancelled. The camera had a focal length of 1.67 m and could discern objects on the ground 1.8 m in size. The ground swath of the camera was 14 km × 74 km. The satellite weighed 1,500 kg (3,300 lb), and had a single re-entry vehicle in which exposed film was returned to earth for a mid-air aircraft recovery. The KH-6 was manufactured by Lockheed Martin and launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Thor-Agena D launch vehicles.
BYEMAN codenamed GAMBIT, the KH-7 was a reconnaissance satellite used by the United States from July 1963 to June 1967. Like the older CORONA system, it acquired imagery intelligence by taking photographs and returning the undeveloped film to earth. It achieved a typical ground-resolution of 2 ft (0.61 m) to 3 ft (0.91 m). Though most of the imagery from the KH-7 satellites was declassified in 2002, details of the satellite program remained classified until 2011.
The KH-8 was a long-lived series of reconnaissance satellites of the "Key Hole" (KH) series used by the United States from July 1966 to April 1984, and also known as Low Altitude Surveillance Platform. The satellite ejected "film-bucket" canisters of photographic film that were retrieved as they descended through the atmosphere by parachute. Ground resolution of the mature satellite system was better than 4 inches (0.10 m). There were 54 launch attempts of the 3,000 kilogram satellites, all from Vandenberg Air Force Base, on variants of the Titan III rocket. Three launches failed to achieve orbit. The first one was satellite #5 on April 26, 1967, which fell into the Pacific Ocean after the Titan second stage developed low thrust. The second was satellite #35 on May 20, 1972, which suffered an Agena pneumatic regulator failure and reentered the atmosphere. A few months later, pieces of the satellite turned up in England and the US managed to arrange for their hasty return. The third failure was satellite #39 on June 26, 1973, which suffered a stuck Agena fuel valve. The Bell 8096 engine failed to start and the satellite burned up in the atmosphere. The KH-8 was manufactured by Lockheed. The camera system/satellite was manufactured by Eastman Kodak's A&O Division in Rochester, New York.
The KH-11 KENNEN is a type of reconnaissance satellite first launched by the American National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in December 1976. Manufactured by Lockheed in Sunnyvale, California, the KH-11 was the first American spy satellite to use electro-optical digital imaging, and so offer real-time optical observations.
Misty is reportedly the name of a classified project by the United States National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to operate stealthy reconnaissance satellites. The satellites are conjectured to be photo reconnaissance satellites and the program has been the subject of atypically public debates about its worthiness in the defense budget since December 2004. The estimated project costs in 2004 were, at the time of statement, US$9.5 billion.
Discoverer 30, also known as Corona 9022, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1961. It was a KH-3 Corona''' satellite, based on an Agena-B rocket.
Discoverer 23, also known as KH-5 9016A, was a USAF photographic reconnaissance satellite under the supervision of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) which was launched in 1961. It was a KH-5 ARGON satellite, based on an Agena-B. It was the second KH-5 mission to be launched, and the second to end in failure.
FTV-1126, also known as Corona 9034A, was an American area survey optical reconnaissance satellite launched in 1962. It was a KH-5 Argon satellite, based on an Agena-B. It was also unofficially known as Discoverer 41, a continuation of the designation sequence used for previous US reconnaissance satellites, which had officially been discontinued after Discoverer 38. It was the first KH-5 satellite to complete its mission successfully.
Discoverer 22, also known as Corona 9015, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1961. It was the fourth of ten Corona KH-2 satellites, based on the Agena-B.
Discoverer 28, also known as Corona 9021, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1961. It was the seventh of ten Corona KH-2 satellites, based on the Agena-B.
Discoverer 17, also known as Corona 9012, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite launched on 12 November 1960 at 20:38:00 GMT. It was the second of ten Corona KH-2 satellites, based on the Agena-B.
Discoverer 31, also known as Corona 9024, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1961. It was a KH-3 Corona''' satellite, based on an Agena-B.
Discoverer 32, also known as Corona 9025, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1961. It was a KH-3 Corona''' satellite, based on an Agena-B.
Discoverer 33, also known as Corona 9026, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1961. It was the eighth of ten Corona KH-2 satellites, based on the Agena-B.
DISCOVERE 34, also known as CORONA 9027, was a United States optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched on 5 November 1961. It was the ninth of ten CORONA KH-2 satellites, based on the Agena B.
Discoverer 36, also known as Corona 9029, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1961. It was a KH-3 Corona satellite, based on an Agena-B rocket. It was the penultimate KH-3 satellite to be launched, the last successful mission, and the most successful of the program.
Discoverer 37, also known as Corona 9030, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1962. It was the last KH-3 Corona‴ satellite, which was based on an Agena-B rocket.
References
- ↑ "INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000: National Imagery and Mapping Agency (House Report 106-130)". U.S. Government Printing Office. 7 May 1999.
- ↑ "National Intelligence Program FY 2010 Congressional Budget Justification: Volume IV" (PDF). National Reconnaissance Program. May 2009. p. 21.
- ↑ David Darling and David J. Darling (2003). The complete book of spaceflight. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 0-471-05649-9.
Several launches with Key Hole designations, including KH-11, KH-12, and KH-13, have taken place since 1992. ... The ninth and final KH-11 satellite was launched in 1998, after which the KH-12 program, involving satellites about the ...
- ↑ Tae-Woo Lee (2008). Military Technologies of the World. Abc-Clio. ISBN 978-0-275-99537-9.
The advancement in the KH-series resulted in the KH-13, for which little information is yet available. ...
- 1 2 3 Thomson, Allen (8 May 1998). "8X lives on as the Enhanced Imaging System". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
- ↑ Thompson, Allen. "A Stealth Satellite Sourcebook" (PDF). Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
- ↑ Wade, Mark. "Improved Crystal". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
- ↑ Wade, Mark. "Misty". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
- ↑ Risen, James; Vartabedian, Ralph (1995-09-28). "U.S. Launches Costly Overhaul of Spy Satellites". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- ↑ Allen Thomson (1995-10-07). "8X: The monster that ate the budget".
