Declassified Intelligence Satellite Photographs

Declassified photographs from U.S. intelligence satellites provide an important worldwide addition to the public record of the Earth’s land surface. This imagery was released to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in accordance with Executive Order 12951 on February 23, 1995. The NARA has the original declassified film and a viewing copy. The USGS has another copy of the film to complement the Landsat archive.

The declassified collection involves more than 990,000 photographs taken from 1959 through 1980 and was released on two separate occasions: February 1995 (Declass 1) and September 2002 (Declass 2). The USGS copy is maintained by the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Both the NARA and EROS provide public access to this unique collection that extends the record of landsurface change back another decade from the advent of the Landsat program that began satellite operations in 1972.

Summary of Satellite Missions

KH–1 Dates: June 1959–Sept. 1960 Ground Resolution: 25 feet Notes: Single camera Frames: 1,432 Satellite System: CORONA Mission Number: 9009

KH–2 Dates: Oct. 1960–Oct. 1961 Ground Resolution: 25 feet Notes: Single camera Frames: 7,246 Satellite System: CORONA Mission Numbers: 9013, 9017, 9019

KH–3 Dates: Aug. 1961–Jan. 1962 Ground Resolution: 25 feet Notes: Single camera Frames: 9,918 Satellite System: CORONA Mission Numbers: 9022, 9023, 9025, 9028, 9029

The Eiffel Tower, Paris, France, March 20, 1966 Mission: KH–7; Dates: July 1963–June 1967

KH–4 Dates: Feb. 1962–Dec. 1963 Ground Resolution: 25 feet Notes: Two cameras Frames: 101,743 Satellite System: CORONA Mission Numbers: 9031, 9032, 9035, 9037, 9038,

KH–4A Dates: Aug. 1963–Oct. 1969 Ground Resolution: 9 feet Notes: Two cameras Frames: 517,688 Satellite System: CORONA Mission Numbers: 1001, 1002, 1004, 1006 through 9039, 9040, 9041, 9043, 9044, 9045, 9047, 9048, 9050, 9051, 9053, 9054, 9056, 9057, 9062

1031, 1033 through 1052

Summary of Satellite Missions—Continued

KH–4B Dates: Sept. 1967–May 1972 Ground Resolution: 6 feet Notes: Two cameras Frames: 188,526 Satellite System: CORONA Mission Numbers: 1101 through 1112, 1114, 1006 through 1117

KH–5 Dates: Feb. 1961–Aug. 1964 Ground Resolution: 460 feet Notes: Global coverage, mapping camera Frames: 38,578 Satellite System: ARGON Mission Numbers: 9034A, 9046A, 9058A, 9059A, 9066A

KH–6 Dates: July 1963 Ground Resolution: 6 feet Notes: Panoramic camera Frames: less than 910 Satellite System: LANYARD Mission Numbers: 8003

KH–7 Dates: July 1963–June 1967 Ground Resolution: 2 feet Frames: 18,000 Mission Numbers: 4001 through 4038

KH–9 Dates: Mar. 1973–Oct. 1980 Ground Resolution: 20 feet Frames: 29,000 Mission Numbers: 1205–5 through 1216–5

Available Products

To search our archives, please visit EarthExplorer: http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov

For More Information

Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center 47914 252nd Street Sioux Falls, SD 57198–0001 E-mail: lta@usgs.gov

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