Satellite Surveillance 1976 US Air Force Systems Command; AFSC Staff Film Report 273 (Patreon)

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USAF SPACE PROGRAMS... SATELLITE SURVEILLANCE AND PROTECTION.

Originally a public domain film from the National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconnaissance_satellite

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications.

The first generation type (i.e., Corona and Zenit) took photographs, then ejected canisters of photographic film which would descend back down into Earth's atmosphere. Corona capsules were retrieved in mid-air as they floated down on parachutes. Later, spacecraft had digital imaging systems and downloaded the images via encrypted radio links.

In the United States, most information available is on programs that existed up to 1972, as this information has been declassified due to its age. Some information about programs prior to that time is still classified, and a small amount of information is available on subsequent missions.

A few up-to-date reconnaissance satellite images have been declassified on occasion, or leaked, as in the case of KH-11 photographs which were sent to Jane's Defence Weekly in 1984...

History

On 16 March 1955, the United States Air Force officially ordered the development of an advanced reconnaissance satellite to provide continuous surveillance of "preselected areas of the Earth" in order "to determine the status of a potential enemy’s war-making capability".

Types

There are several major types of reconnaissance satellite.

Missile early warning

Provides warning of an attack by detecting ballistic missile launches. Earliest known are Missile Defense Alarm System.

Nuclear explosion detection

Identifies and characterizes nuclear explosions in space. Vela (satellite) is the earliest known.

Photo surveillance

Provides imaging of earth from space. Images can be a survey or close-look telephoto. Corona (satellite) is the earliest known. Spectral imaging is commonplace.

Electronic reconnaissance

Signals intelligence

Intercepts stray radio waves. Samos-F is the earliest known.

Radar imaging

Most space-based radars use synthetic aperture radar.[citation needed] Can be used at night or through cloud cover. Earliest known are the Soviet US-A series...