Space Imagery

Term Paper Title	Space Imagery
# of Words	1779
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	7.12

Space Imagery

A new breed of spies are looking down on us without a hint of giving up their position to those on the ground. The Surveyor is soaring thousands of feet above us with a view that is better than any human eye. This new marvel to modern technology is actually a satellite that is equipped with expensive components to do complex processes like taking images of the earth from outer space. This entire process is called Space Imagery.
Space Imagery
     The idea of getting an image from space has been around for more than 150 years now. It started in the 1850's when photographers flew balloons with cameras attached over large cities to get a picture of the entire city. The photographers were not successful until 1858 when Gaspard Felix Tournachon produced the first aerial pictures by balloon of Paris (Dangermond, 1996). After this happened, Space Imagery, also known as Aerial Photography, produced a wave of different techniques to get photos from higher altitudes (Strain, 1992).
The most creative technique to be introduced happened in 1903, when Julius Neubronner, a German photographer, attached a lightweight camera to carrier pigeons. This process, amazingly so, went on to take several successful aerial photos of his town (Strain, 1992).
Everyone wanted to get higher and more detailed pictures as the 1900's passed. This new interest was stimulated by the Cold War that broke out between the countries and the technology became a factor in their lives. People began to use balloons and kites to gain pictures of their opponents. They also started a new race of undetected surveillance. The best example of this was during the Cold War when Russia was
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stockpiling missiles and weapons for use against the United States. Several times the U.S. used balloons to photograph positions and artillery supplies of the Russians from high altitudes. This program was stopped a month after it started due to Soviet complaints (Popular Science, 248).
The next step in the process was the airplane. America invented what is now called the U2. The U2 flew at altitudes high enough to avoid radar detection and Soviet missiles. This worked until Soviet technology became improved enough to have radar that could locate and shoot down an airplane at high altitudes. The Soviets were viewed as unstoppable.
The final step in the fight for undetected views of restricted areas neared its peak when President Dwight D. Eisenhower started the Discover Program in 1962. It was supposedly a simple program that tests the effects of manmade objects and living creatures in outer space. The project turned out to be a little more difficult than that.
The program was actually a CIA operation hoping to use satellites to receive pictures of Russian powers from across the borders. This program, which was just declassified in 1995, played one of the most important roles in the life of the country. It was called the Corona Program. It was a satellite operation that took ordinary photos of Russian weapon stockpiles. It also showed the placement of their nuclear weapons which, at the time, were aimed at the United States and at a bomber base which was situated 400 miles west of Alaska (Technology Review, 99).
The use of the Corona satellite stopped what might have been the worst war ever between the Soviets and  United States. The incidences it helped prevent were the most controversial threats ever posed on the U.S. Some of these posed threats had the
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first thoughts of nuclear warheads being shot at, or even detonated, within the United States. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the best example of one of the many benefits of Space Imagery. The satellites imaged missiles being moved into Cuba by Russia, posing a threat on the United States. With use of the images, the United States government realized that the missile power was not enough to penetrate all of the United States. This allowed the government to settle the dispute peacefully without causing the breakout of war.
Since the beginning of our Discover Program, our country has exc...

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