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Corona Program Exhibit Posters Collection

National Air and Space Museum

Object Details

Creator
United States. Central Intelligence Agency
United States. Air Force
Topic
Artificial satellites
KH-4 (Corona) Reconnaissance Satellite
Photographic reconnaissance systems
Cold War
Provenance
National Reconnaissance Office, Transferred from the Space History Department, 2013
Creator
United States. Central Intelligence Agency
United States. Air Force
See more items in
Corona Program Exhibit Posters Collection
Summary
The United States' first photographic reconnaissance satellites were designed, launched, and operated as the Corona program by the Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Science and Technology, and by the US Air Force. Operating between 1959 and 1972, Corona KH (Keyhole) series satellites provided worldwide photographic coverage, surveying ballistic missile development and nuclear sites of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. This collection consists of fifteen 20 x 24 inch photographic prints used in a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) conference or press event in 1995, the year that the Corona program was declassified, 35 years after the first successful mission.
Biographical / Historical
The United States' first photographic reconnaissance satellites were designed, launched, and operated as the Corona program by the Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Science and Technology, and by the US Air Force. Operating between 1959 and 1972, Corona KH (Keyhole) series satellites provided worldwide photographic coverage, surveying ballistic missile development and nuclear sites of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. Images were shot on film canisters which were ejected from the satellite, and were then recovered by specially modified aircraft during parachute descent. The Corona program was declassified by executive order in 1995, making over 800,000 photographs available to the public.
Extent
0.13 Cubic feet (2 folders, 15 photographs, 20 x 24 inches)
Date
bulk 1995
bulk 1961-1970
Archival Repository
National Air and Space Museum Archives
Identifier
NASM.2013.0029
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Aerial photographs
Photographs
Citation
Corona Program Exhibit Posters Collection, Acc. NASM.2013.0029, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement
Materials are presented in original order received.
Processing Information
Arranged, described, and encoded by Allan Janus, 2013; updated and revised by Melissa A. N. Keiser, 2022.
Rights
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Genre/Form
Aerial Photographs
Photographs
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of fifteen 20 x 24 inch color photographic prints (predominantly reproducing black and white aerial photography) which were used in a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) conference or press event in 1995, the year that the Corona program was declassified, 35 years after the first successful mission.
Restrictions
No restrictions on access.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1529534405761-1529534405764-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2f81fee59-54b4-4540-9cbd-bcf77850c3d1

In the Collection

  • "Declassified Imaging Satellite Systems"

  • "Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Planchou, China"

  • Group photograph of CORONA reconnaissance satellite program pioneers

  • "Soviet Solid Rocket Motor Production Plant"

  • "Surface-to-Air Missile Defences, Chelyabinsk, USSR"

  • "Soviet Tank Division Garrison, USSR"

  • "Soviet Long-Range Aviation Airfield"

  • "Imeni Gastello ICBM Complex, USSR"

  • "Moscow, USSR: 28 May 1970"

  • "Sary Shagan Missile Test Center, USSR"

  • "Eurasian Mission Coverage Plot"

  • "Comparison of 1964 and 1969 KH-4 Imagery"

  • Corona Program Exhibit Posters (1 of 2)

  • "Nuclear Test Site Near Lop Nur, China"

  • Corona Program Exhibit Posters (2 of 2)

  • "Lincoln, Nebraska"

  • "Soviet Ballistic Missile Complex"

NASM-9A10631: KH-4 (Corona) Reconnaissance Satellite photograph of Dolan Airfield, USSR (now Kazakhstan) taken circa1968. Poster for National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) event, 1995.
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer
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