The United States developed the Gambit and Hexagon programs to improve the nation's means for peering over the iron curtain that separated western democracies from east European and Asian communist countries. The inability to gain insight into vast "denied areas" required exceptional systems to understand threats posed by US adversaries. Corona was the first imagery satellite system to help see into those areas. Hexagon began as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) program with the first concepts proposed in 1964. The CIA's primary goal was to develop an imagery system with Corona-like ability to image wide swaths of the earth, but with resolution equivalent to Gambit. Such a system would afford the United States even greater advantages monitoring the arms race that had developed with the nation's adversaries. The Hexagon mapping camera flew on 12 of the 20 Hexagon missions. It proved to be a remarkably efficient and prodigious producer of imagery for mapping purposes. The mapping camera system was successful by every standard including technical capabilities, reliability, and capacity.

The United States developed the Gambit and Hexagon programs to improve the nation's means for peering over the iron curtain that separated western democracies from east European and Asian communist countries. The inability to gain insight into vast "denied areas" required exceptional systems to understand threats posed by US adversaries. Corona was the first imagery satellite system to help see into those areas. Hexagon began as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) program with the first concepts proposed in 1964. The CIA's primary goal was to develop an imagery system with Corona-like ability to image wide swaths of the earth, but with resolution equivalent to Gambit. Such a system would afford the United States even greater advantages monitoring the arms race that had developed with the nation's adversaries. The system that became Hexagon faced three major challenges. The first was development of the technology, which was eventually overcome by the Itek and Perkin-Elmer Corporations. The second was bureaucratic, deciding how the CIA and Air Force would cooperate in building such a system because they each had strengths and weaknesses in the development of national reconnaissance systems. The third challenge was to secure the resources that were required to build the most complicated and largest reconnaissance satellites at the time. By 1971, the NRO overcame the challenges to successfully launch the Hexagon satellite and fulfill, or even exceed, expectations for unparalleled insight into capabilities of US adversaries.

"In late 1965, the stage was being set for the final study of a new generation photographic satellite. It would be required to provide the resolution of earlier close-look satellites while simultaneously providing the broad area coverage capability of previous search/surveillance systems. On July 21, 1966 proposals for the Hexagon sensor were submitted to the government by both Itek and the Perkin-Elmer Corporation. At 1700 on October 10, Mr. Robert Sorensen, then Senior Vice President, Optical Group, received an important phone call from Mr. John J. Crowley, Director of Special Projects, CIA, -- Perkin-Elmer's proposal was accepted by the government. This is a story of the events that followed."-- from Introduction.

This volume is the story of a photographic satellite called GAMBIT, which was developed to perform at even better resolutions than CORONA and work against specified targets -- an operation usually referred to as "surveillance mode." GAMBIT fulfilled this surveillance function from July 1963 to April 1984.

Includes full color and black and white illustrations and photographs. Recently declassified history from the Center for the Study of National Reconnassiance, National Reconnaissance Office. From the preface: "Written in 1982 by Maurice G. Burnett at the request of the Director of the Air Force Program at the NRO, known as Program A. The Hexagon apping camera flew on 12 of the 20 Hexagon missions. It proved to be a remarkably efficient and prodigious producer of imagery for mapping purposes. The mapping camera system was successful by every standard including technical capabilities, reliability, and capacity.Hexagon Mapping Camera Program and Evolution is very unique among the histories of the Gambit and Hexagon programs for two reasons. Burnett provides a comprehensive history of the development of imagery satellites. The volume is very useful for individuals who want to become familiar with the development of these systems as well as the evolution of the Air Force's Program A at the NRO. Second, Burnett also provides a very detailed history of the mapping camera system including technical development as well as the operation of the mapping camera system. Burnett prepared a history that is further strengthened by the visual content he chose to enhance the historical narrative. Hexagon Mapping Camera Program and Evolution includes multiple photographs, engineering drawings, and examples of satellite imagery. This content gives readers, especially those interested in the development of satellite imagery, another reason to read this volume."

Inside the historic Cold War landmark at Vandenberg Space Force base—its technology, its people, and its military importance. Includes photos. Situated in the sand dunes of California’s Central Coast, Space Launch Complex Ten, often called SLC-10 or “Slick Ten,” is a National Historic Landmark that commemorates a powerful Cold War legacy. Home to Vandenberg’s Space and Missile Technology Center, or SAMTEC, the facility contains the rich technological heritage of the U.S. Air Force’s space and missile launch systems. As the only remaining Thor intermediate-range ballistic missile launch site in the world, SLC-10’s noteworthy achievements span the globe. The complex trained British Royal Air Force missileers for Project EMILY, assisted during nuclear atmospheric tests in the Pacific, and launched military weather satellites in support of the covert National Reconnaissance Program. Former air force space and missile officer Joseph T. Page II recounts amazing stories of dedicated men and women who led the American military effort to explore space.

This history of SAFSP is dedicated to all those men and women who fought the Cold War, in silence - from above. No organization is better at gathering overhead intelligence than the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Today's NRO grew out of 3 organizations: AF, CIA, and Navy. The AF office for satellite reconnaissance was called the Secretary of Air Force's Office of Special Projects [SAFSP]. This monograph describes the birth of Air Force satellite reconnaissance. When SAFSP was created in response to Presidential recognition of a national imperative, 4 tenets captured the sense of urgency: direct access to national leadership, covert management/operations, highest national priority, and rapid procurement. In addition, 3 management principles led to SAFSP's success over 30+ years of providing reconnaissance intelligence: strong dedication to mission, empowerment at all levels, and reporting by exception.