Redacted by PR

datoivr.4, sruoY

SA TELLrrE RECONNAISSANCE NO r 724.1„EASCD

• The National Reconnaissance Program consists of Photographic ,

•.•

. .

.

. • Electronic and Weather intelligence- collection systems. This program

has been operational for over a yeai and is presently furnishing

Bence on Soviet weapon and radar sites, targets, and order of battle

t

that has been unavailable from other sources. Because of its broad

national scope and application, importance, and sensitivity, and

because of a need for maximum efficiency,: its management has been

centralized into the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)

To the maximum extent possible the operational, developmental

and research aspects of the National Reconnaissance Program have

been carried on concurrently. Developmental flights have been

planned to obtain as much usable intelligence as possible and

operational missions have been used to carry R&D experiments and

tests. The capabilities of the systems.have been constantly improved

based on experience from previous flights and advances in

technology. An aggressive progiain of R&D for major improvement

in collection capabilities is underway along with the important but less

•• **.•-

•• • considerable quantities of data on Communist Bloc nations to the

. .

- Intelligence Community. It has been invaluable in obtaining intent-

. •

. • .

•
111111111--- • •

••:. • . .•

' •

43, •

• •

. . •

*: •••• •

•

4l ,

. ,

•.

• :•-•

.

•

• 4

•

••.•

itv:• • • • •

'

;' • •

, •

impressive engineering modifications. Studies are constantly underway, to define what new capabilities can and what should be started

 in the future to assure that we realize the Maximum usable intelligence

from this vital source.

The present National Reconnaissance Program does not, and

its systems under development will not completely satisfy all of the

valid requirements of the Intelligence Community. There are many

obvious deficiencies 10

.....,.....__..„......„„ ....... _...........„.„.,...

We are also vulnerable to

political action. Our systems are certainly not as efficient as they

• could be and, as our collection capability increases, we must decrease

the cost per unit area of coverage. Some of these deficiencies are

•

inherent in the technology that we must deal with, but many improvements are within the capability of the present state of the art and many

other improvements can be realized from well directed aggressive

'•

research followed by develoPment. :As in all weapon system programs

we must have a proper balance between operations, development and

:4 •

research. We must start development now of the systems of the near

.• •

2
•

. • •

future and we must conduct initial research that will permit developments for the more distant future. To do this intelligently and

efficiently, we must define the deficienciei of the present program

and pin point the needs of the future. Only in this way can we plan

a reasonable program for the future.

Under each of the three categories of satellite reconnaissance--

Photo EMIT & Weather--we have stated the present capabilities,

discussed the future requirements. and capabilities of meeting these

requirements, and finally discussed the impact of our needs and

' capabilities on the future National Reconnaissance Program.

No attempt has been made herein to completely justify or prove

the requirements, to weight the relative importance of these various

requirements or to assign priorities to them. This would have real

significance only as it applies to a specificmesns of meeting the

requirement and the difficulty, cost and timing of their accomplishmeat.
s 11111111

..

z •' •

.•

STAELLITE PHOTOGRAPBIC RECONNAISSANCE 

. • • L PRESENT CAPABILITIES

Our photographic satellite program covers the highest priority

-...• and has furnished the most useful and impressive results. There

. •

are four active photographic projects, one presently inactive project

and a group of research and study projects, as follows:

.;.. CORONA -MURAL - The CORONA -MURAL system is an

: .

operational system using the THOR-AGENA booster combination.

..

It consists of two 24" focal length panoramic cameras using 70 mm

L. film. These cameras can obtain about 4.5 million square miles of

stereo coverage per mission. (?) Fourteen of 19 flights have

returned material for exploitation with ground resolutions of up

to about ten feet and an average ground resolution of between 10 and

20 feet. Fifteen missions are scheduled in the next twelve months,

The present time required from request for a mission to delivery

A ki.:ir

of film to the exploiters is ir,r90 days (28nPI-74-¢-5).

•

An improved version of the CORONA system called the CORONA-I

will almost double the film recovery capability of the system. .• A

second recovery bucket has been added to the CORONA MURAL

camera package so as to permit a total of 7-9 days of camera operation instead of 4-5 and thereby increasing the coverage to 1-2 

.. • :•

' •
.

. • •

•i. t•

. • •

. .

. • .

. • (frcim 4.5). This improvement also permits the vehicle to go into

. LPG

• an inactive, unstabilized mode for over 20 days between the time

..

that the first and second recoveries take place. The first- of the

CORONA-1 vehicles is scheduled to fly in early June 1963. This

configuration has been made possible by the improvement of the

Timm booster to the Thrust Assisted THOR:TA T:iversion. Three

solid rockets are fastened to the sides of the THOR giving about

650 additional pounds on orbit. The TAT was successfully operated

.cer-44 April 1933.

Improvements to the camera are underway to reduce sensitivity

to temperature changes. This change will be effective in

and should result in an improvement in the average resolution of the

film of several feet.

Action is being taken to reduce the time required to prepare and

launch a mission. A standby capability r less will be

attained to permit the rapid replacement of an unsuccessful launch

or to permit quick reaction to emergency situations.

LANYARD - The LANYARD system is expected to give a ground

resolution of up to about five feet* 2:I contrast: It is boosted by a

Thrust Assisted THOR-AGENA combination and will orbit at between

2

•
A ...... • • •

•

........ ..=.

.• .

:. 110 and 130 nautical miles for four days. The 68" focal length

•

of continuous coverage over a swath 40-50. miles wide.v If the stereo C••••••••

mode is desired the coverage is cut in half and is intermittent. The

.• ..•

first night was unsuccessful due to booster failure. The next flight

• .

. • • panoramic *camera will give about tf:;*.. million square miles

Cnatil (7,04/ •

is scheduled for / 6 May 1963.

:•°•-•-- • • - •-•

.......... • -

•

. • e • . • • • . . • • . e • • • •-•,..•

. • ....... ..... - . •••_••••••• •n ••_••••••••!•••••• n •••!...;:•:•:•:•!.....:••••:•...*:•!:!n •n !•7.
Page 7

is

Denied in full
::::: •:-:-:•:•:•:•:•:•••••...!••••••••••.•- .... . .............. . ... . .... . .

.......... .

......... ••••••••;•••••••••••••-••:•?:::•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•::::•-•••••••:•:;:•:•:•:•:•:-:-:•:::

..

. . ..

..... •,-,• •••"•-•• . • . ... . ... • .... •

••••••• . .................. - .

E-8. The E-6 camera was the payload instrument for the 722 System

which was terminated last year. The system was based on two 38"

focal length panoramic cameras. The design specification of the system

was 84 lines/millimeter, which would result in 10 feet resolution at

123 nautical miles. The termination followed five unsuccessful flight

tests, the last two being failures of the recovery vehicle which was a

Cotirik*.eur/VG.. • • .

new design. reasons for the termination were a statement by

NPIC last summer that the CORONA MURAL photography was all that was

needed (which has since been changed), couptatrWith-budgetary considera- •

tions. •

. • •
. • •

• The later E. G cameras, of which there are four dual systems

on hand, exhibited performance much better than that specified in

the contract. These 100 line/millimeter systems would provide 6.8

foot resolution from 100 nautical miles.

Recently DNRO convened an Ad Hoc Committee representing the

NRO Staff, the Directors, Programs A and B, and NPIC, to review and

make recommendations for the system to succeed CORONA /AURAL

in the search role. This committee recommended that the E-3 camera

be used to satisfy this requirement since further improvement to

120 lines/millimeter or better is possible and rill provide 5.6 foot

resolution and is available earlier than any other possible system.

In addition the ATLAS AC-ENA booster combination permits considerably

more film to be carried and gives a decided cost effectiveness to the

E-6 system.advantage. .

A small effort has been maintained on this hardware and the four

systems on hand could be flown beginning in September or Cctober of

this year with the current 162 recovery system. About February of

next year, a larger recovery vehicle, which would be a scale up of the

present vehicle, would be available as would..the improved camera.
•• • •

It is anticipated that by Mid 19344this system could pick up the search

• • . • .....• • . • .. • mission in its entirety,'' after a thorough flight test pr-ogr— an) Each

launched vehicle would obtain 12, 300, 000 Square nautical miles in each

of two missions ( to be run as two 5-day missions a week apart) for

essentially 200% coverage of the Sino-Soviet Bloc per launch.

G ARGON. ARGON is an operational photographic system fo r

geodetic and mapping purposes using the THOR AGENA booster. It

consists of a 3" focal length frame type terrain camera of high

geometric fidelity supplemented by 3" focal length stellar camera.

T's 3Zr. C

The terrain camera capability is 6, 000 photographs (235 a 23,c5 nm format)

covering 168 million square miles in a four-day mission. Stereo is

. provided by overlap in the photographs. Positional accuracy obtainable

:.. . t.t. 0 0 't • ....::/.....

from this photography alone is 750 feet racy•is•1500

. .?

.. tea. Combining ARGON photography with CORONA photography permits

Q. in improvement of positional accuracy to SO 'Fr i/DR I tU4111.. A ‘‘.I

1 .. ,. • % tic /4 13 --6 cAu Fr . Gm Mk. ousAr s

)1

.• ••• •

Coynit

0104 AUC-ot:p.-1-%f - •

.

,

•..:,,et., .. •

G .e..4. 04.- tvi G." 0 tA -.1 telkem

7
Page 11

is

Denied in full
II. ftture Requirements and Capabilities 

1. Very High Resolution. We need. to be able to resolve details on

thi groun• d that are less size.

To provide a technical intelligence =ability, a camera system

•

must resolve a ground target of 1111111 or less .1111111111

•

Various studies conducted in the last few years disagree as to the exact

reludrement for a technical intelligence capability, but they have generally

conceded that a ground resolution, as stated above, is required.

Our present coma/URAL capability of 10 foot resolution is

inadequate, and even the 5 foot resolution expected of LANYARD and the

when realized, will

not adequately satisfy the technical intelligence requirements. In

order to accurately determine the capabilities of the Soviet weapons and .

. .

•• • •

other systems, we need. the highest resolution that we can possibly achb ve. • • ;

As the Russian learns of our satellite photographic capabilities

he can be expected to increase his efOorts to camouflage and hide his

important facilities and equipments.' Be will also attempt to confuse us

by the use of decoys and th.mmies. Only by very high resolution photography

• can we reduce the effect of such efforts.

Our experience in Cuba has clearly damanstreted that the 2-5

foot resolution as obtained from the U-2 photography is inadequate to

tell us all we need to know ibouto0tain ..critical areas. In Cuba we

were. forced to resort to low level photography to get the detail that

was needed. This sane type of capability is required from over the

Soviet Union where lcst level aircraft missions are impossible. This

. • .

- very high resolution photography does not have to be able . tocee4r vest

•. •

. •
----- --- - "-.-

expanses of the Soviet Union. Coverage of 5-10 miles square would

appear to be adequate provided we cam accurately point at previously

identified target areas.

Ono of the ramblers associated...41.th very high resolution

camera systems is the problem of pointing the camera at a specific target.

The camera system necessarily has a long focal length and. with the available film widths the resultant coverage is very small. or example,

/Z4A44,

dy'49WW.,,dy",..ewy,

A

Another area requiring continual development is the area of

controlling vehicle dynamics. The attitude (pitch, roll and yaw) must

be maintained to very stringent tolerances4.----------4-in order to

insure coverage from long focal length systems. In additiono.attitude

.. .

.

- . ..

. . •

rates must be carefully controlled foracameras tem vithalong focal '-

Ili

. . . . 

nu %1

• '
-

• •

••• •

.4 • • •

.

A 1 • length. Attitude rates in excess of 10 to 20 degrees per hour will cause

44—*

':.image smear and will significantly degrade the quality of the photovaph. - .

. .• .

To's:0.4min these extremely small attitude rates, new techniques must

.

.

be developed to sense the horizontal plane of the vehicle in inertial

..

space and then to maintain the vehicle's attitude to this established

• reference system within very snail limits and with very small rates.

It is necessary to compensate for the image notion at the film

•

plane caused by the forvard velocity of the vehicle and to a =eh lesser

•

extent by Corollis Acceleration. With the present 24ural system, compensation rates within 100 of the required values apparently are sufficient to

prevent significant image motion, but with long focal length systems

suitable for a technical intelligence, image motion compensation =1st be

more accurate probably better than 1/2 of 1%. There are several methods

available to determine an image motion and then to compensate for it,

' but development will be necessary to make these systems sufficiently

. •

NCcrel•lei.:•n y U

accurate to allow photography of in•IP•P•te.4•nt quality for technical

intelligence. Passive technology includes ure-progranming of velocity

and vehicle altitude:la:meters so that me can be accomplished. during

a. photographic pass as a function of system time. Active methods would

include real time velocity and altitude determinations by radar ranging

or motion sensing technology includes Doppler techniques, etc.

Another area requiring extensive development is the area of

•

lens design. One of the asSeciatetprOblems is.ibe fact that long focal

- length systems require very . large. and therefore very heavy glass • •

components which are necessary to insure satisfactory light gathering.

There are also problems in designing diffraction limited lens eystems,. .

. •:•

.

.

aligning optics within the lens System, • and in building `collimators of' .

• •• • • ••' • • ••:•• • `. '•*:•• .;t: Et.

•

• • • • •t. •

•
•

. . sufficient focal:length and precision to calibrate and adjust these .

.

•

• .. new optical systems. Further study is also necded in the development

,

of catadi

•

 optric (combination reflector and refractor optics) necessary

to accommodate long focal length systems within the physically limited.

..

p., space of a satellite vehicle. 4,1 co.04,16

Atmospheric limitations will become a problem as resolution

improves and will piy preclude s•ound resolution of better than

recv,(4z-i

One foot. There are my recent Studies predicting what this atMosTheric

limitation will be, but insufficient data is available to predict precisely

the ultirmte capability.achievnable fromsspace.

The U-2 camera system operating at 70,030 feet altitude,

provided.photo-olgqrsith ground resolutions up to 1 to 2 feet which

. • •

might well be approaching the atmospheric limits from huh altitude. 47-juailt

'Ibis aircraft photography from an altitude of 70,000 feet is above the

.Sajor portion of the atmosphere where most of the attenuation of visible

radiation occurs. The problems created. by the atmOrphere, including

•

: 4 •

••

a •

•••••

..

. • •

scintillation, shimmer; absorption, and scatter require further study.

Stedies.are-bedroanductedmon-this—problear-blrt-mddieticmal

It is apparent that as new camera systems approach the

atmospheric and other limitations, their system size and costs will

increase expontantially. It now appears possible to attain in the

.1965-1966 time period. practical satellita photo system having resolutions

approaching

coverage..

•

Such a system in itaaimplest form might be possible using a

.

. .

OTAT-AGLIA Booster gyAma i butta obtain stereo coverage and assure the

: • .

. *•••••
use an AZ.A.3-ACMIA. c=b1r.a.tion.

. . •

•

• •

•

• •

•

•

. .

•

: • =

l

•

'..••; • .. .; . . •

•• • • maxim= probability of success should

.. ••• n• 111111111V

•

•

. • •

s. conditions. This eye= could probably be a

4:f• • . •

r • • . -.Development of four camera syster.s would cos

•

' • • ' test-r' " . • : .

ly 1965.

to flight

components of

. •

Studies are being accomplished in optics pointing, IMC and

This system would. weigh about 8000 lbs. or =re and would.

probably require a TITAN III booster system. It could not be ready for

operation prior to 1966.

•

r

. .

:•

it*

I •••".

; •
MEW

•

2.. High Resolution Search. A need. exists for a broad coverage

•

Our Cuban operations clearly dencostrated our Inability to •

- • • •

. • . • locate vital targets such as the SA-2 sites. There are several instances

1 •

. where Soviet radars were located with COROEA MURAL photography only after

•

.

•

r.. their approximate locations vas determined by other means. The 6-7 foot

resolution capability of the presently proposed E-6 or M-2 search systems •

will certainly be a big improvement in this regard, but even this will

, not meet all our needs. Vita camouflage, hiding and other means of

deception the Soviet can prevent us from locating new targets unless

we can do better than 6-7 feet. Up to some point, probably about 2-3

. •

feet of resolution, the intelligence gained from photography will be

directly proportional to the resolution obtained.

In addition, we have to consider the fact that the average

resolution obtained from a photo system is quite a bit poorer than the

optimum. CORONA-MURAL photography enables interpreters to detect 10 foot

objects 'only 15% of the time, 30 foot objects 50% of the time, and 200 toot

objects, /00% of the.time. The unanswered question, that is critical to

future requirements and developments, is a determination of the various

factors that cause this wide spread. If the primary factors are

0 natural, e.g. atmospheric perturbations or 1.1.1=ination, there is likely

\ -to be a wide resolution spread is all satellite photography. If the

1 camera or the vehicle are primary factors, then other designs may

• •

provide much more consistent results.

Unfortunately, at this time we essentianykmam only ace

point on the curve, cakeii • l• .e23.7 was not

•

• 

search photo reconnaissance system capable of resolving objects on the

•

ground - of illifeet on a side. ..: •

.
rp,• : ,

. ••••••• • •

•

•-.I. •

•

•

. • ••• obtained. concurrently with the CORONA material, and while the conclusion

'‘ • can readily be drawn that there is more intelligence in better resolution, ..

••.•

••• ; ••" • •• ••• no *lid quantitative conclusions can be made. A better miderstanding •

. .

• . . of both the requirements and the physical limitations to satisfaction

••: . of these requirements will be obtained this spring and suer frog the

LANYA.ID At the present time, however, it would appear

.. •

desirable to be able to obtain U-2 quality search photography from a

satellite.

The inherent characteristics of cameras wherein area covered

decreases as resolution increases and the problem of orbiting, recovering

processing a,nd interpreting vast quantities of film make a high resolution

search capability difficult and costly to attain and surely places a

practical limit on such a .aystem. This practical limit would appear

it this time to be somewhere in the of Feet of resolution.

The improved E-6 system can provide 6 Loot photography and

cover the area of interest twice in one launch (25 million square miles

per mission). It will do this in an economical (relative to current costs)

manner using en ATLAS AMA launch vehicle. This system could be flown

by October 1963. •

The LANIARD system presently under test will have a limited

search capability of about one million square miles (40-50 nm swath width)

with a five foot resolutihn using the TAT-At '1A booster. Using an AMAS

AMA booster combination the coverage and efficlency could. be in=eased,

.• but even with two cameras the swath width would be small • (100 nm mono

.•

and 50 nm stereo).

Moving up the better resolution scale and considering a system

problems increase

111111111111-

..•
•

•

. • •

.1.•

•

•

. • • •.• • •

..• •

• • greatly. A dual installation would rec_uire a bigger booster such as

would act to limit the swath viuth to something less than that of the

It would appear now that we could design and develop a 11•••5

. . •

foot resolution search system, 150-180 0211 swath width and at least 10

million square miles of coverage permission that coed be boosted by

the. ATLAVAGENA, that to go to 3-4 foot resolution such a system would

require a TITAN II and to go tfoot would probably require TITAN

".,•1

Handle vi

Catrcl rat_
% •

3. All Weather Cans:batty. A. need exists, particularly in

emergency situations, for a capability to obtain coverage in spite of

•

" bad weather over the target. .

. 

Clouds, poor visibility and darkness over the target have

: . -

. • • •• •

severely litited our present photo reccnnalsoance. Even with the help

of our weather satellite, clouds have restricted our interpretation of

••• • • i of our COROSA-XORAL photography. (pm routine circumstances poor

..

. -

weather has required the increase of coverage and. more mission s) in critical '

situations, however, where time is vital, delays could be very costly.

Patticularly in terns of Post Strike Assess: eat where weapons are withheld

until the results of the first attack can be evaluated, we cannot wait

for good weather to be able to assign targets to the 2nd. strike. Por

. this purpose we need an all weather system with a capability of at least

•

20-50 foot resolution.

..~..sers."+"aare..orb..ab. .4.40egosua

An all weather capability would of-course be a desirable thing

to have for all types of satellite reconnaissance. Eawever, present and

..

foreseeable technology limits such a system to radar techniques and radar

does not give promise for resolutions as good as the present CaROWA-NISAL

system (10-20 feet). Until there is a major break through in the state

of the art radar can only be considered for very special uses where low

resolution (20-50 feet) is accepteble. ' Radar cannot be considered for

a search system because of email area coverage, narrow bandwidth and

low resolution. It does not look uqw to be suitable for looking at

•

indicator targets in critical international situations. ibien CORONAMURAL pbotography is marginal for such purposes and it has twice morethe resolution as the 20-50 feet expected fra ► radar and 4 to 8 times the

Cr..-.4/3

. ' • •

G:ii/j1•• :Ea •

!. ' •

' . .
•

-••:/,/.//////,--W.97/.////////,///7,0:49/40",..,..

- -

rrf/J/AJl9r3rdrr/rr/le.'. "ezereseere, . _ •

, _

//se

— • °.

- •

-:!..."/././WeZete/Zeee - oe • //,

-

"..eeeee

. . •

: •

":n ../..-4.•

•• .?: •••••

•• • • v*
"-, ,.•

••

•

•

.• • •

4. Quick Reaction.. A need exists to be able to react to emergency

-reqairements for satellite reconnaissance in a natter of minutes.

During periods of tension immedialmay prior to a possible outset

...of hostilities the InteLligence Commanity needs coverage of certain

t targets to assist them in their attempt to assess the enemy's intention.

r

During hostilities there are also strong needs for quick reaction for

•

Post Strike Assessment. In such a situation it could be vital that

Y •

photo coverage of certain indicator targets be obtained, recovered,

processed and furnished to the interpreters in as short a time as

possible. Our present capability is 25 -36 days from selection of

target to interpretation of film. This time is being reduced and can

certainly be cut down drastically, but with present and. planned systems,

•

it will at best be a matter of days not hours!

Our present capability to react to an emergency situation and

initiate, acComplish, recover, process and evaluate a mission is besed

on a summation of time factors.

Preparation for Launch '19 days

Collection of Photography

and. Recovery

Transportation of Film days

Processing of Film 3 days

Transportation front Processor day

to Evaluator

.

. .Total 28 days

To significantly improve the situation, we oust reduce the

time to do all of these steps and to get the time down to a few hours.

This will be a very difficult if not impossible job. At ,best it will

. • .

. 412.110.. VI.% •
recovery area and..the time required to transport the film to the

• ".` • • ". • , . • . • .

processor. •

tiaglil i.

-P.prtrri Sysitin

•

•

. be costly. :

.. Reduction of the time required to prepare for launch can

be realized. by:

pre planned programs for emergency mission kept in

readiness

automatic cheek out equipment

solid boosters

product impovement of boosters and AGENA.

Reduction of time for the collection of photovaphy can be

acc=plished by reduction of the n=ber of targets and careful selection

of these targets' readiness location.

e time to take the pictures is determined by the number and

location of the targets required to accomplish the mission. It is

- limited. first by the requirement for daylight over the target area.

This could cause a delAy from "go" of over twelve hours depending aa

. the time of the year, the time of "go" and the location of the target.

It is limited by the time for the satellite to pass aver the

•

.targets required. If only a few targets are required and these can be

selected such that they can all be covered on one orbit and. if this . •

special orbit can be set vp • then. tbe time •can. be as moll as about one

orbit or about hours plus tiro from ego" to launch. If targets

• ••

cannot be so selected as to be.•phOtographical.:on a single orbit, this •.- r •

time can be up to bo hahis plus t1ne.from "go" to launch.

The time to physically recover the target information is based

primarily on the time required for the satellite orbit to reach the

%,.

f. •

. •

.t •

•

.

e:„. •

•
1.3111.1 .

erre.a Iv

The time for the satellite to reach the recovery area can

' vary from one hour to 243 (daylight, south to forth, etc.) depending

on the location of the recovery area anI the orbit of the satellite.

For a one or two pass mission from Vandenberg we can recover in the

.•

vicinity of our present locati=. If we have several launch and.

recovery locations this part of the recovery tine could be reduced

for other than one or two orbits.

The time for transportation of film from the recovery area

to the processor is at present stout 11 days for air recovery (2 days

for water recovery) . This could be reduced by ba ying the film removed

.• from the capsule in Easraii instead of at Sunnyvale and. by special faster

transportation procedures such as having a 3-47 fly the film direct

' to the processor.

The processing itself would. be reduced a bit in an emergency

situation because ' we vou.V. save less film to process and. thereLls some

.•

tim 'a:at-could be saved if the processing for emergency operation could- .

be done at the exploiters facility in Washington. At test it would

. appear that by improved and more costly procedures ve could reduce the

reaction time for film recovery to a few days.

Another possible solution to the quick reaction problem is

the use of readout wherein the photo is processed in the satellite, and

transmitted to the gcoucd by a wide band radio link.

Readout offers great promise for Post Strike Recannaissiuice

'where the resolution recuired is loir and the data link band. width needed

Is smell.

•

.•
is made worse by the need for the satellite to pass within range of the

readout station.

In order to get

the interpreter quickly we must have to.iltiple stations. Even. this

. requires several passes, and high quality •••el..md ccmicationa to

tran=it the picture back to the interpretation center. Placing

readout stations in the tar north close to the Pole can *prove the

efficiency of the system, but it is still limited to a very few stereo

pairs per day (stations at VAFB, rev Beaton, Kodiak and.11111would.

give about ten stereo pairs per day) wider band. widths or multiple

bands can improve the situation but still do not make readout a very

desirable approach, and. we still have the preparation for launch and.

photo collection times to contend. with.

The use. of satellites on orbit that could. photograph the

ir.dicator targets on corn:end weuld eliminate the preparation time

. .

delays but such satellites would be vulnerable and there would. still

be the tine delay-required to pass. over the prepir targets. Depending-

:

upon..vhere-the • satellite was located :when the need for emergency coverage

arese,-.the . time -to-get over the ;targets. Depending upon irhere the

satellite was located when the need. for er.ergency coverage arose, the

. • .

.

. •

..

•
••

• •

.

•

•

.

•

CillitrZi

.

'

.

.

.

: •

••••

e.

•

•

•

.

1 •:`.7.' •

•

• .

.

time to get over the target would very from one to over

• rwavil4lim time to get over any target could be reduced by

.•

atell.ites on orbit properly spaced, but it could still

60 hours. The

having several

take hours from

-1,„ • command to be. able to see the target, and such a system still has to be 4 . • 7.%

•

. ,

.• :. recovered or read. crat.

..

: •-. • txx:ATI‘et Cufrintirvo. GA noc.

/Tee •

"'. • *. • im PLANata !Mac:Mugs kit1ccieri4;

• • •

a
Rt

. •••''

reasonable level, we rust be sure that we utilize the best combination

resolution add up to a lot of vehicles, boosters and launches. The

satellite reconnaissance program now costs over

per year. This cost will go up unless the satellite operations become

more efficient. If the cost of this program is to be kept down to a

: 1111111r.

. 5. Increased Efficiency of Operation. A strong need exists to

reduce the cost of satellite reconnaissance aerations.

• -Satellite photography, though cheap in terms of area covered,

•

is still very costly in terms of the overall omerational requirement. • •

The Sinn Soviet lama mess covers square miles. The

▪

• Imtalligsnce Comm • ity has already identified over 303 individual targets

for theallisystea. alone. Regular search of this area and regular

.

,

,..

.

coverage of these and other targets added to the requirement for improved

ei

of booster payload. and recovery system to obtain •- snel-^r. cost effective-

•

ness. The major portion of the cost of the Satellite aecommaissance

,• ''I.

k

... Program goes for operations rather 

..

than R&D. This because the major

, .. ‘.

A

ki part of the cost of any mission is for procurement, check out, launch

and tracking and because the development coat of the boosters used

..

(TEOBS, LIMAS and AGMS) have already' been paid. The Me R&D costs

are mainly for the development of psyloads amd torixebital and recovery

vehicles. Because of thii it maybe economically desirable to consider

.

. . . •

the &pre:Low-ant of'improvedpvlxm4s, recovery vehicles gal

▪

or the change

to a more-efficient booster system for ingieased-operational'efficiency

.

.

- . . •

even without increased sensor performance. It reqUires that we evaluate

our projects from a cost effectiveness standpoint. Once a given

..

photographic system , ia performing successfully, it becomes a quantity

film

• • . • • .• : .

collection operatiiii irhere 'cast per.unift . .tive arage beam*, iniporiant.
..•

• 11111.1141---

.. .

•• • •

We cannot just consider _le cost of a mission but most relate this cost

to the quantity of coverage obtained.

The cost of photographing a square mile decreases as the

capability of the booster increases. ?or ezanple, the cost of UDBAL

stereo photography using the MOB-AGM:A-and one recovery vehicle, is

about r square mile for 7,000,000 square miles. The cost,

using the Thrust-Assisted. TEOR-AGEM and tszo recovery vehicles, viii

It is, of course, self evident that coverage of one particular

square :die maybe worth far more than coverage of another particular

square mile. It is also evident that there is no value in additional

coverage capability : 

The two missions for one launch concept which is soon to be

employed in ?WAIT end is being studiesiforglind was rem:ca.•Asti

for the enables us to make a more effective use of

the capability of the boosters involved. Beyond this it appears pi-doable

that for some purpose, the use of several recovery vehicles will usually

increase efficiency of operation. It is desirable to have more than

one size of recovery vehicle so as to be able to assure mazimumuse

of on orbit weight capability and maim= of operation. 7

Evaluation of the

appreciably Inez-ease the cost

effectiveness of the systemsuchtbat the reentry vehicle development

cost would be paid for iu.a few

fbrA3
••

It is apparent that•the Lost economical size of recovery

•

vehicle to cse is one just capable of heading the film from one mission.

1_ • .If two or rote missions are to be accomplished from one launch, one

•••• • :.

14

•••:-•:.• • recovery vehicle sh.ould. be carried .or each mission. This sche= is

,,•• .7 .

the best compromise from the operational viewpoint between recovery

force activity and customer desires for daily returns.

If requirements for very much better resolution search are

•

to be satisfied, the boosters involved will, of necessity, be larger,

i.e. TIT= II or TITAN III, in order to either boost the larger payload

into orbit or to maintain a reasonable cost effectiveness. Probably

the =tin= system from r coat effectiveness standpoint alone - uld

be one using the full boost capacity of TITAN III with a large nutter

of recoverable vehicles on board at launch so that a corresponding

number of missions could be accomplished for each successfUl launch.

. Of course, this presupposes a reliability not yet attained in space

systems.

•

The efficiency of the MP can alto be increased considerably

by the realization of interchangeable. payloads (vehicle in front of

the booster). This would. provide the greatest operational flexibility

to meet changing requirements and would require that fewer boosters

would have to be stockpiled. This approach has been =lied in part •

to the T....011 -AGMLA. law:Lc-bee to date but much more interchangeability

. . • _

and standardisation is possible. -;.,/

- •
6. racreased Vulmeraility. A very vital need exists to redoco

drastically the vulnerebility'of our recomnatssance satellites to enemy

nuclear attack.

. • •

:;,:iical;

•

•
Pages 31 - 37

are

Denied in full
•

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••. ......

:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•*

t•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:

••:•••••••:•:•:•:•:•:•!•!••••••!.

....

...

,..

'.:

:•.:

••••••••••••••••.•••••••-•.•••-•.•-•-•-•-•.•.........•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••-••••• •• • •-•-•••••••••••••••••••.•••-•-•-•-•-•- ... - .......... •-•••••••••••••••

...............

...............

.....*:...%%*:::::: ......%°............"

. . . .

..........

.......

-_-- ........ ______ .............. .:%. . .........

..,....e......

••• • .....•

.. •

.

...4.... ...... ... . .. ......'•

•

:.'%.. .:•.

•••••n ... ,...........,. ........ - . •••••••••:•:.:•:•Y !. ,.., Y . .

. . . : :

. . %

. • .

:.: .................• ... ... ..

:::: '........,.......... .... ..

.:••••:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:• :. •

:' .“:::: :•••

......

.. . ... ...

. •

.. We..............

:•n ••••n•:•:•:•:•:• .....:,....

:• ....

.....

' . ••••••••••••••••••:.•:•:•:•......:•••••.....:.::..f.:.•:.:.:::::::::::.:::::%iii....:.iiiiiiiiiiiii::::;ii.i.:.::::::::•.:::::iiiiiii.:::::.::•.:::::• :::.:•:::.:::•.....:•:::::.iiiiiiiiiii.....•..::•::..:•...:::::.:::.ii.:..:::::..:.:.:.:.:.::::::i:::::.::: ::...: .:: ii

%,

.

•

•

e

8. Special Sensors. There is a need to develop additional

rf.' • • • • sensors to improve our evaluation =abilities.

Normal photogr=by, recording in the visible Portion of the

• • . . . spectrum, will undoubtetly be coutiratoiisly improved in the fature

with advances in lenses, films, vibration damping, stabilizing vehicle

• dynamics, etc. There are, Imuever, physical limitations imposed upon

this type of photography. These limitations would include the absorption

... . •

: and scatter of radiation by the atmos phere, insufficient lumination at

night, and the problem of cloud coverage, haze and fog. •

Eigh-resolution radar could provide a•cearly all-weather

and night capability. The present state-of-the-art does not provide

ERR of sufficient resolution to be used for search surveillance and

significant development is require& to accomplish even a Post Strike

•..••• •

Assessment capability from satellite altitudes. The 'all-weather and

night capability of radar makes 141; portion of 'tieelectromagnetic

7 1 . •

. •

spectrum most worthy of continuing study.
% •

- .

' • i• ' 111111111k

Light intensification techniques are requited to permit night

photovaphy. Other developments that would help achieve night photography

would. include, faster films, larger eeratere lenses and lisht amplifieation

, i j van.:

electronics. Developments such as the Aeroflex/Delftrshould. be continued.

A good aircraft capability must be achieved. before any satellite develop-

' ment can be programmed.

A capability is needed in multi bead or spectral venal imase

farming sensors. The photo interpreter at the present time has available

to him a panchromatic black and white photograph from which he obtains

his information. If several photograchs were available each imaging

the same ground area in a dif ferent portion of the spectrum, more in

mation would be available to the photo internreter. 2aw techniques in

collection and exploitation of multi-band. photogre.phy would. require

development and exploitation equipment and training for the internreter.

Tnese techniques will probably aid the interpreter in camouflaae detection

and. would increase the information content of the photographed area.

Color file is capable of providing increased information, but

has been little used in the past because of problems associated with

the 'slow speed of color film, graininess of the emulsion, high costa

and mrocessing delays. Recent experiments in aerial color photography

utilizing new films of increased speed and fine granularity have proven

••

successful in proving the point that, with the game speed and granularity,

color film provides more information to the inteiprete.r than the same

.

scene recorded on a panchromaticfilm. :Further experiments should be

conducted in aircraft and satellites. A few hundred feet of color film

could be spliced at the and of mission supply spool and would provide .• . .

very valuable date.. •

• •
;;'s

. • • ' .

" •• •

it a standard format suitable for expeditious utilization with the

photopaphy.

. . •

•' • • The photo interpreter in his analysis requires more -• • ..

just a high que.litypbotogra6h. The interpretation process requires

that the interpreter haVe certain quantitative informaticn about the

size of objects. Saw big is the object - bow M4,4 - how far from -

town and in what direction, etc. use questions can be answered

when a way is established to determine object coordinated from image

coordinates. The traditional methods of obtaining dimensions, etc.,

from the unknown objects association with objects of known size, is

not always possible, is not as accurate, and is, not conducive to error

analysis. To obtain object dimensions from Lase dimensions three types

of data are needed:

Space location (Lat., Long. Alt.)

Attitude of camera (pitch, roll, yaw) .

.

Calibrations (I)&L, Tine,) eta.

A reouirement for rapid and accurate vantitative information from

photography has promoted an increased utilization of analytical photogra:metric techniques, new associated satistical methods, and increased

•

digital computer capabilities. One must consider the word "graph" in

photograph. A. picturabecomis a graphic presentation suitable for

•

quantitative analysis when sufficient flight data is provided with the

photograph to insure accurate mensuration. _Plight data most accompany

all photographs, and development is required in improviag the accuracy

cf this data, standardizing formats.' etc.:, ' . 

.

.9. Improved Flight Data. • A need exists to develop a method. of

. • '

providing Camera Plight Data that is more accurate, more complete, and

than
IOW

The methods =oat commonly used to determine the attitude of

a vehicle/canera system have included photographing the horizon,IIIIIII

nd stellar photography. Development should.

'continue it inertial technicues.

Nev techniques must be established for determining relative

orientation between the vehicle and aerial camera system* and between

Individual cameras. All lenses must be =ore carefully calibrated. A

Method must be developed .o provide accurate data bout the physical

dimensions of the fila platen so that useful film shrinkage studies

n, 0:7,41: I. r. Q / - 4 4; ! 04. •

can be made livc c7 sAL NV J A :.fa*, Tk S 64 7A Vq!--'

c. Or: %o.% s r

PinAlly„ development is needed to determine the best method

of providing all camera flight data to the P.I. The present techniques

of alpha-numeric or binary data blocks might be less efficient than

storing this flight data on auxilliary magtetic tape or on a "sound

•

strip" on the edge of the film. .

In order to improve the accuracy of the camera location at the

instant of exposure, it will, be necessary to compute more precise ephemerides.

Improvements coUld be effected by increasing the. number of tracking stations,

optimizing their location, developing new radar and optical tracking

techniques establishing better atmospheric drag modesl, learning more

.

.

about gravitational harmonics, etc. It also will be necessary to develop

methods of providing an error analysis of all data. Intertial navigation

•

systems can be used on spade vehicle*. to imProve location determining

capabilities. New methods OfStallar-inertial and radio-ittertial

techniques should'be investigated.
."

. . • 10, Requirement for Man in Satellite Reconnaissance. 

"..

Satellite reconnaissance is one of the often cited reasons for man in

.. • .. space. The NRO has concluded that man has little utility in space

... • .

. - reconnaissance systems in the roles of mission director, camera

operator, or major decision director. These functions can best be

accomplished on or from the ground. There are some areas, however,

in which a man might perform some useful function. These areas will

be discussed in this section, but no recommendations will be made as

to future developments for man in space directed specifically toward

satellite reconnaissance. Such recommendations must await a-good- ,

-deal more experience in both satellite reconnaissance and manned

space flight.

It is readily apparent that carrying both man and useful camera

systems in a long lived vehicle will require thrust capabilities no less

than that of TITAN M.

A man might well be of value in early recovery, by readout, of

photography of critical targets to obtain crisis type indicators. For

example, high resolution photography might be processed on board by

the web technique employed in There would necessarily be areas

covered by the photograph that were not of interest. The severe band

•
.

•

. •

"••••• •

*:. • .

 •

•• • • width limitation could be overcome by having the man select only those

parts of the photograph which covered targets he had been told were

of interest and transmitting only those portions of the photograph. It

7:.

should be noted in passing that a beam splitting prism could be employed

so that two negatives could be exposed at the same time. One of these

'could be physically recovered for optimum processing.

A man might be of assistance in the pointing problem. He could

possibly fix on an initial point, much as a bombardier might. do, to take

out the uncertainties associated with knowledge of the ephemeris.

•

A long-lived system might have a multiplicity of small capsules

for film recovery. One of the problems associated with this concept

of early recovery is the threading of film through several capsules

before it gets to the one in which it will be recovered. A man might

help solve this problem.

There might be some limited maintenance that could be performed

on board, and the man could possibly be of use in overcoming improper

action of automatic focus or exposure controls.

• He might also be able to determine the weather conditions over

•• • •

the target area and adjust exposurefor optimum performance in the

.• • •
.

J* • •

. • . • .

. •

•

•• • '..•

. • • .

•

•• • shadows-when partial cloud cover was present and normal automatic .-:• • : •

: •

••• exposure devices would be confused by the light reflected from the

••t"-•••••- • clouds. He could also determine whether weather required recoverage

,••• • •

. • of certain targets on the same mission.

,•
eft

8;

Wog

Xe.pp•ing, Chartins and Tar•iet Material Collection. The A:MC.7

•• and. the Stellar index (S/I) program represents the current capability

•

• for the collection of rapping, charting and target materials data.--Mach

.•

, .

individual satellite provides through its ephemeris data an improved

•

set of parara4..-ers • for better definition cf the geoid. The long line

..

•

. • 1-.4.-ft•tag available from the data reduotion of ;MOE provides a most : .

precise definition of the geoid.. 'Me SA when ccmbitted. with other

photography through an analytieal thotometr 4 c technique provides data

•

of a quantity capable of making provisioral mapa, charts and. providing

target materials.

The M017 product when combined with its automatic data

reauctica system is providing mesas with accuracies of 753 ft. horizor_tal:Ly

and boo ft. contours with respect to.the DOD 60 WEB. fte AMON product

when combined with CORONA, product end the data reduced through the

• analytical photometric tehenique provides prcmtaional ma ps with

accuracies of 50 ft. horizontally and 300 ft. contours. M3ese accuracies

. •

are considered adequate to satisfy today' 3 ballistic missile requtrer-ents

.

.

and have been stated. to be • inadequate for low level aircraft penetration.

The S/I product when combined with the COMM% product is providing

horizontal accuracies -Of 740 ft. and contour accuracies of 600 ft. with

respect to DOD 60 WGS and accuracies-of 50 ft. horizontal and. 300 ft. •

cont curs for the provisional eePs.

.

The DIA. has proposed to IISIB (C01010a-new statement of the

•

requirement for geodetic and mapping data..

••

;:•

. - - -Photometric quinaty photography of the world.'s land

nags to (1) permit positioning of targets-to an accuracy of 1+50 ft. (90%

assurance) and - -•- .;• elevation data 'at .the target to an abiolute •

: • . .

ins...

..tf:::7 Yi . •
• accuracy of 450 ft. with relative elevatiom within a radius or 93 miles

of the target accurate to 10 ft. (2) automatic stereo comparison c'

standard topovaohy =pa at 1:50,C00 scale with 30 ft. contours intervals

with features accurate to 15 ft. vertically and. 83 ft. horizontally

. •

relative to other features on the same sheet. •

Bor4 zottal accuracies greater than 416 ft. do not appear

valid sitca the smallest line on a 1:253,000 scale nap is 416 ft. wide.

The 1:50,000 scale map does not =pear reascnable for worldwide coverage

or even the Sino Soviet land mass. It Is possible that the coverage

required could be proirided in the peripheral areas by aircraft and

4 • f

‘4-r • if. t

the daf.imad areas by em-improved satellite system.

The current state of the artwill satisfy all of the known

statementsof reauirements with the exception of the 1:50,C00 scale

contour data. A new. ARGOT: tyre syaten will require on the order of

two years for operational use. There existo six satellite mapping

;..

cemeras.thst could satisfy the majority of the requirements.

. • . The 1i reemm-nron that the improved S/3 plus pea system

provide the data necessary for satisfaction of the mapping, charting

and target materials requirement. The geodetic reouirenent has been

• •

very nearly satisfied by the two ARGON successes. In order for the

: . •

S/3 pan system to satisfy this requirement, USIB (Co)DR will have to

smecify operation of the system ie. all of ' the areas of interest (aaerthan Sino Soviet Bloc only). •
'NWITEJArrM .a ZraTrz-LZI%::./.71..cE

I. PEMSZIT CAPABILITI:S 

The satellite weather reconnaissance program is presently otermtional

and ban for almost a year been supplying weather data of thee lino Soviet

land.sess for use in scheeu• l -g the operation cf our photographic satellites.

The data derived has been.uacdr-to feed into the overall world. weather •

progaosticatiaa and has been of great use to other users such as SAC.

Eawever, the L90 interest in weather satellites is and has been undertaken

primarily to satisfy a need of the satellite photographic reconnaissance

program.

4/"Weather Satellite. Project .17 is a small weather satellite

that provides daily cloud cover information of the area of interest in

direct support of the forecasting activities which support the satellite

reconnaissance program. The 417 space vehicle weighs 100 pounds, and

is spin stabilized in a 400-mile orbit. Through:magnetic tape recording

of a video image, vertical cloud cover pictures of about one-mile resolution

will be provided to readout stations at Vandenberg APB and Mew Boston, N.E.

The first successful laumclawss accoaplishea 23 August 1962, the

payload achieved an excellent orbit with apogee of 463 ma and perigee

of 340 nm. All the systems have operated satisfactorily for over six

montba. A second vehicle is presently on orbit but internal difficulties

have greatly reduced its useful output. An additional vehicle was

launched in April but failed to orbit due to the failure of the Scout

Booster.

An emergency direct readout stationves set up at Fain AFS on

28 October to support the Cuban operation. A. van mounted mobile station

.

/•.,;”-

. •••

.• . *.
rr

!t'•

•

: •

*. • •• •

•

v. • 1.:

•

11% •

ii:1

01:4

.: • •, • -• ••• •

. •

.,"

AIM

is 1:::.ng built that will permit direct readout from any location to

•

•

meet. such emergencies it the future.

Ti. MUM I:EWE:0MM AND CAPAB11=3. 

The present 417 system is =amble of meeting the MO requirements

.. in terms of quality. However, the reliability of the present system

•

leaves much to be desired. The Scoat Booster has proven unreliable

(50%) and inexact in orbital placement.

•

Mere is also a reatztre=21". 4"gpre the users of the weather data to

have two vehicles orbitting at the same time on complementary orbits.

Evaluation is presently Imatenm,y. to 'lateral:Le the best way to correct

the reliability problem. One poasibilitywould be to co to &somewhat

larger vehicle so as to be able to have rex:4=w of paylead components.

This would reouire the THOR booster which would in addition correct the

booster reliability and permit accurate placement.

Ultimately it is hoped that a national weather satellite or a DOD

weather satellite will become a reality and HBO can obtain its required

weather data from normal military weather sources.

.. • .1.
. • .

S.

• . .

III. 'K4T SEC= BE DOER 

Based on the foregoing requirements and capabilities there are

certain actions that should. be taken now if our a? is to progress

with the tec• nolocy and if it is to meet the needs of tae users.

. Photographic Payloads 

Activate th a

replacement for the COB= 1•12.1L. It will have he :tor rtsolutian and

greater coverasm with a :ore favorable cost effectiveness.

Initiate the long load time parts of the Itekli-2 camera

continue until the

demonstrates its capabilities.

/10:0,AAAAA4

-.~0.4464666646644A444A,

syst.em as a back up for the

Continue the VALLEY limited exploxstculrhigh resolution camera

develonment at about their present level of effort.

This fall after Some LAMED andiraphotograpiv has been

obtained ani evaluated, initiate studies to define more alearlywhat

is needed and what is capable regarding high resolution search.

Boosters 

1. The boosters presentlymmilable, TEOB, AaMAS and TITAN II,

. • . .

-

Appear adequate for our present m s with three.possible exceptions:

n :
•

High resolution search - 2-3 feet

Nan in space reconnaissance - does not in itself justify

Re action =pears justified re,•eve items

have hal more study.

2. Initiate a nrogram to reduce and aim:Airy the system preparation

for launch time -particularly the time required for program preparation.

Stabilization and Guidance 

Initiate a development program for a long life on orbit

stabilization system utilizing the stabilite principle for the SIG=

payloads.

Continue to imcrove the stabilization carabilities of the AGE:A

vehicle to assure their compatibility with the very high resolution

cameras.

3. Continue the development of the UAC S pace Ravigator for use •

with very high resolution pointing optics, maneuvering systems and with

lifting reentry land recovery systems.

Reentry Vehicles 

Initiate development of the larger YAM VIII recovery vehicle

. to Increase efficiency of operation.

Zvaluate the need. for amt.:optic= size for a small recovery

' vehicle for quick return of'the first one or two orbits"take in an

• •

••.

' energency system.

3. Reactivate the program for development of eland recovery -

. . • .. •- .••• -* . :."...',..---.:..

capability and. maneuvering re ilitY•and manenverin

•

g reentry •

• • i;i-A.i.r.....4.-,

.• C.ift.-..,-:q

..x . isr.t.ii.L1;.• - CAI ♦ . '.. •• .;,,,....7.2.4....7:7;.:".:A:

• . • .......::,.....:::4 ...:•:.rert
Iir:adia via

.,„flyStal

of relatively (200-1C00 :bs.) capsules.

Man in Space 

The an in space to support the reconnaissance regnirement for

• pros= is l•=ited and does rot justify further action until more is

learned about =an is capabilities and support recuirementb in upace and

until ve see and learn more about the capabilities and li=itaticms of

r .

Bevest USIB to initiate a study into the detailed recuirements

of indicator tarzets.