page_title: Corona (satellite)
section_title: Corona launches with system types
hierarchical_section_title: Corona (satellite) / Technology / Corona launches with system types
caption_attribution_description: English: KH-4A CORONA J1 main features
context_page_description: The Corona program was a series of American strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency Directorate of Science & Technology with substantial assistance from the U.S. Air Force. The Corona satellites were used for photographic surveillance of the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and other areas beginning in June 1959 and ending in May 1972.
context_section_description: The Corona satellites were designated KH-1, KH-2, KH-3, KH-4, KH-4A and KH-4B. KH stood for "Key Hole" or "Keyhole" (Code number 1010), with the name being an analogy to the act of spying into a person's room by peering through their door's keyhole.  The incrementing number indicated changes in the surveillance instrumentation, such as the change from single-panoramic to double-panoramic cameras. The "KH" naming system was first used in 1962 with KH-4 and the earlier numbers were retroactively applied. There were 144 Corona satellites launched, of which 102 returned usable photographs.
  Below is a list of Corona launches, as compiled by the United States Geological Survey. This table lists government's designation of each type of satellite (C, C-prime, J-1, etc.), the resolution of the camera, and a description of the camera system.
  *(The stray "quote marks" are the original designations of the first three generations of cameras.)
caption: KH-4A Corona J1 main features
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