Spy Satellite Gambit 1 KH-7

Spy Satellite Gambit 1 KH-7

Credit: U.S. Air Force

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.

HEXAGON Spy Satellite Explained

HEXAGON Spy Satellite Explained

Credit: NRO

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

Hexagon KH-9

Credit: U.S. Air Force

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.

Spy Satellite Gambit 3 KH-8

Spy Satellite Gambit 3 KH-8

Credit: 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 Museum of the U.S. Air Force Director Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jack Hudson

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Director Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jack Hudson

Credit: U.S. Air Force

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.

GAMBIT-3 Spy Satellite Explained

GAMBIT-3 Spy Satellite Explained

Credit: NRO

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

Presentation of a Painting of the Hexagon satellite

Presentation of a Painting of the Hexagon satellite

Credit: U.S. Air Force

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.

Lloyd Bryant at exhibit for reconaissance satellites

Lloyd Bryant at exhibit for reconaissance satellites

Credit: U.S. Air Force

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.

Spy Satellite Gambit 3 KH-8

Spy Satellite Gambit 3 KH-8

Credit: 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

National Reconnaissance Office Director and Air Force Gen. (Ret.) Bruce Carlson

Credit: U.S. Air Force

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

National Reconnaissance Office Historian Dr. James Outzen

Credit: 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.

Giant HEXAGON Spy Satellite Revealed

Giant HEXAGON Spy Satellite Revealed

Credit: Roger Guillemette/SPACE.com

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.

HEXAGON Spy Satellite Builder

HEXAGON Spy Satellite Builder

Credit: Roger Guillemette/SPACE.com

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.

Launch of a HEXAGON Spy Satellite

Launch of a HEXAGON Spy Satellite

Credit: NRO

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.

HEXAGON Spy Satellite: Rear View

HEXAGON Spy Satellite: Rear View

Credit: Roger Guillemette/SPACE.com

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.

HEXAGON Spysat Rear Engine View

HEXAGON Spysat Rear Engine View

Credit: Roger Guillemette/SPACE.com

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.

NRO's HEXAGON Spysat Flight Profile

NRO's HEXAGON Spysat Flight Profile

Credit: NRO

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.

Imaging Technique of HEXAGON Spysats

Imaging Technique of HEXAGON Spysats

Credit: NRO

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.

NRO's HEXAGON Spysat Field of View

NRO's HEXAGON Spysat Field of View

Credit: NRO

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.

Launch of a GAMBIT 1 Spy Satellite

Launch of a GAMBIT 1 Spy Satellite

Credit: NRO

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.

GAMBIT Spy Satellite Unveiled

GAMBIT Spy Satellite Unveiled

Credit: Roger Guillemette/SPACE.com

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.

Close-Up View of a GAMBIT Spy Satellite

Close-Up View of a GAMBIT Spy Satellite

Credit: Roger Guillemette/SPACE.com

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.

GAMBIT 1 Spy Satellite Mission Description

GAMBIT 1 Spy Satellite Mission Description

Credit: NRO

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.

Launch of a GAMBIT 3 Spy Satellite

Launch of a GAMBIT 3 Spy Satellite

Credit: NRO

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.

GAMBIT 1 Spy Satellite Imaging Technique

GAMBIT 1 Spy Satellite Imaging Technique

Credit: NRO

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.

KH-7 GAMBIT Spy Satellite: Side View

KH-7 GAMBIT Spy Satellite: Side View

Credit: Roger Guillemette/SPACE.com

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.

GAMBIT 1 Spy Satellite Design

GAMBIT 1 Spy Satellite Design

Credit: NRO

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.

GAMBIT 3 Spy Satellite Flight Profile

GAMBIT 3 Spy Satellite Flight Profile

Credit: NRO

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

KH-7 GAMBIT Satellite Nose Cone

KH-7 GAMBIT Satellite Nose Cone

Credit: Roger Guillemette/SPACE.com

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.

GAMBIT-3 Spy Satellite Imaging Technique

GAMBIT-3 Spy Satellite Imaging Technique

Credit: NRO

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.

The KH-7 GAMBIT Spy Satellite: Rear View

The KH-7 GAMBIT Spy Satellite: Rear View

Credit: Roger Guillemette/SPACE.com

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.

Wraps Come Off Cold War SpySat Program

Wraps Come Off Cold War SpySat Program
Thor booster sits at Vandenberg Air Force Base launch site, topped by POPPY spysat. Photo Courtesy: NRO

Presentation of a Painting of the Hexagon Satellite

Presentation of a Painting of the Hexagon Satellite

Credit: U.S. Air Force

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.