SPACE.com September 6, 2002
Secret Satellite Photos To Be Unveiled
By Leonard David
Images sent down by U.S. secret satellites in decades past are going up for public viewing.
Later this month, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) is set to declassify Keyhole (KH) imagery from the KH-7 and KH-9 satellites, two highly hush-hush intelligence-gathering spacecraft of Cold War vintage.
The unveiling of the satellite snapshots is part of the U.S. government's Historical Imagery Declassification Program. Purpose of the program centers on three goals: Promote the spirit of open governance; demonstrate results of taxpayer investment in national security and ensure that researchers -- from environmentalists to historians -- have access to useful and unique sources of information.
Welcome move
The intention to release the intelligence imagery has taken several outsiders by surprise.
"It's a welcome move," said Steven Aftergood of the Project on Government Secrecy, an effort of the Federation of American Scientists and based in Washington, D.C.
"First and foremost, these images are of historical interest. They feature images of national security significance that served as an important input to the U.S. Government policy process. So they can help historians shed some light on that process," Aftergood told SPACE.com.
Aftergood said that some of the photos might have more immediate value. They could reveal information about nuclear weapons depots, missile launch sites and the like. Some of these facilities could still be functioning today, he said.
"These images may also serve as a resource for environmental research and monitoring," Aftergood said.
Cloak-and-dagger
This is not the first time the U.S. government has placed on a spotlight on previously "dark", cloak-and-dagger satellite pictures.
In 1995, the Clinton White House gave the okay to release the camera work from the once secret CORONA satellite. That declassification order meant letting loose of more than 860,000 images of the Earth's surface taken between 1960 and 1972.
The release of another set of once classified pictures is somewhat surprising, said Dwayne A. Day, a policy analyst in Washington, D.C. He has written extensively about early American reconnaissance satellites.
"The intelligence community has been discussing declassifying several post-CORONA reconnaissance satellite programs for over five years now. They have apparently come close to doing so on several occasions. But there have always been people who objected, so it just has not happened until now. This decision is a bit of a surprise," Day said.
Key targets
NIMA will host the September 20 conference titled "America's Eyes: What We Were Seeing," an event to be held at the University of Maryland University College in Adelphi, Maryland.
According to a NIMA, the high-resolution KH-7 surveillance imaging satellite (flown from July 1963 to June 1967) monitored key targets such as intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) complexes, radar systems, and hot spots around the globe. The lower-resolution KH-9 mapping system (operating from March 1973 to October 1980) gathered data for mapmakers. It also collected imagery.
Day said that the KH-7 photos should be "interesting and exciting." Run under code name "GAMBIT", the KH-7 cranked out pictures better in detail than even the best commercial imagery satellites in operation today, he said.
"GAMBIT was started after Gary Powers got shot down in May 1960. It was intended to replace the U-2 [high-altitude aircraft] by providing high-resolution reconnaissance of the Soviet Union," Day said.
Together, the KH-7 and KH-9 acquired some 50,000 images.
Mixed emotions
Following declassification, the photos are to be transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). A duplicate set of the pictures and associated data will also be made available for public scrutiny and purchase at the United States Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
"When I first heard about this declassification I was very excited. I got over that and sobered up rather quickly after we discovered they are only releasing about 20 percent of the total take," said Tim Brown, senior analyst with GlobalSecurity.org, of Alexandria, Virginia. The independent military watchdog group, among its research interests, supports new initiatives utilizing space technology to enhance international peace and security.
"I have mixed emotions about this. Of course I was surprised that they are going ahead with this," Brown said. The Bush Administration has a penchant for secrecy, and they don't like the concept of Freedom of Information, he added.
In a post-9/11 world, the Bush White House could have opted not to release any new batch of old satellite shots, Brown said.
That being said, the KH-7 and KH-9 pictures that will be issued later this month are likely to be the most benign, least damaging, and oldest imagery of select countries, Brown said.
Copyright 2002 Guardian Newspapers Limited
