More Than a Space Race
The Space Race was a heated struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. Both nations were in a head to head competition to prove to the world that they were the superior power. How did each nation try to prove this? By working tirelessly to develop the best space and military technologies faster than their rival nation. The Space Race lasted from 1957 until 1975, and between those years, the peoples of both the United States and the Soviet Union stood patriotically on edge as their respective governments continuously tried to out-develop the other.
Why was the space race so important? The race to space was not solely about space. Yes, both countries were serious about their commitments to launch satellites, rockets, and humans into orbit, but an even more important aspect of the space race was the Arms Race. Both the Arms Race and the Space Race were small battles of a larger war, the Cold War. The Cold War was one of ideology not of military engagements. It was a race of technological discoveries and advancements. It was fought between the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union, the two largest world powers after WW II. In order to beat their enemy and prove their superiority, both nations needed to know what the other country was doing.
This is how the Space Race and the Arms Race became connected under the Cold War. In order to spy on each other, both the United States and the Soviet Union decided to launch satellites into space that could take pictures of their enemies military bases. They hoped the photographs taken by the satellite would reveal how advanced their enemies militaries had become.
In the United States, these satellites were top secret and their code name was CORONA. CORONA was a US Military photoreconnaissance program operated by the CIA, the Department of Defense, and the United States Air Force. The program was developed specifically to take photographs of the Soviet Union and other communist states within the Soviet Empire. CORONA was in operation from June 1959 through May 1972; during which time there were 150 launches, of which 120 were successful. Even though the CORONA program was a highly classified government operation, there were several private companies whose scientists helped design, build, and operate the CORONA satellites and cameras. These companies were Lockheed (which created the rocket that took the satellite into space), the Itek corporation (which developed the special camera), the Eastman Kodak company (which developed the special film to be used in the camera), and General Electric (which created the recovery capsule that protected the camera and its film during their return to earth).
The very first test launch of a CORONA satellite was in 1959. However, that test launch failed. In fact, the first twelve CORONA missions were all considered failures. The thirteenth mission was the first successful CORONA launch and recovery. Although the Discoverer 13, as it was called, did not have a camera on board, it was the first manmade object to be recovered from orbit. It returned with diagnostic equipment and an American flag; proving possible the technological concepts the CORONA scientists had been working on. On August 18, 1960 Discoverer 14 was launched from Vandenberg Air Force base. This time the satellite had a camera which provided more than 3,000 feet of film covering over 1.65 million square miles of Soviet territory. These were the first intelligence pictures taken of the Soviet Union from space.
Recovery was one of the more difficult aspects of the CORONA program. The films used in the satellite cameras were returned to earth in capsules, also called buckets. The capsules were designed to return to earth over the Pacific Ocean, and in mid decent were meant to be snatched out of the air by special Air Force planes. In case the Air Force missed, the capsules were designed to float in the ocean for several days so that the US Navy could retrieve them. If the Navy could not retrieve the capsules, one other precaution was taken to ensure the film and the capsule did not fall into Soviet hands. The capsules were built with salt plugs. After a couple of days these plugs would dissolve in the ocean water, forcing the capsules and the film inside to sink to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately the majority of the capsules were successfully recovered by either the Air Force or the Navy.
The CORONA satellite program was highly successful and terminated only after several images revealed Soviet submarines waiting below the mid-air retrieval zone in hopes of capturing the capsules and films. The images obtained from the satellites enabled the United States and its allies to keep track of the Soviet Unions technological and military progresses. Because of the CORONA photographs, the President of the United States and his intelligence advisors were able to make educated and informed decisions as to how to conduct the Cold War. For the first time they were able to test missile defense alarm systems, use infrared cameras to detect rockets being launched into orbit, track Soviet arms sales and shipments, detect nuclear proliferation, and expose the missile gap. It is because of the images taken by the CORONA satellites that the United States leaders knew how far ahead or behind the Soviet Union the United States really was.
Over the twelve years the CORONA program was in operation, the cameras and the quality of the images improved dramatically. The first CORONA missions lasted for only one day. They could use only one camera, which had the poor image resolution of 40 feet. By 1969 the resolution had improved to 6 feet. Eventually, the missions could last as long as nine days; and instead of only one camera, the satellites flew with two cameras. This allowed each satellite to take twice as many images, and capture the same area from multiple angles or viewpoints. The later CORONAS even had multiple recovery capsules. At the end of the CORONA program over 2 million feet of film had been used, creating over 800,000 individual images of the entire globe.
Almost as important as its Cold War success is the legacy CORONA left behind. The CORONA program was the first photoreconnaissance program, the first satellite to map the earth from space, the first satellite to use mid air catch and recovery, the first to use multiple reentry vehicles, the first to gather stereo-optical data from space, and the first space reconnaissance program to fly over 100 missions. The records held by the CORONA program are quite impressive. Even more impressive, however, is that scientists and environmentalists are able to use the CORONA images even today.
The Cold War ended twenty-three years ago, yet the pictures taken by CORONA are still providing important information to scientists across the globe. Each CORONA image covers approximately 10 miles by 120 miles, and because so many images were taken, virtually every part of the globe was recorded onto film. Today, these images are being used to fill in civil records and environmental timelines. Scientists are able to compare global changes that have occurred since the time of the CORONA program, helping them study global warming and climate change. There are even archaeologists using the images to locate ancient habitats such as a Roman fort or a megalithic tomb. These scientific applications are one reason President Clinton decided to declassify the CORONA program and its many photographs. In 1995, President Clinton allowed the general public to learn about the CORONA satellite program. The images are now archived at the US Geological Survey and the Library of Congress, where anyone can view them in person or online. You can even order copies if you want to.
The contributions and evolution of the CORONA program are significant even today. The technological advances made are still being used by the military and private citizens. Five United States presidents served throughout the operation of CORONA: President Eisenhower, President Kennedy, President Johnson, President Nixon, and President Ford. President Johnson however best described the importance of the CORONA Satellite program in 1967 when he said:
Weve spent between thirty-five and forty billion dollars on space...but if nothing else had come from that program except the knowledge that we get from our satellite photography, it would be worth ten times to us what the whole program has cost. Because tonight I know how many missiles the enemy has...
