Popular Science on US Spysats - Part 1

["James M. Cobb" <jcobb@ahcbsd1.ovnet.com>]

  Friend, 
 
 
  02 96 Popular Science runs a cover story, America's First Eyes 
  in Space.  It's by Stuart Brown.  It's about "a secret space 
  reconnaisance program known as Corona." 
 
  Brown reports that 
 
    Last year, the federal government declassified the program's 
    history and the more than 800,000 photographs that Corona 
    recorded.... 
 
    The development of the reconnaisance satellite was "the big- 
    gest advance in the history of the intelligence world," says 
    Jeffrey Richelson, a senior fellow at the National Security 
    Archive. 
 
 
  According to the article, the chronology of that and similar pro- 
  grams is: 
 
      1955   "Mid-air retrieval of spy cameras was originally de- 
             veloped during the secret Genetrix program authorized 
             by Eisenhower in 1955, which released 516 reconnai- 
             sance balloons to drift across the Soviet Union...." 
 
             "...the U-2 high-altitude spyplane took to the skies." 
             It made "24 flights...between 1956 and 1960." 
 
      1958   "In early 1958, the National Security Council gave the 
             development of photo reconnaisance satellites its high- 
             est priority, and the Corona program was born." 
 
      1959   Specifically mentioned is "a failed mission in 1959." 
             Generally mentioned  is "the failure of the first dozen 
             missions...." 
 
      1960   "In 1960, Corona was placed under the...National Recon- 
             naisance Office." 
 
             "...on May 1, 1960...[U-2] pilot...Powers was shot down 
             ...." 
 
             "Eisenhower promised that the United States would cease 
             all manned [!] overflights of Soviet territory." 
 
             "Just 110 days after the Powers incident, the 14th Cor- 
             ona flight produced photos of...the Soviet Union...." 
 
             "In mid-August 1960, President...Eisenhower held a press 
             conference to announce the successful recovery of an 
             American flag that had flown into orbit aboard Discover- 
             er XIII. 
 
             Proudly displaying the flag, Eisenhower told reporters 
             that the Discoverer launch was part of a scientific re- 
             search effort to explore environmental conditions in 
             space.  But he was lying." 
 
     1962    "Zenit, the first succesful Soviet spysat, was launched 
             in April 1962...." 
 
     1972    "Of 145 flights conducted before the [Corona] program's 
             conclusion in 1972,...102 [were] deemed successful...." 
 
 
  In 1960, Statesman Eisenhower weazel-worded.  Also in 1960 Scientist 
  Eisenhower lied. 
 
 
                        BIKEL:    Impossible! 
 
                        HEPBURN:  Nevertheless. 
  
 
                           --African Queen 

 
  Cordially, 
 
  Jim