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TOnEGRa__ 

DIRECTOR'S REPORT 

TO THE 

NRP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

ON THE 

FY 1970 PROGRAM 

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August 8, 1969 
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CONTENTS 

Page 

Introduction 1 

General 1 

Organization 2 

FY 1970 Program Issues 3 

HEXAGON -CORONA 3 

GAMBIT 4 

STRAWMAN 5 

POPPY 6 

P-11 6 

7 

7 

7 

R&D (Satellite} 8 

U-2 Aircraft 8 

Advanced Aircraft 8 

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. TDP SEERE:rIntroduction: 

I have provided, separately, a report on the financial aspects 

of the FY 1970 program in which several issues were outlined for 

Executive Committee consideration on August 8. This report will 

address the highlights of NRP status and the FY 1970 program and 

present specific descriptions of those additional issues fpr Executive 

Committee consideration on August 15. 

General: 

I have submitted an FY 1970 base program which I believe can 

be accomplished within the present budget and which represents the 

best possible response to the collection needs expressed by USIB 

and to the guidance I have received from the Executive Committee. 

Included are a number of options which relate to the purchase of 

additional spacecraft for current programs 

and other options which relate to the possible start 

of new programs {such as Readout and a MOL follow-on). Several 

of these options would require additional i/ · , rnnds. Through 

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careful c :mtrol, I believe I can manage satisfactorily the· base program 

within my ,.:urrent authority and budgetary allocatior:s. As is indicated 

potE· ::tl funding deficiencies, the budget for 

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is tight; therefore, I intend to exert stringent budgetary controls 

on the program throughout the year. In those instances in which 

the progra_m is not fully responsive to USIB requirements, I will 

call the deficiencies to your attention. 

Organization: 

There have been several recent key personnel changes in the 

NRO: Dr. Robert Naka is now my. Deputy, having replaced Mr. 

Reber on July 1, 1969; Brigadier General William G. King, Jr., 

replaced Major General John L. Martin as Director of NRO Program 

A, headquartered in Los Angeles. Colonel Lew Allen was appointed 

Director of the NRO·Staff on June 20, succeeding Brigadier General 

Berg. I intend to make other changes, specifically, as I discussed 

previously, the establishment of a systems analysis· capability within 

the NRO Staff. For the present, I am satisfied with both the organization and manning of the NRO. 

Mr. Laird's recent realignment of responsibilities for DOD 

intelligence program management will influence the NRO. The 

management of resource alloca:~ons among the Cii.:- . _·p and NRP 

by Bob Froehlke's office will; _·obably resul".: ._1 ~he assu~ption of 

an additior._ < administrative support workload by the N~iO; however, 

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I am convinced that we can constructively provide the support 

necessary to achieve Mr. Laird's objective. I understand that my 

relations with the Executive Committee will remain unchanged. 

FY 1970 Program Issues: 

The issue papers which I provided for your review in preparation 

for the August 8 meeting outline the proposed allocation to specific 

programs. In the paragraphs which follow, I will comment on each 

of the maj.or efforts. 

I am concerned with cost growths in all our programs. A portion 

of this cost growth can be attributed to inflation but most, I believe, 

is due to the technical difficulties encountered in extremely advanced 

proivams whose major subsystems are being developed concurrently. 

Although many of the technical problems in our developmental 

systems are behind us, we will probably continue to be plagued by 

cost and schedule difficulties normally as.-::lociated with major technical 

advancements in ratL,:~· largE- sophisticated, concurrent subsystem 

developments. 

Barring any unexpected major technica~ difficulties, I am , onvinced I can control these programs within the budget. 

HEXAGON-CORONA 

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On June 20, I presented to you a special report on these programs. 

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I have continued my examination of HEXAGON management and plan 

to work with the program offices to improve cost control and schedule 

confidence. The recently revised 5-5-2 launch schedule for CORONA 

will provide a modest schedule protection for up to about a twelve 

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month delay in satisfactory HEXAGON operations. The reduced 

~ORONA launch schedule coupled with recent on-orbit technical difficulties will significantly reduce our percentage satisfaction of the stated 

USIE requirements for search coverage. The attached chart reflects 

our actual and projected CORONA performance against these requirements. 

I believe, also, that we are seeing the effects of a waning interest 

and an inattention to detail often associated with the production closeout of a program. We have had a disturbing succession of difficulties 

with CORONA including one nearly complete failure (the March mission) 

and the current (J1.:.~, :~3 launching) mission on which the aft camera 

has failed. We '..:.. --e taking every action possible to improve CORONA 

system reliability. 

GAMBIT 

. The last mission of the first block m vehicles was by far the 

most successful in the series. 

A total of 7057 targets w.as photographed. The first f1_ght in the new 

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series is now on schedule for August 12 (double the film load and two 

recovery capsules). This new vehicle will have a number of new 

subsystems; however, as a result of a careful orbital checkout program we have a very high confidence in mission success. You will 

note a reduction in budget of approximately $30 million for this program. This decrease comes as a result of earlier launch rate reductions. The GAMBIT system is currently satisfying 98% of the 

quarterly requirements contained in the CCRP. The requirement for 

quarterly coverage of the targets contained in the CCRP can probably 

be met with a reduced number of vehicles per year. I must note, 

however, that beginning in FY 1973, when the launch rate goes to 

4 vehicles per year, the failure of a single GAMBIT vehicle will 

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drive the quarterly satisfaction of requirements to zero in that quarter, 

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and will significantly reduce the yearly average. 

I have attached a chart wti,.::h depicts for our photographic satellites the expected number of days on orbit through FY 1974. 

STRAWMAN 

The fir:;;,. mission of this series operated succE• lly for seven 

months. There were a number of defects which occurred during the 

mission. ':he second vehicle is now on o:.: ;,;.t and appears to be 

operating qune success(ully. A large increase in req,. _ ~ed funding 

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vs. budget was submitted ($48 million vs. $28 million). This increase is caused by proposed vehicle improvements. The low 

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band THRESHER payload has not provided emitter location accuracies 

which meet USIB stated needs for EOB. Consequently a modification 

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was proposed. Since this modification would not be accomplished 

before vehicles 4 and 5 and 

I have not recommended that 

modification or other related improvements. The program can continue within its budgeted amount. 

POPPY 

This program continues to operate successfully and is expected 

to be under budget based on a two-year launch separation. 

Anticipated costs have increased significantly due to the marked 

increase in sophistication of the ELINT payloads. Development of 

these advanced payloads w8.s initiated to meet specific USIB quick 

reaction requirements. ... nave directed a re-examination of these 

payload developments and am now suggesting that the P-11 schedule 

for FY 1971 and beyond be 3 per year instead of 4 as prev~ously 

planned. With these restrictions, I believe that the program can be 

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accomplished for less than that indicated by the field submissions. 

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R&D (Satellite) 

Several of the exploratory R&D activities are reduced compared 

to previous years but there is an increase approved for readout 

technology. The interest in readout has caused us to focus our 

applied research activities on the critical components required for 

that potential system. 

U-2 Aircraft 

Following our June 20 discussion, a study of the U-2 program 

is being initiated. I am convinced that the program should proceed 

without major change for FY 1970 but will prepare recommendations 

for the FY 1971 program. 

Advanced Aircraft 

I have recommended against initiation of an advanced aircraft 

program. (A separate issue paper on this subject has been provided.) 

I am also -recommending no further TAGBOARD drone procurement 

consistent with Executive Committee guidance. I have under consideration the possible inclusion within the NRP of the Air Force studies 

of an advanced subsonic drone. I believe this drone should be conCONTROL SYSTEM 

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sidered in competition with other NRP programs. I plan to make 

the appropriate recommendations at a later date. 

I recommend the. approval of the FY 1970 base program as 

outlined in my paper for discussion on August 8. I have attached 

individual issue papers which discuss potential new and follow-on 

programs and a consolidated set of options for these programs. 

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NRP PHOTOGRAPHIC SATELLITES 

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RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

BYEMAN STEM 

THE NRO STAFF 

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7 July 1969 

MEMORANDUM FOR DR. McLUCAS 

SUBJECT: Photographic Experiments on CORONA 

BACKGROUND 

Dr. Flax established an Ad Hoc Committee to monitor and 

report on a series of photographic flights and processing 

experiments performed on the J-3 improved CORONA systems. 

These are outlined briefly in the Introduction Section of 

the report attached at TAB D. 

DISCUSSION 

The Conclusions and Recommendations Section of TAB D 

provides a summary of the results of these tests, with 

detailed documentation making up the remainder of the report. 

The data presented is specifically reported for CORONA. 

The major conclusions and recommendations in TAB D 

concern further testing of color materials and encourage 

COMIREX to establish a special subcommittee to interface 

with these activities. These are highly desirable objectives1 and an indorsement from you will add a needed 

emphasis. 

CIA has requested that the report at TAB D be approved 

for distribution as specified in TABB. The Director of 

Defense Research and Engineering should be added to this 

distribution list. 

CIA also requested that the Committee should be dissolved 

as it was intended that the group function only through the 

first five J-3 systems. The activities of the Committee have 

been assumed and actively pursued by the Staff and the 

community. 

The overall problem in unconventional photographic 

techniques and equipment concerns not only CORONA but all 

areas of the photographic NRP. A proposed agenda for 

briefing you on this overall area is attached at TAB C and 

can be scheduled for one hour at your convenience. J 

BYEMAN CORONA 

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RECOMMENDATION 

I recommend that you sign the message attached at 

TAB A and set a time for the proposed briefing. 

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Atchs 

TAB A, Proposed Message 

TABB, BYE 7349-69 

TAB C 1 Proposed Agenda 

TAB D, BYE 7180-69 

Captain, USN 

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Originator: ~ 

Date: 

Precedence 

ROUTINE 

1 Jul 69 

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DISTRIBUTION 

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SAFRD-1 

SA F RD-2 

SUBJ: J-3 AD HOC COMMITTEE FINAL REPORT 

FOR CAPT 

·~ . 

Page 

COMP 

SAFSL 

AFRDR 

RF 

1. THANK YOU FOR THE SUBJECT REPORT AND A JOB WELL DONE~ 

2. THE COMMITTEE IS OFFICIALLY DISSOLVED IN ACCORDANCE WITH 

YOUR RECOMMENDATION. 

X 

3. CONCUR IN YOUR MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS OUTLINED IN PARA 2.2. 

. 

1 of 1 

F fl E 7 

4. THE DISTRIBUTION LIST, AS ATTACHED TO THE SUBJ REPORT, IS APPROVED~ 

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505 

BYE-7349-69 

Copy/ 

2 4 JUN 1969 

MEMORANDUM FOR: Director, National Reconnaissance Office 

SUBJECT J-3 Ad Hoc Committee Final Report 

1. The J-3 Ad Hoc Committee was formed to guide, 

coordinate and evaluate a series of photographic experiments on the CORONA System. The purpose of these 

experiments was to evaluate the capabilities of the J-3 

System with new photographic techniques. It was hoped 

that, ultimately, the intelligence productivity of the 

System as a whole could be improved by the ability to 

provide different types of information. 

2. The Committee, as an aggregate, has put much 

effort into the task as is evidenced by the attached 

summary report. It has been my professional and personal 

pleasure to have worked with each member of the Committee; 

and I commend them for an excellent job, for their expertise, and for the team spirit which they evidenced. 

3. I recommend that the Ad Hoc Committee be officially dissolved as having served its purpose. The capabilities of the J-3 payload are now well known; and the 

appropriate, special use of the System to fulfill 

intelligence requirements can be called out through normal 

channels. 

4. A recommended distribution list for the summary 

report is attached. Distribution will be effected by the 

Agency upon your approval. 

Attachment: A/S 

U. airman 

CORONA Photographic Experiments 

(Ad Hoc) Committee 

1/ 

\, 

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BYE-7349-69 

Distribution List 

Ad Hoc Committee Members - 10 copies 

Director CIA 

Director CIA/DD/S&T 

Director CIA/DD/S&T/OSP 

Director CIA/DD/S&T/OSI 

Director CIA/DD/S&T/OSA 

Director CIA/DD/S&T/ORD 

Director CIA/DD/S&T/FMSAC 

Director CIA/DDI/OSR 

Director CIA/DDI/OER 

Director CIA/DDI/OSR 

Director CIA/DDI/IAS 

Chief CIA/DDI/IRS 

Director CIA/DDI/NPIC 

Chief CIA/DDI/NPIC/TSSG 

Chief CIA/DDI/NPIC/IEG 

Chief CIA/DDI/NPIC/PSG 

Director NRO 

Director SOC 

Director DIA/AP - 9 

Director DIA/AP - 10 

Director DIA/XX 

JRC 

TOPOCOM 

ACIC 

SAFSP 

SAFSL 

Chairman, COMIREX 

Chairman, ICRS 

Chairman, EXRAND 

Chairman, EXSUBCOM 

Chairman, MC and G Working Group 

CORO 

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PROPOSED AGENDA 

ON 

UNCONVENTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES 

1. Sensors and Techniques 

2. Brief Background of Activities 

a. Aircraft 

b. Satellites 

3. Color Photography 

a. Requirements 

b. Examples (Bi-Color, SO-121, SO-180) 

c. Systems Capabilities and Limitations 

d. Conclusions 

4. Night Detection Photography 

a. Requirements 

b. Examples (U-2, KH-7) 

c. Systems Capabilities and Limitations 

d. Conclusions 

5. Recommendations 

6. Future Possibilities 

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