CORONA Satellite Photography

On February 24, 1995, President Clinton signed an Executive Order,
directing the declassification of intelligence imagery acquired by the
first generation of United States photo-reconnaissance satellites, including
the systems code-named CORONA, ARGON, and LANYARD. More than 860,000 images of the Earth's surface, collected between 1960 and 1972, were declassified with the issuance of this Executive Order.

Image collection was driven, in part, by the need to confirm purported developments in then-Soviet strategic missile capabilities. The images also were used to produce maps and charts for the Department of Defense and for other Federal Government mapping programs. In addition to the images, documents and reports (collateral information) are available, pertaining to frame ephemeris data, orbital ephemeris data, and mission performance. Document availability varies by mission; documentation was not produced for unsuccessful missions.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Maintainer EROS CENTER
Last Updated March 31, 2025, 13:35 (UTC)
Created March 31, 2025, 13:35 (UTC)
accessLevel public
bureauCode {026:00}
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catalog_@id https://data.nasa.gov/data.json
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citation U.S. Geological Survey. 1995-01-01. CORONA Satellite Photography. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA. Archived by National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Government, U.S. Geological Survey. Photograph.
creator U.S. Geological Survey
data-presentation-form Photograph
harvest_object_id 92ed6f0c-c695-4461-a063-a4501ca0007c
harvest_source_id 61638e72-b36c-4866-9d28-551a3062f158
harvest_source_title DNG Legacy Data
identifier C1220566178-USGS_LTA
issued 1960-07-31
landingPage https://cmr.earthdata.nasa.gov:443/search/concepts/C1220566178-USGS_LTA.html
language {en-US}
metadata_type geospatial
modified 1972-05-31
programCode {026:001}
publisher DOI/USGS/EROS
release-place Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash a08c3c3729f8aee89f04965bbebee64eecdc7439dd48739f541f5185697460da
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial -180.0 -85.0 180.0 85.0
temporal 1960-07-31T00:00:00Z/1972-05-31T23:59:59.999Z
theme {geospatial}