Rachel_Sandford
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The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) along with the Smithsonian Institution are putting a KH-9 Hexagon satellite on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. The one day exhibit is meant to commemorate the newly declassified relic's 50[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary.
First put into orbit in 1971, and kept operational through 1986, the satellite also known as Big Bird is believed to have produced images of the Soviet Union and China during the cold war, as well as documenting the Soviet space program. These photos were used by the Defense Department, and were never seen outside the intelligence community.
At 10 feet in diameter and 60 feet in length, Big Bird is one of the largest spy satellites the United States has ever sent into orbit, and at the time it was launched, it was the most advanced spy satellite on earth, allowing the US Defense Department to take high quality images with a low resolution camera. The equipment on the satellite also covered a wide range (370 nautical miles) when taking pictures, being able to document large bits of territory with single shots.
Charles P. Vick, a senior technical and policy analyst at GlobalSecurity.org, a defense think tank, said: “It constituted quite an advanced in film-based imagery systems. We have to realize that these film-based systems were the highest technology at the time.”
A total of 20 Hexagons were put into orbit over the years; the one on display, which has had portholes cut into the side so the machinery will be visible to viewers, not being one of them.
Following the exhibit, the satellite will be brought back to the south of Dulles, NRO headquarters. This will give employees and alumni a chance to see it. There is some talk about placing it in the National Museum of the Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, but final word is yet to be given.
First put into orbit in 1971, and kept operational through 1986, the satellite also known as Big Bird is believed to have produced images of the Soviet Union and China during the cold war, as well as documenting the Soviet space program. These photos were used by the Defense Department, and were never seen outside the intelligence community.
At 10 feet in diameter and 60 feet in length, Big Bird is one of the largest spy satellites the United States has ever sent into orbit, and at the time it was launched, it was the most advanced spy satellite on earth, allowing the US Defense Department to take high quality images with a low resolution camera. The equipment on the satellite also covered a wide range (370 nautical miles) when taking pictures, being able to document large bits of territory with single shots.
Charles P. Vick, a senior technical and policy analyst at GlobalSecurity.org, a defense think tank, said: “It constituted quite an advanced in film-based imagery systems. We have to realize that these film-based systems were the highest technology at the time.”
A total of 20 Hexagons were put into orbit over the years; the one on display, which has had portholes cut into the side so the machinery will be visible to viewers, not being one of them.
Following the exhibit, the satellite will be brought back to the south of Dulles, NRO headquarters. This will give employees and alumni a chance to see it. There is some talk about placing it in the National Museum of the Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, but final word is yet to be given.