Corona Program
The CIA and U.S. Air Force used CORONA satellites to photograph territory that was difficult to survey from aircraft. The first successful film recovery came in August 1960.
CORONA flew publicly under the name Discoverer. Its cameras recorded images on film, so the program depended on getting physical film back from orbit before analysts could study it.
The first successful film recovery took place on August 18, 1960. The CIA’s museum records that the photographs from that mission covered more of the Soviet Union than all earlier U-2 missions combined.
CORONA continued operating until 1972. The United States declassified the program in 1995. The pictures, once made for intelligence analysts, are now also used by historians and researchers studying changes to the landscape.
Bibliography:
- Central Intelligence Agency. (n.d.). CORONA Film. CIA Museum.