Declassified Satellite Imagery - 3
The Keyhole (KH) satellite system KH-9 (Hexagon) operated between 1971 and 1984. The imagery generated are of historical interest and are expected to support current scientific research on climate change and related fields of inquiry. Almost all of the imagery from this camera was declassified in 20...
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| Format: | Dataset |
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U.S. Geological Survey
2017
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.5066/f7wd3z10 https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eros/science/usgs-eros-archive-declassified-data-declassified-satellite-imagery-3 |
| Summary: | The Keyhole (KH) satellite system KH-9 (Hexagon) operated between 1971 and 1984. The imagery generated are of historical interest and are expected to support current scientific research on climate change and related fields of inquiry. Almost all of the imagery from this camera was declassified in 2011 as a continuation of Executive Order 12951, the same order that declassified CORONA. A subset of this declassified data was transferred to the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. Please check the coverage map in EarthExplorer to verify the extent of coverage for the subset of images available from EROS. The available images are primarily over the United States, Antarctica, and the Arctic Circle. The full collection of original film sources are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). KH-9 acquired photographs of the Earths surface with a telescopic camera system and transported the exposed film through the use of recovery capsules. The capsules, or buckets, were de-orbited and retrieved by aircraft while the capsules parachuted to earth. The exposed film was developed and the images were analyzed for a range of military and mapping applications. The KH-9 program was designed to support mapping requirements and exact positioning of geographical points for the military. The KH-9 panoramic cameras captured high resolution (2-4 feet) and moderate resolution (20-30 feet) terrain images. High resolution images were acquired on 6.5 inch wide variable length film. The moderate resolution terrain camera acquired images that were printed to 9 inch wide variable length film. |
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