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Secret Snapshots from Space Josef Schuller Junior Division Individual

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Piercing the Iron Curtain: Secret Snapshots from Space Josef Schuller Junior Division Individual Documentary Process Paper: 494 Words Process Paper Last summer I visited the National Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. Within the Presidential, Global Reach, Space, and Research & Development hangar, I saw the C-119J Flying Boxcar airplane which had been modified to catch satellite film cartridges falling from space. I found that intriguing and looked for a way to relate it to this year’s NHD theme. After more research, I discovered that the plane didn’t break barriers; it was the satellite dropping the film cartridges. The CORONA satellite was the first photo reconnaissance satellite to orbit the earth. Project CORONA was a broad topic. The program lasted several decades and evolved through three generations of satellites. Because the CORONA satellite is documented to have broken several barriers including the first mapping of Earth from space and the first program to fly more than 100 missions, I decided to focus on CORONA’s main achievement: the first photo reconnaissance satellite and the pictures it took during the Cold War. Interviewing experts is an important part of my historical research so I contacted the National Reconnaissance Office and the CIA. I was denied an interview with the CIA but received an answer from the historian at the NRO, Mr. Michael Suk. We exchanged emails, and he answered specific questions I had from my preliminary research. He also gave his permission to use his quotes in my documentary. Mr.Suk sent me primary sources published by the NRO on the CORONA satellite for my research and sent extra books to donate to my school library. My local American Legion chapter also led me to Sergeant Joe Murphey, a retired flight mechanic from the US Air Force. He described flying the planes to catch the film canisters and the complications arising from catching the capsules in mid-air. Other CORONA research included declassified CIA memos and documents from several places: the Eisenhower and Truman Presidential Libraries, the CIA, the National Archives, and the NRO. It was fascinating to read the once-classified information between the different government agencies. The CIA and NRO websites had a lot of information and images. Their online databases contain many articles and declassified content about the CORONA program. I also found some amazing quotes describing what CORONA did for the nation. One was from William Studeman and the other from President Lyndon Johnson. They showed the impact that CORONA had on the US defense program. The main challenge I faced with this project was narrowing down information for my documentary. In addition, it was also difficult to find footage of the CORONA satellite. I did find a video with a lot of footage of the CORONA program that I was able to use. Videos of Joseph Stalin’s, Winston Churchill’s, and Dwight Eisenhower’s speeches also added historical context to my documentary. The various resources I combined into my project show that CORONA was important to the United States during the Cold War and that it did break barriers with the first satellite images from space. Annotated Bibliography Primary Sources: Books: Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance Classics: The CORONA Story. This book is a ​ compilation by the National Reconnaissance Office that gives a detailed account of the CORONA story through declassified documents and images. The many images in the book reinforce the concrete evidence of Soviet military advancements that the CORONA satellite gave the United States. It also includes images of the Soviet weapons in other countries such as China and Egypt. Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance Classics: The Hexagon Story. This book is a ​ compilation by the National Reconnaissance Office that has information about the last generations of the photo reconnaissance satellites, those under the code name Hexagon. The book contains declassified documents and images, and it addresses the CORONA program and how that technology was improved and refined through the later generations of satellites. Mulcahy, Robert D., Jr., editor. CORONA Star Catchers: Interviews with the Air Force Aerial ​ Recovery Flight Crews of the 6593d Test Squadron (Special), 1958 - 1972. Second ed., ​ CSNR. This book has detailed first-hand accounts from the people who were a part of the Air Force division that caught the film capsules. They tell the stories of the different CORONA missions and how they ended. Oder, Fredric C.E., James C. Fitzpatrick, and Paul E. Worthman compilers. 20th Century Spy in ​ the Sky Satellites: Secrets of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). This book is a ​ compilation of declassified documents from the CORONA program consisting of CIA Cold War records, CORONA System Information, and Presidential Orders. This book has a multitude of information about the National Reconnaissance Office’s involvement in the CORONA program. It has maps, charts, images and CIA reports detailing information from each CORONA mission. The book has images of specific weapons and military locations within the Soviet Union. Executive Orders: United States, Executive Office of the President [William J. Clinton]. Executive Order 12951: Release of Imagery Acquired by Space-Based National Intelligence Reconnaissance Systems. 22 Feb. 1995. Code of Federal Regulations, vol. 3. National Archives, ​ ​ ​ ​ www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1995-02-28/pdf/95-5050.pdf. This executive order is the official declassification order to release the top secret material relating to the CORONA program and images that the satellites took during the Cold War. It was interesting to read about President Clinton's reasoning for the declassification and why he felt obligated to do so. Images: Bomb Shelter on Display. 12 Apr. 1951. San Francisco Chronicle, ​ ​ ​ www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/Atomic-bomb-scare-in-1950s-brought-the-city-on-11 748126.php. This photograph shows that Americans were scared of the Soviet nuclear threat and started to build bomb shelters. "CORONA Satellite Imagery." National Reconnaissance Office, ​ ​ www.nro.gov/History-and-Studies/Center-for-the-Study-of-National-Reconnaissance/The -CORONA-Program/Imagery/. This web site has some of the declassified images that CORONA took including the photos showing the Soviet missiles, military bases, and weapons. Duck and Cover. Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, ​ ​ ​ armscontrolcenter.org/why-i-want-to-join-the-nuclear-policy-field-taylor-felt/. This photo illustrates the fear Americans had of nuclear war and how schools started to practice bomb drills. Establishment of the CIA. Harry S. Truman: Library - Museum, ​ ​ ​ www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/establishment-cia. This photo of the CIA logo was used to show President Truman’s creation of the Central Intelligence Agency. Interviews: Murphey, Joe. Interview. Conducted by Josef W. Schuller. This interview was with Mr. Joe Murphey and was relevant to my project because he was a flight mechanic on the C-130 Hercules, the type of aircraft that caught the film canisters from the later CORONA satellites. Mr. Murphey explained the elaborate process of charting the returning satellites and catching the parachute canisters from the sky. He also talked about living through the Cold War and the culture in the United States during that time when people were afraid of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Mr. Murphey allowed me to use a video recording of the interview in my documentary. Memorandums: Bissell, Richard M., Jr. "Project CORONA." Received by A. J. Goodpaster, 11 Mar. 1959, Central Intelligence Agency. Letter. This declassified memo to President Eisenhower details the original plans for the CORONA program. It has estimates for the original budget and the projected first launch date. "The Effect of the Soviet Possession of Atomic Bombs on the Security of the United States." 9 June 1950, Central Intelligence Agency, ORE 32-50. Letter. This source is an actual declassified memorandum from the CIA containing what knowledge the CIA had about the Soviet satellite programs. It contains plans for building a defense against Russia's atomic power and how the information available affects the security of the US. I used a quote/picture from the memo in the documentary. "Memorandum and Attachments Re Security of Project Corona." Received by Andrew J. Goodpaster. Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, & Boyhood Home, ​ ​ www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/aerial-intellige nce/1958-11-05.pdf. This memo is a declassified government document that describes some of the details of CORONA and its cover story to be used with the media. It specifically lists the ways the government was going to describe and explain the project to the public. It also has a written version of the press release on the "Discovery" (CORONA) project. "Soviet Capabilities for the Development and Production of Certain Types of Weapons and Equipment." 31 Oct. 1946. CIA Historical Review Program, Central Intelligence Agency, ORE 3/1. Letter. This declassified memo states the CIA's concerns about what military capabilities the Soviets might have had, and it predicted what weapons the Soviets would develop in the future. "The Soviet Reconnaissance Satellite Program." 18 June 1964, Central Intelligence Agency. Letter. This declassified memo describes the Soviet use of photo reconnaissance satellites at the same time that the United States was utilizing the CORONA satellites. Speeches: Churchill, Winston. "The Sinews of Peace." 5 Mar. 1946, Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri. Speech. “The Sinews of Peace” speech is a very important speech in the history of the Cold War because Churchill labeled the spread of communism over Eastern Europe as the "Iron Curtain." This speech set the precedent for the remainder of the Cold War and gave a visual representation of the Soviet Communist expansive tendencies. For the rest of the Cold War the CIA focused on ways to pierce that “Iron Curtain.” I studied the speech to learn more about the Cold War and then used a portion of the video in my documentary.
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