Film degraded past this point. *(The stray "quote marks" are the original designations of the first three generations of cameras. )+([a-zA-Z0-9]{2,4})+$/ pagetype = document.querySelector('meta[property="og:type"]').getAttribute("content"), }; First mission of KH-4A. },20000); //20 seconds [47] The further review by photo experts of the "obsolete broad-area film-return systems other than Corona" mandated by President Clinton's order led to the declassification in 2002 of the photos from the KH-7 and the KH-9 low-resolution cameras. The best sequence of Corona missions was from 1966 to 1971, when there were 32 consecutive successful missions, including film recoveries. //hide form fields and show thank-you message if (!window.jQuery) loadJQuery(); }); Destroyed shortly after launch. The Corona, Argon, and Lanyard satellites were U.S. photographic surveillance satellites used from the late 50's through the early 70's. Minor degradations due to static and light leaks. $modal.addClass( $modal.hasClass('slideInUp') ? Each satellite carried a single panoramic camera and a single return vehicle. At the University of Arkansas, the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies has compiled a publicly available image database of 2,214 Corona photographs that identify 803 archaeological sites. Sarah Cascone, } Later missions would be able to resolve objects just 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter. [15] The front camera was tilted 15° forward, and the rear camera tilted 15° aft, so that a stereoscopic image could be obtained. Eventually, a team of scientists and engineers from the project and from academia (among them Luis Alvarez, Sidney Beldner, Malvin Ruderman, and Sidney Drell) determined that electrostatic discharges (called corona discharges) caused by some of the components of the cameras were exposing the film. Color film proved to have lower resolution, however, and was never used again. [5] (By comparison, the best aerial photography film produced in World War II could produce just 50 lines per 0.04 inches (1.0 mm) of film. The "CORONA Digital Atlas of the Middle East Project" hosts a large number of KH-4B imagery where users can view and download spatially corrected images. the systems code-named CORONA, ARGON, and LANYARD. The first Corona launch containing a camera was carried out in June 1959 with the cover name Discoverer 4. }, Corona imagery has also been used by Romanian forest engineers studying landscape history, biologists tracing the destruction of Chinese mangroves, geoscientists forecasting water levels in a Nepalese lake, scientists measuring rock glacier movements in central Asia, and biogeographers tracking marmots’ nesting habits amid destructive agriculture practice in Kazakhstan. checkCookies(); Initially, each satellite carried 8,000 feet (2,400 m) of film for each camera, for a total of 16,000 feet (4,900 m) of film. '