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Photos: A satellite spy in the skies
This photo, of the Soviet Union's Dolon Air Field in August 1966, shows more detail, including the location of heavy bombers -- a very important piece of information at the height of the Cold War.
When President Eisenhower approved the program in 1958, and throughout its 12-year run, information on military and aerospace efforts in the Soviet Bloc was very hard to come by, and the satellite's eye in the sky helped the US to peek behind the (iron) curtain. Corona, actually the name of a series of satellites used in the program, was a joint effort of the Defence Department and the Central Intelligence Agency.
According to the NRO Web site, the resolution of Corona's images was about two metres at its sharpest, 170 metres at its worst. Individual satellite images covered an area of about 16 kilometres by 193 kilometres.
Credit: National Reconnaissance Office
Based on Images: First U.S. spy satellite photos--ever! on CNET News
