Topics

1. How Did the Cape Get Started? 2. Vandenberg Air Force Base 3. Range Stations and Instrumentation 4. Winged Missiles 5. Sounding Rockets 6. Ballistic Missiles 7. Naval Systems 8. Space Systems and Space Launch Vehicles 9. Photo-Reconnaissance Satellites 10. Bioflights America’s Photographic (Film Systems) Reconnaissance Satellite Programs: 1960-1986

Briefer: John Hilliard Overview

 Background  History  Systems  Technologies  Future  Summary Key Declassifications of Photography Satellite Data  President’s Executive Order 12951, 22 Feb 1995, President Clinton  KH-1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6 images  National Imagery & Mapping Agency Conference, 22 Sep 2002  KH-7 & KH-9 images  National Reconnaissance Office 50th Anniversary Gala on 17 Sep 2011 at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Center, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center  KH-7, KH-8 & KH-9 systems  Manned Orbiting Laboratory  NRO approved declassification on 9 Jul 2012 Intelligence Agencies

 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)  Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)  National Security Agency (NSA)  Army Intelligence  Navy Intelligence  Air Force Intelligence  Marine Corp Intelligence  National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (National Imagery & Mapping Agency)  National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)  Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  Dept. of Treasury  Dept. of Energy  Dept. of State  Dept. of Agriculture  Homeland Security Types of Intelligence

 IMINT: Imagery Intelligence  SIGINT: Signal Intelligence  ELINT: Electronic Intelligence  COMINT: Communications Intelligence  TELINT: Telemetry Intelligence  FISINT: Foreign Instrumentation  HUMINT: Human Intelligence  MASINT: Measurement & Signature Intelligence  RADINT: Radar Intelligence  IRINT: Infrared Intelligence  LASINT: Laser Intelligence  ACOUSTINT: Acoustic Intelligence  NUCINT: Nuclear Intelligence  OSINT: Open Source Intelligence Security Systems

 TALENT-KEYHOLE  TALENT: Imagery collected by aircraft ○ U-2, SR-71, etc. ○ A-12 (SR-71), Oxcart  KEYHOLE: Imagery collected by satellites, KH-x number  KH, BYEMAN, Opt. numbers & program numbers  KH-1, 2, 3, 4, 4A & 4B Corona (90xx)(10xx)(11xx) (P241)  KH-5, Argon (90xxA)  KH-6, Lanyard (80xx)  KH-7 Gambit-1 (40XX) (P188/206)  KH-8, Gambit-3 (43xx) (P110)  KH-9, Hexagon (19xx) (P467)  KH-10, Dorian (P287)  Signal Intelligence  A separate system with numbers and names Background

 Balloons  Used for observation - 1794, France  Military reconnaissance - 1861, Civil War  Project Genetrix/Moby Dick - 1950’s, Cold War  Aircraft  Observation - 1914, WW I  Reconnaissance - WW II, P-38, P-51  Korea - RF-80, RF-84  SEA - RF-4, RB-66  Cold War Period - RB-47, RC-135, RF-5, U-2, A-12, SR-71  Today - Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)  Satellites  Subject of today’s talk  Photographic reconnaissance satellites Civil War Balloons Moby Dick balloon Project Genetrix balloon USS Valley Forge History

 1946: Space reconnaissance studies started with feasibility of orbiting satellites  10 Feb 1954: Teapot Committee Report  1 Mar 1954: RAND Report R-262  1954: President Eisenhower - Approved development of reconnaissance satellites  1 Jul 1954: Western Development Division (WDD)  2 Aug 1954: BG Bernard Schriever, Commander of WDD  27 Nov 1954: Issued Weapon System Requirements No. 5 (WS 117L) History

 23 Dec 1955: Weapon System 315A awarded to Douglas Aircraft Company  4 Jul 1956: First U-2 flight  29 Oct 1956: Agena & spacecraft awarded to Lockheed  4 Oct 1957: launched  1959: WS-117L evolved into 3 programs  28 Feb 1959: Discoverer I launched  1 May 1960: U-2 shot down  18 Aug 1960: Discoverer XIV launched and recovered with film of the USSR History

 WS-117L  Phase 1, test series - Nov 1958  Phase 2, test series - Jun 1959  Phase 3, Operational series - Mar 1960  Broke into three separate programs  SAMOS - Atlas boosted, photo  MIDAS - Atlas, IR system  Discoverer - Thor boosted, photo History

 Project SAMOS  Satellite And Missile Observation System  Air Force system  First codeword - SENTRY and later SAMOS  Launched: Atlas-Agena  11 launches from Vandenberg AFB ○ 3 Frames readout camera ○ 8 panoramic camera, recoverable  Not a very successful program  First launch - 11 Oct 1960  Last launch - 11 Nov 1962 History

 Project MIDAS  Missile Detection and Alarm System  Air Force system: Infra Red (IR) Detection Sensor  Launched: Atlas-Agena  First launch: 26 Feb 1960 (Failed), 24 May 1960 (Success)  Cape Canaveral AFS - low  Moved to Vandenberg AFB  First launch: 12 Jul 1961 - low orbit  Moved back to Cape  Evolved into the (DSP) - 3 satellites geostationary & the new SBIRS History

 Project CORONA  Joint CIA-Air Force management  Separated from the WS-117L  Thor testing removed from WS-117L  Contract awarded to Lockheed - Apr 1958  Discoverer series  12 systems  Thor - Douglas  Agena - Lockheed  Photographic system - Itek/Fairchild  Recovery system - General Electric  Launch site  Vandenberg AFB  Polar History

 KH-1: 10, 25 Jun 1959 - 13 Sep 1960  KH-2: 10, 26 Oct 1960 - 3 Aug 1961  KH-3: 6, 12 Sep 1961 - 13 Jan 1962  KH-4: 95, 26 Feb 1962 - 25 May 1972  KH-5: 12, 12 Feb 1961 - 21 Aug 1964  KH-6: 3, 18 Mar 1963 - 13 Jul 1963  KH-7: 38, 12 Jul 1963 - 4 Jun 1967  KH-8: 54, 29 Jul 1966 - 17 Apr 1984  KH-9: 20, 15 Jun 1971 - 18 Apr 1986  KH-10: Never launched Space Launch Vehicles

 Thor-Agena  Thor Agena A - 1959  Thor Agena B - 1960  Thor Agena D - 1962  Thrust Augmented Thor (TAT) - Agena D - 1963  Long Tank TAT - Agena D - 1966  Atlas-Agena  Atlas Agena A - 1960  Atlas Agena B - 1961  Atlas Agena D - 1963  IIIB - Agena D - 1966  Titan IIID - 1971  - stage - 3rd stage - 1982  Titan IIIM - 1966 Thor Agena D 340/1151 LC 75-1-1 28 Jun 1962 TAT Agena D 395/1604 LC 75-3-4 27 Apr 1964 THORAD Agena D 541/1651 SLC-3W 19 Mar 1969 Atlas 351D PALC 2-3 23 Apr 1964 Titan IIIB B-9 SLC-4W 6 Nov 1968 Titan IIID D-1 SLC-4E 15 Jun 1971 Titan IIIM Gemini LC-40 3 Nov 1966 Upper Stage

 Lockheed Agena: (KH-1 to 8)  Three Models: Agena A, B & D  Propulsion: Liquid & cold gas  Power: ○ Batteries ○ Solar arrays  Guidance, Command and Control  Telemetry  Roll Joint: (Lanyard, KH-7 & KH-8)  Moving camera  Stabilized system  Orbit:  120 x 500 miles  Polar  7 to 90+ days  No upper stage (KH-9) Agena At Vandenberg Checkout Before Going To Launch Pad Spacecraft

 Camera system  Shutter/Frame  Continuous  Image motion  Stereo  Optical system  Mirrors & Lens  Focal length  Film system  Acetate & Polyester  Ultra-thin-based  70mm, 5 inch, 6.6 inch and 9.5 inch  B&W (1414), Color (SO-217) & IR  Environment system  Structural  Recovery system Contractors

 KH-4  Payload - Itek, Fairchild  Recovery - General Electric  KH-7  Payload - Eastman Kodak  Recovery - General Electric  KH-8  Payload - Eastman Kodak  Recovery - General Electric  KH-9  Payload - Perkin-Elmer, Itek  Recovery - McDonnell-Douglas, General Electric  KH-10  Payload - Kodak, McDonnell-Douglas, General Electric  Recovery - General Electric Film On Board Spacecraft

 KH 4A/B: 21,500 ft. (2 buckets)  P 70 mm  KH-5 & KH-6: 2,250 ft.  P 5 inch  KH-7: 3,000 ft  P 9.5 in.; TC 5 in.; SC 70 mm  KH-8: 12,240 ft. (2 buckets)  P 9.5 in.; TC 5 in.; SC 70mm  KH-9: 320,000 ft. (4 buckets) + TC bucket  P 6.6 in.; TC 9.5 in; SC 70 mm

P - Primary Camera TC - Terrain Camera SC - Stellar Camera KH-1, KH-5 & KH-4 KH-6, KH-4A & KH-4B Ground Resolution

 KH-1: 40 ft.  KH-4B: 5-6 ft.  KH-5: 460 ft.  KH-6: 4-6 ft.  KH-7: 2-3 ft.  KH-8: less than 12 inches  KH-9: 1-2 ft.  KH-10: less than 6 inches Recovery Capsule SRV (Satellite Recovery Vehicle)

 Reentry Sequence  Separated for spacecraft - Orbit  Spin stabilized - Orbit  Retro firing - Orbit  De-spin - 65k  Thrust cone separation - 65k  Drogue chute  Deceleration chute - 60k  Main chute - 55k  Aircraft - 15k  Water recovery  Number of capsules - 1 to 5 (two sizes)  Technology  Cut film  Seal capsule  Heat General Electric Recovery Vehicle C-119 SRV Aerial Recovery C-130 Aerial Recovery GE Satellite Recovery Vehicle Aerial Recovery Diagram KH-4, 4A & 4B (CORONA)

 Length: 16 feet  Diameter: 5 feet  Weight: 3,300 #  Number of missions: 95 (10 failures)  Film recovery buckets:  System 1 to 26, 1 bucket  System 27 up, 2 buckets  Amount of film: 21,500 feet (2 buckets)  Focal length: 24 inches KH-4, 4A & 4B (CORONA) KH-4 KH-7 (GAMBIT-1)

 Length: 15 feet  Diameter: 5 feet  Weight: 1,154#  Number of missions: 38 (10 failures)  Film recovery buckets: 1  Amount of film: 3,000 feet  Focal length: 77 inches KH-7 (GAMBIT-1) KH-7 Udvar-Hazy Center 17 Sep 2011 KH-8 (GAMBIT-3)

 Length: 28.5 feet  Diameter: 5 feet  Weight: 4,130#  Number of missions: 54 (4 failures)  Film recovery buckets:  System 1 to 22, 1 bucket  System 23 up, 2 buckets  Amount of film: 12,240 feet  Focal length: 160 to 175 inches KH-8 (GAMBIT-3) KH-8 One Satellite Recovery Vehicle (SRV) & Two SRV Configuration KH-8 & Agena Air Force Museum KH-8 Air Force Museum KH-8 Optical Section KH-8 Optics KH-8 (GAMBIT-3)

 BLOCK II  Additional battery, improved attitude-control system & two buckets. Vehicles 23 to 36  BLOCK III  New Roll-joint capable of handling 18,000 maneuvers per mission, Vehicles 37 to 47.  BLOCK IV  New Dual-Platen camera, improved film drive, new elastomeric heat shield, new focus system, improved redundancy and reliability, improved parachute thermal cover and increased telemetry.  Vehicles 48 to 54  The dual-platen camera exposed, independently, both 9-inch and 5-inch film. Added 3,800 feet of film for the 5-inch camera. KH-9 (HEXAGON)

 Length: 60 feet  Diameter: 10 feet  Weight: 30,000#  Number of missions: 20  Film recovery buckets: 4 plus 1 mapping camera  Amount of film: 320,000 feet  Camera system: Two panoramic  Focal length: 60 inches KH-9 KH-9 (HEXAGON)

 Satellite Control Section (SCS)  Altitude-reference module  Reaction-control module  Orbit-adjust module  Solar-array module  Electrical-power module  Tracking telemetry & command module  Sensor Subsystem  Two camera assemblies (one look forward & one look aft)  Two film supply, 66 inches dia.  124 & 131 rollers  Film travel from supply to TU-140 ft.  Four Take-up (TU)  Thermal Control  Passive  Active  Terrain & Stellar Cameras  Recovery Vehicle KH-9 Perkin Elmer Facility KH-9 Hexagon Satellite Reentry Vehicles Udvar-Hazy Center 17 Sep 2011 KH-9 Hexagon Udvar-Hazy Center 17 Sep 2011 KH-9 Hexagon Optical System Udvar-Hazy Center 17 Sep 2011 KH-9 Hexagon Satellite Reentry Vehicles Udvar-Hazy Center 17 Sep 2011 KH-9 Hexagon Mapping Camera & GE Bucket Udvar-Hazy Center 17 Sep 2011 KH-9 Film System KH-9 3rd RV Bottom of the ocean 10 Jun 1971 KH-10 (Dorian)

 Length: 71 feet, including Gemini B  Diameter: 10 feet  Weight: 31,900#  Number of missions planned: 7  2 unmanned  5 manned  Film recovery buckets: 4  Amount of film: 40,000+ feet  Focal length: 175+ inches  Primary Mirror: 72 inches  Operational Launch Site: SLC-6  Cancelled: 10 June 1969 KH-10 Dorian KH-4 photo Pentagon Operations

 Launch sites: Vandenberg AFB  Recovery: Pacific Ocean off Hawaii  Command & Control: Air Force Satellite Control Network  Committee on Overhead Reconnaissance (COMOR): Objectives & requirements  Committee on Imagery Requirements & Exploitation (COMIREX): Daily requirements  Central Imagery Office: Manager for all imagery  National Photographic Interpretation Center (NPIC): Processing & distribution to users Use of Imagery

 Policymakers  Agricultural estimates  Geological estimates  Military  Order of Battle  Scientific & Technical  Disasters  Special missions Major Accomplishments

 Ballistic missile program  Plesetsk missile range  Construction site of SLBM submarines  Aircraft factories & airbases  Antiballistic missile sites  Order of Battle - SAM’s  Mapping Currently

 Film systems  No longer used  Limited lifetime  Delays in film return  Electro-Optical  Visual range  Infra-red  Near real-time  Radar imaging  Synthetic Aperture Radar Summary

 Photo reconnaissance launches start -1960  Last photo launch - 1986  Opened up the world/Iron Curtain  Film systems - no longer used Topics

1. How Did the Cape Get Started? 2. Vandenberg Air Force Base 3. Range Stations and Instrumentation 4. Winged Missiles 5. Sounding Rockets 6. Ballistic Missiles 7. Naval Systems 8. Space Systems and Space Launch Vehicles 9. Photo-Reconnaissance Satellites 10. Bioflights America’s Photographic (Film Systems) Reconnaissance Satellite Programs: 1960-1986