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rNATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111IllIi 14 000604480 

THE NRO STAFF July 18, 1968 

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MEMORANDUM FOR DR. FLAX 

SUBJECT: Report to the Presidentfs FlAB on the NRP 

We have attached for your review and approval the final draft 

of a report covering the activiti es of the NRP for the period 

January 1 to June 30, 1968. 

We have prepared for your signature two letters of transmittal --

one to Mr. Coyne for the President's FlAB (Tab A) and one for Mr. 

Nitze as has been the custom (Tab B). 

~~12.y WILLIAM R. YOST 

Lt Colonel, USAF 

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~ NATIONAL RECONNA ISSANCE OFFICE 

WASHINGTON , D.C, 

OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR July 19, 1968 

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Dear pat: 

The attached report to the President's FlAB 

covers our program and activities during the period 

January 1 to June 30, 1968. 

Attachments 

BYE 13235 - 68" 

. (G()pies 1 and 2) . ....~ ..... '- ~ 

Alexander H. Flax 

Mr. J. Patrick Coyne 

The president's Foreign 

Intelligence Advisory Board 

Washington, D.C. 

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j$J NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE 

WASHINGTON, D .C. 

J uly 19, 1968 

MEMORANDUM FOR THE DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE 

SUBJECT: Report to the PresicienL':~ Fnreign Intelligence Advisory 

Board (President r s FlAB) 

CONTROl SYS.TEM 

Each six months, we submit to the Presidentrs Foreign Intelligence 

Advisory Board a report of NRP activities. The distribution of copies 

of the Report is limited to those for the FlAB and one for each of the 

members of the NRP Executive Committee. 

We have just submitted the Report covering our acti vity during 

the period January 1 to June 30, 1968. Your copy of this Report is 

attached. 

Attachment 

BYE 13235-68 

Copy:r 

Alexander H. Flax 

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V. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

This section describes the major research and development 

activities and significant study effort being conducted within the 

National Reconnaissance Program. 

HEXAGON: The McDonnell-Douglas Corporation was announced in 

May 1968 as the contractor which had been selected to build the 

HEXAGON reentry vehicles. Work is proceeding under letter contracts, and it is expected that the negotiations for the definitive contract will be completed and the contract signed by November 1968. 

Also in May, the ITEK Corporation was announced as the contractor which had been selected to bpild the HEXAGON Stellar and 

Terrain Camera. This announcement was made after a decision on 

May 20. 1968 that the HEXAGON system would incorporate a 12-inch 

focal length terrain and stellar camera subsystem. The first flight 

of this particular subsystem is now planned for the seventh vehicle; 

the initial six flights will opera~e with the primary miE1sion c.amera 

only. Studies concerning the integration of the Stellar and Terrain 

Camera film into the recovery vehicles, and the mounting of the Stellar 

and Terrain Camera in the Satellite Basic Assembly are now underway . 

The definitive contract for the Sensor Subsystem development 

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and first six units was signed in June 1968. The contractor's engineering personnel have moved into the new Perkin-Elmer facility, 

and the shop and test areas are now being checked out. The large 

thermal vacuum chamber has been pumped down during functional 

tests, and it is scheduled to be operatio~al in January 1969. The 

complete Sensor Subsystem was reviewed in detail during a preliminary design review completed in February, and the contractor, PerkinElmer, was given the approval to proceed. 

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WESTON: The results of the definition phase of this program, reported previously, were analyzed during this reporting period. It 

was concluded that Hughes Aircraft Corporation would be the prime 

contractor for the system development and that certain elements of 

the system would be redefined to enhance system performance. 

Accordingly, a two month redefinition phase was initiated in April 

1968. 

AQ-12 (TAGBOARD) Drone Aircraft: The test flight program for the 

TAGBOARD drone was continued during this period. 

On June 16 the first fully successful near-nominal range flight 

of the TAGBOARD since reorientation of the program from launching 

by an OXCART-type aircraft to a B-52 launching with rocket boost to 

cruising altitude and speed was accomplished. The launching was over 

the Pacific Missile Range and was without incident. The drone profile 

was approximately 400 nautical miles down range and then into a circular .course around the tracking ship at a constant 3. 25 Mach for a total 

distance of 2, 824 miles. The entire flight was as programmed with the 

drone attaining an altitude of 91, 000 feet even though it was· in an almost 

25 

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continuous turn, Preliminary instrumentation indicated sufficient fuel 

remained for an additional 300 miles. The total drone flight time was 

90 minutes, 46 seconds. 

As a result of deficiencies shown in previous flight tests, several 

modifications were made to improve the system reliability. The key 

difficulty that had been encountered was the failure of the ramj et engine 

to achieve stable cruise operation at the end of the rocket boost. The 

fixes to the inlet spike and modifications to control and initial operating 

limits which have been made and incorporated in the vehicle used in the 

June 16 flight have apparently solved these problems. The inlet spike 

change involved a substitution of metal for the radar-absorbing plastic 

used previously, The effect of this change on the radar cross section 

and vulnerability of the drone is currently being reevaluated. 

Frequency Agility Efforts: In consonance with the requirement for 

directed coverage of specifi c I 

'-----_____________________ ~Irela ted radars, a special 

:,urpose module is being added to the STRAWMAN spacecraft, This 

add-on module will independentlyl 

'-----_____________________________ ~Icapabilities of these radars, and will provide wide-band pre-detection 

signals to the STRAWMAN recorder for detailed analysis purposes. 

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In addition to the effort directed to these particular types ofD 

'--------____ ---ll radars, studies have been initiated to address the 

more general problem of intercept and data processing of I 

~----~ D radar signals. 

Film and Processing Developments; A new aerial negative film, 

which is comparable to the best current emulsion, 3404, has been 

developed. This new film, with a speed approximately twice that 

of 3404, should result in the extension of on-off camera limits at 

low sun angles and permit better systems resolutions with higher 

effective shutter speeds. The new film is classified as SO- 230 on 

thin base and SO-205 on ultra-thin base. 

A study of colbr processing methods and the application of 

various color materials for potential use in satellite reconnaissance 

systems has been completed. Significant results include; 

a. the demonstration of a high degree of processing uniformity, 

previously unmatched in deep tank processing of wide-web color 

materials, through the use of special high temperature formulations 

and submerged spray agitation -- particularly significant in a search 

for a shorter processing cycle; 

b. a possible method for extending the effective exposure latitude 

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of Ektachrome-type color films through interrupted processing adjustment with a viscous secondary deve loper. 

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Two new developments -- bi-spectral photography and ultra-thin 

base (UTB) film -- were evaluated on Mission 1103 (CORONA). 

Twenty-five satellite traverses across the Soviet Bloc were devoted 

to the bi-spectral mode of observation. Approximately 12, 600 feet 

of black and white film were exposed through a red filter on the forward camera and a green filter on the aft camera. The photography 

. is viewed in a mode referred to as "bicolor," a pseudo color generated 

from only two colors of the spectrum. First reports of the intelligence 

value of the bicolor experiment are expected in m id-August. 

The bi-spectral test was conducted to ascertain whether the 

characteristic yellow color of smoke, dust, and waste areas found 

at uranium ore concentration p l ants and nuclear production and test 

facilities was readily detect able. If successful, bi-spectral photograpD.y will enable more rapid resolution of exist ing uncertainies in 

our int elligence knowledge regarding the products and production rates 

of certain nucl ear facilities and attempts to camouflage military installations. 

The ultra-thin base (UTB) film evaluation was conducted to prove 

the operational capability and, thus, the increased efficiency of using 

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a film which is only two-thousandths of an inch thick. This enables 

the satellite to carry 50 percent more film per mission. A preliminary 

evaluation has adjudged this new film satisfactory with nO'degradation 

of photographic quality. 

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