page_title: KH-7 Gambit
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: KH-7 Gambit / History
caption_attribution_description: English: KH-7 GAMBIT optical reconnaissance satellite
context_page_description: BYEMAN codenamed GAMBIT, the KH-7 was a reconnaissance satellite used by the United States from July 1963 to June 1967. Like the older CORONA system, it acquired imagery intelligence by taking photographs and returning the undeveloped film to earth. It achieved a typical ground-resolution of 2 ft to 3 ft. Though most of the imagery from the KH-7 satellites was declassified in 2002, details of the satellite program remained classified until 2011.
  In its summary report following the conclusion of the program, the National Reconnaissance Office concluded that the GAMBIT program was considered highly successful in that it produced the first high-resolution satellite photography, 69.4% of the images having a resolution under 3 ft.; its record of successful launches, orbits, and recoveries far surpassed the records of earlier systems; and it advanced the state of the art to the point where follow-on larger systems could be developed and flown successfully. The report also stated that Gambit had provided the intelligence community with the first high-resolution satellite photography of denied areas, the intelligence value of which was considered "extremely high".
context_section_description: Section source: Space Review
  Gambit marked the first use of next-generation launch vehicle systems as Convair and Lockheed, the builders of the Atlas-Agena booster, began introducing improved, standardized launchers to replace the multitude of customized variants used up to 1963, which caused endless mix ups, poor reliability, and mission failures. This followed a recommendation by the Lewis Spaceflight Center in Cleveland, Ohio that Atlas and Agena switch to one standard configuration for both NASA and Air Force launches, with uniform testing and checkout procedures, as well as improved materials and fabrication processes for the various hardware components in the boosters. The Agena D, a standardized Agena B, arrived first, with the uprated Atlas SLV-3 taking another year to fly. The first eight Gambits flown still used custom-modified Atlas D ICBM cores, with Gambit 4010 in August 1964 being the first use of the SLV-3. Afterwards, all GAMBIT used SLV-3s aside from 4013, which used the last old-style Atlas remaining in the inventory.
  In early 1963, the GAMBIT program began with failures. On 11 May, the first Gambit satellite sat atop Atlas-Agena 190D on Launch Complex SLC-4W at Vandenberg Air Force Base awaiting launch. An air bubble formed while loading LOX into the booster and as soon as propellant filling was stopped, the bubble damaged the fill/drain valve. This quickly caused both the LOX and helium pressure gas to escape from the tank, depressurizing the Atlas's balloon skin and causing the entire launch vehicle to crumple to the ground. The RP-1 tank ruptured and spilled its contents onto the pad. There was no fire or explosion, but the Agena sustained minor damage and the satellite a considerable amount as the cameras were crushed in by impact with the ground and had their lenses destroyed. The pad itself was undamaged except for a steel beam cracked by exposure to the super-chilled LOX, which was repaired in two days. Fortunately, the satellite on the booster was not the same one planned for the actual launch and the payload shroud had also remained in one piece, preventing any unauthorized parties from seeing the GAMBIT. Secrecy surrounding the program was strict and knowledge of GAMBIT limited only to those directly involved in the program. While the early CORONA and Samos flights had been merely billed to the public as scientific missions, it became increasingly difficult to explain why they failed to return any scientific data. In late 1961, President John F. Kennedy ordered a veil of secrecy placed around the photoreconnaissance program and by GAMBIT's debut in 1963, DoD announcements described no details other than the launching of a "classified payload".
  The Agena was sent back to Lockheed for repairs and a different Atlas (vehicle 201D) was used, and the first successful GAMBIT mission was launched on 12 July 1963. The launch vehicle performed perfectly and inserted Gambit into polar orbit with a 102-mile (189 kilometers) altitude. The Air Force designated this mission number 4001.
  Aerospace Corporation recommended that, during GAMBIT's first flights, the Orbital Control Vehicle (OCV) should remain attached to the Agena. This was a proven successful process for other Agena tests; and whereas the OCV was not. This decision limited GAMBIT's functionality, meaning that photographs could only be taken of targets directly below the vehicle. Once the successful photographic phase of the mission 4002 was completed, the OCV and the Agena were separated and the reentry vehicle would come down into the ocean northwest of Hawaii. The re-entry vehicle was caught in mid-air with a C-130 Hercules aircraft using a modified version of the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system. The film canister was then immediately transported to Eastman Kodak's Hawkeye facility in Rochester, New York for processing. The developed results was sent to US Air Force imagery research analysts in Washington, DC.
  GAMBIT mission 4003, was launched on 25 October 1963. The film canister was again ejected successfully after the photographic pha
caption: A KH-7 GAMBIT optical reconnaissance satellite.
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