6593d Test Squadron The 6593d Test Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit . Its last was assigned to the 6594th Test Group , stationed at Hickam AFB , Hawaii . It was inactivated on 1 July 1972 . Mission . The 6953d Test Squadron ' s mission was to develop and maintain a capability of effect the aerial recovery of a capsule ejected from an orbiting satellite . The work performed by the squadron was classified until 1995 , as its primary mission was directed at recovering film imaged by the Corona strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) . The Corona satellites were the first operational United States photographic reconnaissance satellites used for intelligence purposes . History . The Discoverer / Corona reconnaissance satellite was a revolutionary breakthrough in intelligence gathering and altered the course of the Cold War . From 1960 – 1972 , the recovery of the Corona space capsules was among the highest priorities of the U . S . Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community . The 6593d Test Squadron ( Special ) conducted one of the most important Air Force missions of the Cold War . The 6593d was one of the first Air Force organizations to combine air and space as integral parts of its mission . The classified status of the Corona program did not permit the details of Corona or its aerial recovery to be released until the declassification of Corona in 1995 . Initially flying modified C - 119J Flying Boxcars , equipped with rope winches and large hooks that were extended in the air behind the plane to " snag " the parachute of the payload . Later , the Flying Boxcars were replaced by larger C - 130B Hercules aircraft , designated JC - 130B . The squadron would fly out to a target recovery area , spacing its airplanes within the " box " for maximum coverage . A telemetry signal from the payload would send out a signal that could be triangulated on to locate where the location of the satellite , and the plane that was in the best location would proceed to recover it . On 19 August 1960 , the squadron successfully recovered the Discoverer 14 payload , containing film of the first pictures of the earth ' s surface made from space . It was also the first recovery of an object placed in earth orbit . The squadron wanted to recover the payloads in mid - air while parachuting to the earth , although occasionally they were recovered from the Pacific Ocean . When recoveries from the ocean were necessary , the squadron was equipped with helicopters and also had operational control of two Navy ships to retrieve it from the ocean . Ocean recoveries , however , could damage the payload as when it hit the water , it could go under the water surface , and salt water getting inside could damage the film and other components of the payload . Throughout the 1960s as Corona Satellites were launched , their invaluable film payloads were retrieved by the squadron . It was stated by one of the units senior NCOs , that satellite payload retrieval became almost a routine mission for the well - practiced unit . Many of the squadron members served extended tours with the unit , their experience in recovery of the capsules being invaluable to its success . The unit was inactivated in 1972 and its mission turned over to the 6594th Test Group . Ships . The squadron had operational control of the following United States Navy Ships for satellite recovery operations :