Serum and Vaccine Institute in Al-A'amiriya, Iraq, as imaged by a US reconnaissance satellite in November 2002.KH-4B Corona satelliteU.S.Lacrosse radar spy satellite under constructionA model of a GermanSAR-Lupe reconnaissance satellite inside a Cosmos-3M rocket.Microwave interception (Rhyolite)
The first generation type (i.e. Corona[1][2]
and Zenit) took photographs, then ejected canisters of photographic film which would descend to earth. Corona capsules were retrieved in mid-air as they floated down on parachutes. Later spacecraft had digital imaging systems and downloaded the images via encrypted radio links.
In the United States, most information available is on programs that existed up to 1972, as this information has been declassified due to its age. Some information about programs prior to that time is still classified, and a small amount of information is available on subsequent missions.
A few up-to-date reconnaissance satellite images have been declassified on occasion, or leaked, as in the case of KH-11 photographs which were sent to Jane's Defence Weekly in 1984.[3]
History
On 16 March 1955, the United States Air Force officially ordered the development of an advanced reconnaissance satellite to provide continuous surveillance of 'preselected areas of the earth' in order 'to determine the status of a potential enemy’s war-making capability'.[4]
In October 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1. It was the first man-made object put in Earth's orbit.
The Manned Orbiting Laboratory, in which USAF personnel were to carry out reconnaissance missions, was cancelled in the late 1970s due to high cost, and to improvements in digital photography making manned operation unnecessary.
Types
There are four major types of reconnaissance satellite.[5]
Early warning
Provide warning of an attack by detecting missile launches
Provides imaging of earth from space. Imaging can be done as a survey or close-look telephoto. Radar imaging can be used at night or through cloud cover.
On Wednesday 28 August 2013, it was thought that "a $1-billion high-powered spy satellite capable of snapping pictures detailed enough to distinguish the make and model of an automobile hundreds of miles below"[6] was launched from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base using America's most powerful rocket.
On 17 February 2014 A Russian Kosmos-1220 originally launched in 1980 and used for naval missile targeting until 1982 made an uncontrolled atmospheric entry.[7]
Benefits
During the 1950s, a Soviet hoax had led to American fears of a bomber gap. In 1968, after gaining satellite photography, the United States' intelligence agencies were able to state with certainty that "No new ICBM complexes have been established in the USSR during the past year."[8] President Lyndon B. Johnson told a gathering in 1967:
I wouldn't want to be quoted on this ... We've spent $35 or $40 billion on the space program. And if nothing else had come out of it except the knowledge that we gained from space photography, it would be worth ten times what the whole program has cost. Because tonight we know how many missiles the enemy has and, it turned out, our guesses were way off. We were doing things we didn't need to do. We were building things we didn't need to build. We were harboring fears we didn't need to harbor.[8]
Controversies
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2014)
In December 2013, the US's National Reconnaissance Office was the target of criticism as a result of its choice of logo for the NROL-39 spy satellite: a giant octopus astride the world above the phrase "Nothing is Beyond Our Reach". This was seen as inappropriate coming in the wake of the 2013 disclosures of mass surveillance.[9][10]
In fiction
Spy satellites are commonly seen in spy fiction and military fiction. Some works of fiction that focus specifically on spy satellites include:
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