The CORONA (Discoverer) program operated from 1959 to 1972 as the United States’ first photo-reconnaissance satellite program, with Discoverer XIV achieving the first mid-air film recovery in August 1960. KH-11 KENNEN (CRYSTAL), first launched in 1976, introduced electro-optical digital imaging with about 15 cm per-pixel resolution, and a 2019 declassified image from USA-224 reportedly achieved…
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