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~ATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE 

WASHINGTON, O,C, 

THE NRO STAFF February 26, 1969 

MEMORANDUM FOR GENE.HAL SMART, NASA 

SUBJECT: NRO Aircraft Flights and APOLLO 9 

This responds to your memorandum, BYE 17482-69, of 

February 17, 1969. 

We will be pleased to support NASA in the manner outlined in 

your memorandum. Mr. Krueger and~--~have consulted o~ 

the flight operation and are agreed as to procedures .and methods. 

We will cover the cost and will work with Mr. Krueger on a reim• 

bursement plan after the flights are completed. 

f. iu;t:h~ PAULE. WORTHMAN 

Colonel, USAF 

Deputy Director 

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HANDLE VIA 

BYEMAN 

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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION ONLY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20546 

/3/fi--1?1/fJ-iP 9. 

This doeumimt consists of --~ pages 

No._/__ of _:3_ Copi~s, Series _/J__. 

FEB 1 7 1969 

MEMORANDUM 

TO: Brigadier General Russell A. Berg, USAF 

Director of Space Systems 

Department of the Air Force 

Washington, D. c. 20330 

0/0RD 

Central Intelligence Agency 

Washington, D. C. 20505 

SUBJECT: A request for two high altitude photographic missions to be 

flown concurrent with the Apollo 9 mission 

Last October your office obtained for NASA unclassified, small scale, 

multi-spectral imagery of the southwest United States made from a high 

flying aircraft concurrent with the flight of Apollo 7. 

Initial evaluations have shown this imagery to be of significant, unique 

value to earth resource survey experimentation. We would like to request 

similar photographic coverage concurrent with the upcoming Apollo 9 

mission. 

The Apollo 9 mission will include the S-065 multi-spectral experiment 

which utilizes four 80 mm focal length Hasselblad frame cameras, commonly 

mounted, synchronized for simultaneous exposure, with each camera equipped ,

1 

with different film/filter combinations. The experiment is mounted in the· 

Command Module (CM) hatch window. The CM will be oriented during photo• 

graphic operation to obtain vertical, stereo photography. Apollo 9 is 

scheduled for launch on February 28, 1969, and to remain in orbit for 

approximately ten days. The first six days are committed to test opera• 

tions with the lunar Landing Module (LM). Portions of the remaining days 

(March 6-9) of the flight will be devoted to the S-065 experiment. During 

this period, there will be two orbits each day during which sun angles 

will be near optimum over the southwestern United States - the prime 

test area. 

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,u, , ngrading and declassifiGation 

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Two photographic missions flown at above 60,000 feet altitude over the ., routes shown in Attachment 1 are requested during the March 6-9 period.' 

Desirably, the flight times on both missions should be synchronized so 

that the aircraft and the Apollo 9 spacecraft pass over the longitude 

of Tucson, Arizona at the same time. The desired camera configurations 

for these tw missions are detailed in Attachment 2. , 

It is hoped that concurrent photographic operations from the spacecraft 

and from the two aircraft flights can be achieved during the March 6•9 

period. The calculated dates and flight times will be refined in the 

next few weeks. Your office will be furnished these and any subsequent 

changes that may be made in the schedule of Apollo 9. The single point 

of contact in NASA to coordinate these and other matters will be this 

office (Mr. Myron W. Krueger), telephone code 13, extension 24707 during 

duty hours, and KE 7-0603 during non-duty hours. 

It is proposed that upon completion of the missions all film (unprocessed), 

together with the flight data and camera technical data, will be sent as 

soon as possible to Mr. Krueger. NASA plans to have the original films 

processed by the Precision Laboratory Section of the Photographic 

Technology Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas. 

Thia Laboratory will title each frame of photography and prepare high 

quality duplicates for dissemination. The Earth Resources Division, MSC, 

will plat (geographically locate), prepare detailed indexes, and screen 

all imagery to insure·none released is classified because of image content. 

If the photography requested here generates subsequent requests for high 

altitude photography over ERS test sites, as seems likely, we may find 

that standardized arrangements for requests, responses, reimbursement, 

etc., wuld be mutually advantageous. We understand that the cost of preparing the four 21 mm focal length multi-spectral package in this case is 

approximately $8,500.00. Because of the short time for administrative 

action and the complex security interfaces existing for transferring money, 

we hope we can proceed now and discuss later reimbursement of certain 

associated coats in the context of a continuing requirement for similar 

aircraft photography. 

Attachments (2) 

as stated 

c,uJv f, Lo'JstJacob E. Smart 

Assistant Administrator for 

DOD and Interagency Affairs 

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AttACHMENT 1 

Requested flight lines are shown in order of priority. 

Attachments: 3 charts 

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THE DESIRED PHOTOGRAPHIC CONFIGURATIONS 

(TENTATIVE) 

The photographic configurations requested for the two flights should be 

as follows: 

1. 1st Flight 

T'WO 12R focal length panoramic cameras (Hyacs) 

Film/Filter 

Type 3400/Wratten 25A 

Type so-180/Wratten 15 

Four 21 mm focal length Nikons with large cassettes (200 

frames) utilizing the following film/filter combinations: 

2. 2nd Flight 

Film/Filter 

Type 3400/Wratten 25A 

Type 3400/Wratten 58 

Type 5424/Wratten 89B 

S0-180/Wratten 15 

T'WO 12" focal length panoramic cameras (hyacs) 

Film/Filter 

Type 3400/Wratten 25A 

S0-180/Wratten 15 

Four 76 mm focal length frame cameras (Vintens) utilizing 

the following film/filter combinations: 

Film/Filter 

Type 3400/Wratten 25A 

Type 3400/Wratten 58 

S0-5424/Wratten 89B 

S0-180/Wratten 15 

3. The film/filter combinations selected for the frame cameras on 

both flights include those planned to be flown on the ERTS•A satellite 

scheduled to fly in late CY-1971. 

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