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Corona Spy Satellite Telemetry Tape

Corona Spy Satellite Telemetry Tape

7 total reviews

  • Verified Authentic

Item #290


The CORONA program was a secret CIA & US Air Force project that launched 144 reconnaissance spacecraft from 1959 to 1972. The dire pursuit of intel during the tense Cold War resulted in this ambitious space program that achieved many spaceflight firsts.   

Photos had never been taken from space and the entire system, including lenses, mounting, mechanisms, and even the film, had to be specially designed for space.

With every pass over target areas, primarily the USSR and China, onboard cameras would snap a series of panoramic photographs on 70mm film. When passing over tracking stations, the satellite would transmit trajectory, velocity, and system status information which was recorded onto reels of magnetic tape like this.

At the end of each mission, the film capsule detached and re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. Before it reached the surface, a parachute was deployed and a specially-equipped airplane would catch the gliding capsule in mid-air.

The CORONA program was declassified in 1996 and over 860,000 images made publicly accessible, the largest photographic catalog of Earth’s surface at the time. Researchers have recently used these images to locate ancient sites and study the effects of climate change.

The section of magnetic tape was used by the CIA to track a Corona Program satellite.

 

Details:

Artifact length: 3.5"
Frame dimensions: 5" x 5" x 0.75"


  • Acrylic Display
  • Certificate of Authenticity
  • Individually Numbered

Regular price $44.00
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Customer Reviews

Based on 7 reviews
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C
C.C. (Virginia, United States)

Very unique and cool item, highly recommend this seller!

B
B.A. (Nevada, United States)
Corona Spy Satellite

Nice item to display with all my other Corona artifacts. A tribute to my father and his contributions to the Corona Program.

A
A. (Virginia, United States)

This was an amazing gift and got non-stop thank you's for this. Definitely get it!

S
S.R. (Virginia, United States)

Super cool and very unusual

R
R. (Idaho, United States)
Corona History Artifact

I love that you have recognized such an important part of our nations history. I have been looking for Corona items for years, and yours is a first. Beautiful presentation, including the box it comes in. Really happy with this product.

Z
Z.U.U. (Virginia, United States)

Zachary gave this item 5 stars

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