[ index | 1970 ]

SAMOS (1961)

Shortly before the formal establishment of NRO [National Reconnaissance Office], the Air Force made its first successful launch of the second generation of spy satellite: SAMOS. Launched aboard an Atlas-Agena A on January 31, 1961, SAMOS delivered its images not by ejecting capsules but by processing the photos on board and the transmitting the signals back to earth. Because such a procedure produced a picture of much lower quality, the system was used mainly for looking at the big picture or "area" surveillance, and capsule ejection satellites (cf. CORONA) were used on lower orbits, taking the "close look" at targets selected form the area transmissions. (PP 243)

-- [PP] James Bamford: THE PUZZLE PALACE, 1982.

[ index | 1969 ]