KH-1 CORONA
Return
A plan laid down 18 months earlier called for the surreptitious exchange of the capsule for a dummy, shortly after return to California, with shipment of the real capsule to the East Coast. These necessary precautions would preclude examination of the real capsule's film-entry aperture.
Although Discoverer XIII had no camera, the first recovery was planned as a full dress rehearsal for the handling of a real CORONA capsule. Unknown to all involved though, "Moose" Mathison (not briefed on CORONA), had a different plan.
Mathison believed that the first Discoverer success would offer an opportunity for media exposure of Air Force space programs and attention on the fine work being done by his friend General Schriever (who now headed Air Force Systems Command and also led the Air Force CORONA effort). On August 12, Mathison landed by helicopter on the flight deck of the Haiti Victory and assumed charge.
After arranging to have the Commander of the Pacific Air Force meet him at the dock for press photos, Mathison transferred the capsule to a C-130 aircraft and began a flight to Sunnyvale, California. While airborne, he passed the time by breaking into the capsule, which he found to be almost empty. He sent a message to General Ritland and the president of Lockheed in Sunnyvale to meet him for another photo shoot.
The next day, Mathison and the capsule landed at Andrews Air Force Base for more photographs, this time with General Schriever and the Chief of the Staff of the Air Force. A White House ceremony was set for August 15.
Thus a capsule which was to have been returned discreetly to Sunnyvale, made noisy progress to the White House, where President Eisenhower hailed it as "historic." It continued to attract attention for months after Mathison released it, being displayed throughout the country, and finally coming to rest in the Smithsonian Institution where a plaque has read:
"The Discoverer program was initiated to develop satellite reconnaissance capability. Early missions in the Discoverer series were plagued with failures. It was not until the launch of Discoverer XIII in 1960 that the program achieved its first success. The Discoverer XIII reentry vehicle was the first spacecraft to be returned and recovered from orbit. Discoverer satellites later photographed Soviet ballistic missile launch sites, enabling better determination of the actual number of such missiles." < 16 >
Mathison's efforts single-handedly documented the innocent nature of a U.S. space capsule, as it contained nothing noxious--no bomb, no camera, no leaflets--just one American flag. After the successful flight of Discoverer XIV on August 18, and recovery in mid-air of its capsule, the first CORONA film was quietly couriered under a more effective system.
The Discoverer XIV is the first satellite to be ejected from an orbiting space vehicle and to be recovered in midair. This occurred August 18, 1960, according to the Air Force Museum web page. The capsule was launched atop a Thor booster rocket. Over Alaska after its 17th pass around the earth, the Agena ejected Discoverer XIV from its nose, and retrorockets attached to the reentry vehicle fired to slow it for the return from orbit. After Discoverer XIV reentered the atmosphere, it released a parachute and floated earthward.
On its third try, an Air Force C-119 recovery aircraft from the 6593rd Test Squadron based at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, successfully snagged the parachute canopy with the recovery gear trailing behind the aircraft. A winch operator aboard the C-119 then reeled in the Discoverer XIV after its 27-hour, 450,000-mile journey through space.
The equipment and techniques for mid-air recovery of data capsules had been developed in an earlier balloon reconnaissance program called Project GENETRIX, according to the ESC History Office. That project was managed by the Air Force Cambridge Laboratories at Hanscom.
Reaction to the film was unbridled jubilation. Photo interpreters called it "terrific, stupendous," and "we are flabbergasted." Imagery of more than 1,650,000 nm2 (square nautical miles) of Soviet territory had been acquired. Resolution was estimated at 55 lines per millimeter, with ground objects ranging upwards from 35-foot dimensions identifiable. < 17 >
After President Eisenhower saw the photography from this flight, he let it be known that he wanted everything about the "take" kept secret, to avoid affronting the Soviets. As this comment passed down the chain of command, his cautionary words were translated and amplified into "Destroy the capsule." So the capsule was literally beaten to pieces and disposed of.
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