Gambit 1 KH-7 is one of three formerly classified reconnaissance satellites that went on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, starting Jan. 26, 2012.
This National Reconnaissance Office released graphic depicts the huge HEXAGON spy satellite, a Cold War era surveillance craft that flew reconnaissance missions from 1971 to 1986. The bus-size satellites weighed 30,000 pounds and were 60 feet long.
Hexagon KH-9 is one of three formerly classified reconnaissance satellites that went on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, starting Jan. 26, 2012.
Gambit 3 KH-8 is one of three formerly classified reconnaissance satellites that went on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, starting Jan. 26, 2012.
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Director Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jack Hudson speaks during the exhibit opening of three formerly classified reconnaissance satellites - Gambit 1 KH-7, Gambit 3 KH-8 and Hexagon KH-9 - at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
This image released by the National Reconnaissance Office on Sept. 17, 2011 depicts the GAMBIT-3 spy satellite design, which was used in 54 launches (4 of them failures) for U.S. space surveillance operations between 1966 and 1984
To commemorate the event, National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Director Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jack Hudson (right) presented National Reconnaissance Office Director and Air Force Gen. (Ret.) Bruce Carlson (left) with a painting of the Hexagon satellite by nationally recognized artist and Dayton, Ohio resident, Dr. Richard Black.
Master of Ceremonies Lloyd Bryant speaks during the exhibit opening of three formerly classified reconnaissance satellites - Gambit 1 KH-7, Gambit 3 KH-8 and Hexagon KH-9 - at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
Gambit 3 KH-8 is one of three formerly classified reconnaissance satellites that went on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, starting Jan. 26, 2012.
National Reconnaissance Office Director and Air Force Gen. (Ret.) Bruce Carlson speaks during the exhibit opening of three formerly classified reconnaissance satellites - Gambit 1 KH-7, Gambit 3 KH-8 and Hexagon KH-9 - at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
National Reconnaissance Office Historian Dr. James Outzen speaks during the exhibit opening of three formerly classified reconnaissance satellites - Gambit 1 KH-7, Gambit 3 KH-8 and Hexagon KH-9 - at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
The massive KH-9 Hexagon spy satellite on display at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center, after being declassified on Sept. 17, 2011. Longer than a school bus at 60 feet in length and weighing 30,000 pounds at launch, 20 KH-9 Hexagons were launched by the National Reconnaissance Office between 1971 and 1986.
Phil Pressel, one of the developers of the KH-9 Hexagon's panoramic camera system, proudly points out some of the spacecraft's once highly-classified features, a life's work that he had been unable to discuss publicly until the NRO's Sept. 17, 2011 declassification of the massive spy satellite.
A Titan 3D rocket equipped with five-segment solid rocket boosters launches the spy satellite Hexagon Mission 1215 on March 16, 1979 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., in this National Reconnaissance Office image.
A rear view of the massive KH-9 Hexagon spy satellite on display at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center, after being declassified on Sept. 17, 2011. Often referred to as "Big Bird," the KH-9 Hexagons were the largest spacecraft ever launched from California's Vandenberg AFB, each as big as a school bus, 60 feet in length and weighing 30,000 pounds at launch. Twenty KH-9 Hexagons were launched by the National Reconnaissance Office between 1971 and 1986.
A close look at the rear engine used on the National Reconnaissance Office's HEXAGON spy satellites during a display at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport, Va., on Sept. 17, 2011.
This graphic from a U.S. National Reconnaissance Office document depicts the flight profile of the massive HEXAGON spy satellite missions that flew from June 1971 to April 1986.
This NRO image released on Sept. 17, 2011 shows the imaging field of view of the HEXAGON spy satellites, which were used on 20 space reconnaissance missions between 1971 and 1986.
This image taken from a now-declassified National Reconnaissance Document illustrates the field of view of the HEXAGON spy satellites that flew on 20 missions between 1971 and 1986.
This NRO-provided image shows the launch of the GAMBIT 1 spy satellite on Mission G13 on Oct. 23, 1964 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
An overhead view of the KH-7 GAMBIT spy satellite, prior to its public unveiling at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center, on Sept. 17, 2011 after being declassified. The once top-secret spacecraft was displayed as part of the National Reconnaissance Office's 50th anniversary gala being held at the Center this evening. Thirty-eight KH-7 missions were launched from July 1963 to June 1967; its then-classified missions provided high-resolution photographic imaging of targets in the former Soviet Union and China.
A closeup into the inner wokrings of an KH-7 GAMBIT spy satellite design used by the National Reconnaissance Office between 1963 and 1984 during a one-day display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport, Va., on Sept. 17, 2011. The NRO declassified the GAMBIT 1 and GAMBIT 3 satellite programs on the same day.
The National Reconnaissance Office's GAMBIT 1 spy satellite missions launched between 1963 and 1967. A total of 38 satellites were launched, with 10 of them failing. At mission's end, each satellite would drop a re-entry capsule containing its onboard film. The canister was snagged in midair by a recovery aircraft.
This image from a National Reconnaissance Office document shows the launch of a GAMBIT 3 spy satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on Dec. 14, 1966 atop a Titan 3B rocket.
This diagram from a declassified NRO document shows the imaging coverage area of the GAMBIT 1 spy satellite series, which was used on 38 U.S. space reconnaissance missions between 1963 and 1967. The satellites had a resolution of between 2 and 3 feet, NRO officials say.
A side view of a KH-7 GAMBIT spy satellite on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport, Va., on Sept. 17, 2011.
This image, taken from a declassified National Reconnaissance Office document, shows a depiction of the GAMBIT 1 spy satellite, a space reconnaissance platform design used for 54 missions between 1963 and 1967. The satellites launched atop Atlas D rockets equipped with Agena D upper stages from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
This image shows the flight profile for the NRO's GAMBIT 3 spy satellite missions between 1966 and 1984. A total of 54 missions were launched, with four failures. Like the CORONA and GAMBIT 1 satellites, GAMBIT 3 craft snapped reconnaissance photos, then sent
A look at the re-entry nose cone of a KH-7 GAMBIT spy satellite, the same type used by the National Reconnaissance Office to spy on the Soviet Union, China and other targets between 1963 and 1984.
This image from an NRO document describes how the cameras aboard the GAMBIT 3 spy satellite observed targets on the Earth. These satellites had a resolution of better than 2 feet, according to the NRO.
A look at the rear of a KH-7 GAMBIT spy satellite on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport, Va., on Sept. 17, 2011.
Thor booster sits at Vandenberg Air Force Base launch site, topped by POPPY spysat. Photo Courtesy: NRO
Force Director Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jack Hudson (right) presented National Reconnaissance Office Director and Air Force Gen. (Ret.) Bruce Carlson (left) with a painting of the Hexagon satellite by nationally recognized artist and Dayton, Ohio resident, Dr. Richard Black.
