In the 1960s I worked for Art Lundahl who said to all his employees, "You have a seat on the 50 yard line of history" because of the work NPIC was engaged in. Art, who headed CIA's National Photographic Intelligence Center (NPIC), briefed President Kennedy, and other high ranking decision makers on the Soviet Surface-to-Surface Missiles in Cuba in 1962. In early 1963 I joined NPIC as an Imagery Analyst working with satellite photographs of the Soviet Union and other denied areas of the world. I was a part of the CORONA Program, the photographic satellite that replaced the U-2 Reconnaissance Aircraft shot down over the Soviet Union in May of 1960. Very few people in the Intelligence Community were aware of the system because of its classification.
The material from CORONA was declassified in 1995 and is now available to the public. It is time to tell this part of the Cold War story, and this E-book is a start. Other publications are in the planning stage, and will be released when completed. Stay in touch.
The first 21 pages of this E-book are free, after that the book has to be purchased if you would like to see the remaining 77 pages. The big item that is available is a PDF file of the CORONA History put out by CIA History Staff in 1995. This publication is no longer in print, so this would be an opportunity to acquire a copy. Other material you will see in the rest of the e-book include the first CORONA Intelligence Report (an abbreviated copy including front cover, photograph of the first Intelligence Target collected by satellite, and the track map of the first mission). An article on the use of photography as an intelligence tool by Decision Makers, written from my experience. A photo of the Soviet Missiles in Cuba in 1962 and a copy of the briefing notes used by the Deputy Director of CIA to brief President Kennedy on the missiles. A series of KH-4 Briefing Handouts, and photographs of the camera and its operation fill out the list of other items included.
Thank you for your interest. Your comments and suggestions are welcome and can be sent to Tom Farrell, freedom777@juno.com.
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