United States Air Force
US Air Force

PRESERVING THE HISTORY OF RECONNAISSANCE FROM SPACE

The Office of the Secretary of the Air Force Special Projects (SAFSP) Alumni Association has initiated a new program to preserve the history of SAFSP, its programs, support organizations, contractors and individuals that contributed to the mission of reconnaissance from space. This is an ambitious program and long overdue. We are asking for your financial support.

To this end, a working group of retired senior Air Force officers who managed various SP units was assembled to undertake this project. They meet regularly via on-line group internet tools, such as ZOOM. A gamut of skill sets is employed to maximize the expertise gained during their careers. 

The initial History Preservation Program consists of three key tasks:

1. Design and construction of an outdoor monument/display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio.

2. Development of a new website that will serve two purposes. One, to aid in fund raising. Second, to be a virtual museum for relevant documents, photos, drawings, videos, individual stories and more. i.e. an accessible and searchable archive.

3. Establishment of a new corporation organized under IRS 501(c)(3) as a charity and eligible for accepting tax deductible donations.

This effort is all about the contributions made by not just the SAFSP Organization, but all the other organizations that came together to actually carry out the mission of doing space-based reconnaissance. Now unclassified, programs CORONA, GAMBIT and HEXAGON operated from 1960 thru the 1980’s, providing vital intelligence information that was crucial to the Defense of the United States during the Cold War period.

The accomplishments of these programs and others managed by SAFSP, were a testament to the creativity, dedication and skill of all the organizations and people that made it possible. This long-kept secret can now be shared with the American people. These were incredibly clever spacecraft with very high-resolution cameras. Most were literally designed with slide rules, triangles and straight edges. They performed exceedingly well and provided our nation with critical intelligence to defend the United States and its allies.

We are anxious to begin the history preservation program and invite you to join in.

Whether you served in or with the U.S. Air Force, worked for one of the Defense Contractors, want to honor a family member or friend who served, or simply share a sense of patriotism and appreciation for the role of the Air Force in our nation’s development, your gift is greatly appreciated.

THE MONUMENT

Artist Conception

When we have collected enough funding we will proceed. We have selected a Dayton area contractor to construct the memorial to our design. It will join other memorials in the garden area just outside the museum. Here, other significant Air Force groups are honored. We will keep all donors up to date with our progress towards the unveiling date. Over 90% of the initial donations will be used to fund the memorial. The Wright-Patterson AFB site was chosen because that is where the actual GAMBIT and HEXAGON vehicles are on display to the public. Design concepts are in work now but the big determinant is how much money will be available to spend on the monument. The initial fund raising will provide an indication of how much we will set as a funding goal.

The monument design will lend itself to expansion for recognizing more programs as they become unclassified as well as recognizing specific organizations who are willing to contribute to a specific plaque/monument of their choosing.

MONUMENT DESIGNS

To start with, we will design and build the monuments in the display recognizing SAFSP, its currently declassified programs and all the support organizations and contractors. A separate monument honoring the 6594th Test Group for its key role in support of SAFSP’s film-based imaging programs is included in the display. In the next phase, we will offer opportunities to further recognize specific organizations. Pending any revisions, these images reflect the monuments going to the contractor. One will honor the SAFSP group in total along with all the classified programs supported by SP. A second focuses on the HEXAGON program and a third component honors the 6594th Recovery Group – The Star Catchers.

Artist Conceptions

Zoom to enlarge

VIRTUAL MUSEUM

There are numerous public websites and YouTube’s with information about SAFSP, CORONA, GAMBIT and HEXAGON. Our intent is to collect some of this information and add to it. We’re essentially creating an archive of information. Kept under the highest security from the 1960’s through 2011, this information can now be shared. There are individual stories that can still be told. They will be captured on video through live interviews while there is still time.

It is not feasible to have a physical brick and mortar museum dedicated to reconnaissance from space. At least not now. So, we will have the concept of a “Virtual Museum” residing on this website. The design of the Virtual Museum will lead the viewer on a tour, as if the person is walking from display to display. We will describe how it all was done – we’ll explain the satellite design, production, launch, on-orbit operations and recovery of exposed film. SP will be recognized for its role in leading to these successful programs. Populating the site with documents, photos, etc. will be the job of SAFSP Heritage Fund volunteers. When the content is approved, it will be added to the website. Our goal is to create a website that will be rich in content we can all be proud of.

Satellites

SAFSP HERITAGE FUND

The SAFSP Heritage Fund has been established as a California Corporation and has received IRS approval as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt public charity.

The Corporation Board is staffed by senior, retired SP leaders:

Chairman of the Board: BG (Ret) Rick Larned
President: COL (Ret) Gene Dionne
Treasurer: COL (Ret) Scott Rounce
Secretary: MG (Ret) Jim Collins

The Board members are all volunteers and receive no compensation.

Privacy Policy:

The SAFSP Heritage Fund will not sell, trade or share a donor’s personal information with anyone else, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations. We only share personal information once the donor has given the charity specific permission to do so.  

PRESERVING THE HISTORY OF RECONNAISSANCE FROM SPACE

The Secretary of the Air Force Office of Special Projects (SAFSP) Alumni Association has initiated a new program to preserve the history of SAFSP, its programs, support organizations, contractors and individuals that contributed to the mission of reconnaissance from space. This is an ambitious program and long overdue. We are asking for your financial support.

The initial History Preservation Program consists of three key tasks:

1. Design and construction of an outdoor monument/display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio.

2. Development of a new website that will serve two purposes. One, to aid in fund raising. Second, to be a virtual museum for relevant documents, photos, drawings, videos, individual stories and more. i.e. an accessible and searchable archive.

3. Establishment a new corporation organized under IRS 501(c)(3) as a charity and eligible for accepting tax deductible donations.

This effort is all about the contributions made by not just the SAFSP Organization, but all the other organizations that came together to actually carry out the mission of doing space-based reconnaissance. Now unclassified, programs CORONA, GAMBIT and HEXAGON operated from 1960 thru the 1980’s, providing vital intelligence information that was crucial to the Defense of the United States during the Cold War period.

The accomplishments of these programs and others managed by SAFSP, were a testament to the creativity, dedication and skill of all the organizations and people that made it possible. This long-kept secret can now be shared with the American people. These were incredibly clever spacecraft with very high-resolution cameras. Most were literally designed with slide rules, triangles and straight edges. They performed exceedingly well and provided our nation with critical intelligence to defend the United States and its allies.

We are anxious to begin the history preservation program and invite you to join in.

Whether you served in or with the U.S. Air Force, worked for one of the Defense Contractors, want to honor a family member or friend who served, or simply share a sense of patriotism and appreciation for the role of the Air Force in our nation’s development, your gift is greatly appreciated.

THE MONUMENT

Artist Conception

When we have collected enough funding we will proceed. We have selected a Dayton area contractor to construct the memorial to our design. It will join other memorials in the garden area just outside the museum. Here, other significant Air Force groups are honored. We will keep all donors up to date with our progress towards the unveiling date. Over 90% of the initial donations will be used to fund the memorial. This site was chosen because that is where the GAMBIT and HEXAGON vehicles are on display to the public. Design concepts are in work now but the big determinant is how much money will be available to spend on the monument. The initial fund raising will provide an indication of how much we will set as a funding goal.

The monument design will lend itself to expansion for recognizing more programs as they become unclassified as well as recognizing specific organizations who are willing to contribute to a specific plaque/monument of their choosing.

To start with, we will design and build the center of the monument display recognizing SAFSP, its three unclassified programs and all the support organizations and contractors. The next phase we will offer opportunities to further recognize specific organizations.

 

VIRTUAL MUSEUM

There are numerous public websites and YouTube’s with information about SAFSP, CORONA, GAMBIT and HEXAGON. Our intent is to collect some of this information and add to it. We’re essentially creating an archive of information. Kept under the highest security from the 1960’s through 2011, this information can now be shared. There are individual stories that can still be told. They will be captured on video through live interviews while there is still time.

It is not feasible to have a physical brick and mortar museum dedicated to reconnaissance from space. At least not now. So, we have the concept of a Virtual Museum residing on this website. The design of the website will lead the viewer on a tour, as if the person is walking from display to display. We will describe how it all was done – we’ll explain the satellite design, production, launch, on-orbit operations and recovery of exposed film. SP will be recognized for its role in leading to these successful programs. Populating the site with documents, photos, etc. will be the job of SAFSP.

Heritage Fund volunteers. Our goal is to create a website that will be rich in content we can all be proud of.

Satellites

SAFSP HERITAGE FUND

The SAFSP Heritage Fund has been established as a California Corporation and has received IRS approval as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt public charity.

The Corporation Board is staffed by senior, retired SP leaders:

Chairman of the Board: BG (Ret) Rick Larned
President: COL (Ret) Gene Dionne
Treasurer: COL (Ret) Scott Rounce
Secretary: MG (Ret) Jim Collins

The Board members are all volunteers and receive no compensation.

Privacy Policy:

The SAFSP Heritage Fund will not sell, trade or share a donor’s personal information with anyone else, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations. We only share personal information once the donor has given the charity specific permission to do so.  

SP Security

    Working on an SAFSP program required a high level of individual security discipline beyond simply top-secret protection of facts within a project. We had to disavow the very existence of those programs we supported daily. Even after gaining access to a program like HEXAGON we were only exposed to facts needed to do the job and that determination was made by others through a formal “introduction”. The name of the program and associated facts could only be discussed in designated SCIF areas with all those present being appropriately briefed, and the facts being discussed could not be revealed outside of those strict secure conditions. The program name became the trigger phrase concerning the facts that followed.
     Sometimes that became a problem in normal life. Once while deeply engaged in operational activities I was having dinner with the family and, since I couldn’t discuss my work, I asked my daughter what she learned in school that day. She responded, “The teacher told us all about HEXAGON!” (She was only talking about geometry, not satellites.) One of the more difficult security skills we had to learn is not to gag when you hear a statement like that outside of the work environment. Now, 50 years later after the declassification of the program in 2011 it still takes some discipline to discuss a program while protecting what remains protected under classification rules.

Air Conditioning

The CDC 3800 (Control Data Corp) was a state-of-the-art computer in the 1970’s and one of the few capable of creating the critical instructions required to operate our photo-reconnaissance satellites. Although it filled a large room and had eight banks of transistor-based processors, each the size of a home refrigerator, it had less computing power than the average home PC. It generated an enormous amount of heat that had to be cooled with dedicated air conditioners to prevent a shut-down. Several were housed in the Blue Cube, which was 100-feet tall but with only four floors. The extra space was reserved for cabling and cooling. The STC command generation (CG) team ran punch card input programs that took about 20-minutes for each pass, creating precise sequences of functions for the satellite camera and subsystems. The operations tempo was critical to prepare these instructions for each of the 16 station passes each day. Every 90-minutes the team was getting ready for a pass over a tracking station.

 

One day the air conditioner shut down in the middle of a computer run with no time to recover the program on another computer. The CG team opened all the processor cabinet doors and waved cardboard sheets to keep it from overheating until the end of the run. Then the computer’s thermostat shut down with seconds to spare. Few were aware that the importance of the targets taken that day was to the credit of a quick-thinking team and the program’s greatest “fans.”

The Bread Truck

When I first joined SAFSP, I was assigned to SP-10. One of our missions was to model the performance of current and future systems to perform analytic studies. As a by-product of that modeling and simulation activity, there evolved a cottage industry providing current and future intelligence products. These were sent to major theater military exercises around the world so they could train with representative overhead intelligence products.

We had a Lt Col who traveled to Korea, SAC Headquarters, Hurlburt Field and Europe for major exercises throughout the year. The simulations ran on the CDC 3800 computers in Sunnyvale. The products had to be transmitted around the world via whatever comms technology existed in the early 80’s. The SIGINT was fed to Army systems at the sites, but the notional simulated IMINT output was received by a non-descript blue Air Force panel truck which was jury-rigged with various radios, printers and what-have-you to produce representative products. This panel truck was affectionately known as the “Bread Truck.”

During one going-away party held for a departing SP-10 hero, he was presented with a toy van emblazoned with “Rainbow Bread” logos all over it. As a result of that event, my wife spent the next 10 years believing that SP-10 was in the business of making bread trucks.

My apologies to all the alumni who know the real details better than me and for mangling the descriptions of how this magic was really implemented.

-Scott Rounce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TODAY - A date to remember

The first CORONA to return a bucket with actionable film was caught August 19, 1960 by the crew of Capt. Harold Mitchell. The 6593d Test Squadron (Special) received the Mackay Trophy. It is administered by the National Aeronautic Assn and has been awarded yearly since 1912, by the Air Force for the most meritorious flight of the year by a USAF person, persons, or organization.

After 13 failures , the Corona program images were grainy and of limited utility, but quality–and intelligence value–improved rapidly. Within a few months, CIA photo interpreters had dispelled both the missile gap and the bomber gap. 

General Bruce A. Carlson USAF (Ret.)

May 2024

Dear Friends,

Thanks for the good thing you are doing. The finest minds since the Manhattan Project all put their heads together to amke this magic work for over 6 decades. I hope you know that all of the full-scale engineering models of our earliest spacecrafts are at the museum in Dayton.

As the 17th Director of the NRO I first offered them to the Smithsonian. However, they were going to put them to storage. So, I made a deal with my good friend Jack Hudson, Lt Gen, USAF (Ret.) who was running the AF Museum and he found a great place for them.

Hope this little bit helps.

Warmest Regards,
Bruce

Debbie Reed

By Col Joe Parks head of SP-12

Barbara Reed was a long time SP-12 contributor that was a joy to work with. When it came time for her to get a step increase, I put in the paperwork to SP-5, probably had to wake them up to do that!! We waited, nothing happened, I checked with SP-5 numerous times, they blamed it on the Base Air Force Personnel Office. Before I was in SP, I was an Auditor at the Base and knew the people in Personnel. So, I walked over, it was lunch time and found Barbara’s paperwork in an in-box, took it to one of the people there who told me that the gal in SP said, “No Rush”! We cleared that up in a heartbeat and it was approved while I was there. The Lt Col who ran SP-5 got pissed that I went around him, came into my office and started ragging on me. I asked him what his date of rank was. I outranked him, so I told him to pound sand. He then went into Col Parrish’s office and complained. What a great guy Parrish was. Anyway, Parrish called me in, told me never to do that again, but as I was leaving, said. “I would have done the same thing.” Got to love that generation.

Joe 

Ronald Reagan

Speech by RONALD REAGAN for the
25th Anniversary of Project CORONA

“I’m sure that if President Eisenhower were here today to see what you have achieved from the programs begun as a result of his decisions, he would express a hearty well done!”

America is safer for your work, and I congratulate each of you· for so fully earning the gratitude of your countrymen by your
remarkable achievements during a long period of continuing peril.

The Dead Rev

In the mid-1970’s, HEXAGON Command Generation prepared commands to be sent to the tracking stations for upload during a pass. There were 6 stations. Once a night, the satellite would make a revolution out of sight of a station. Ergo, a “dead rev.” During this 90-minute span, the four junior officer team was free to do whatever they wanted. Read manuals, practice Black Jack, do their MBA homework, or best: go to play on the racquetball courts or take a sauna. Later, the dead rev was filled when Oakhanger, UK was added.