Photography
from spy satellites is a significant legacy of the Space Race and
the Cold War. Reconnaissance was one of the first priorities of spaceflight.
From
1960 to 1972, in a reconnaissance project code-named Corona, the
United States routinely photographed the Soviet Union from space.
The Corona project rivaled in difficulty the public drama of sending
men to the Moon, but its successes are generally unknown. Spying
from space is top secret.
Corona
was mostly a response to the fear of nuclear attack by an intensely
secretive Soviet Union. America's leaders faced an urgent question:
what were the Soviets actually doing behind the Iron Curtain? Corona
provided vital answers.
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