How US Spy Satellite Photography Worked Before Digital Technology

Ever wonder how the US government managed to capture spy photos with satellites during the Cold War without the help of digital cameras, computers, or wireless transmission? The Atlantic has a fascinating article on the various techniques that were used:

From 1971 to 1986 a total of 20 satellites were launched, each containing 60 miles (100 kilometers) of film and sophisticated cameras that orbited the earth snapping vast, panoramic photographs of the Soviet Union, China and other potential foes. The film was shot back through the earth’s atmosphere in buckets that parachuted over the Pacific Ocean, where C-130 Air Force planes snagged them with grappling hooks.

You can check out all the details of the super secret photography program in this now-declassified report.

Your Briefing on the CIA’s Cold-War Spy Satellite, ‘Big Bird’ [The Atlantic]


Image credit: Creepy Spy Plane by substack

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