First Successful Corona Remote Sensing Satellite Built by Lockheed Martin Marks 50 Year Anniversary

August 26, 2010 at 10:18 am | Posted in Remote Sensing Law Current Events | Leave a comment

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: Commercial Space Watch

Lockheed Martin today congratulated the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) on the 50-year anniversary of the first Corona photo reconnaissance satellite image from space, which ushered in new space-based capabilities for the nation.

First developed as a joint U.S. Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency program to provide surveillance from space of denied territories, Corona achieved mission success on August 18, 1960 when an Air Force C-119 aircraft recovered in mid-air the satellite’s capsule containing imagery captured by the satellite’s panoramic camera system.

“The successes achieved by the Corona team were monumental in protecting our nation and advancing aerospace technology,” said Joanne Maguire, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. “Having worked with our government partners on such a vitally important ground-breaking program is a source of tremendous pride for the team. Corona paved the way for far more sophisticated systems that today are providing unprecedented new capabilities for both government and commercial customers around the globe.”…more