Declass 2 (2002) = KH-7 and KH-9 Global Camera Photos: 1963 - 1980|卫星成像数据集|军事应用数据集

Keyhole (KH) satellite systems KH-7 and KH-9 acquired photographs of the Earth's surface with a telescopic camera system and transported the exposed film through the use of recovery capsules. The capsules or buckets were de-orbited and retrieved by aircraft while the capsules parachuted to earth. The exposed film was developed and the images were analyzed for a range of military applications.

The KH-7 surveillance system was a high resolution imaging system that was operational from July 1963 to June 1967. Approximately 18,000 black-and-white images and 230 color images are available from the 38 missions flown during this program. Key features for this program were larger area of coverage and improved ground resolution. The cameras acquired imagery in continuous lengthwise sweeps of the terrain. KH-7 images are 9 inches wide, vary in length from 4 inches to 500 feet long, and have a resolution of 2 to 4 feet.

The KH-9 mapping program was operational from March 1973 to October 1980 and was designed to support mapping requirements and exact positioning of geographical points for the military. This was accomplished by using image overlap for stereo coverage and by using a camera system with a reseau grid to correct image distortion. The KH-9 framing cameras produced 9 x 18 inch imagery at a resolution of 20-30 feet. Approximately 29,000 mapping images were acquired from 12 missions.

The images have variable scales and quality. Cloud cover is common. The digital products are produced from a duplicate negative film source. More than 40 percent of the imagery contains significant cloud cover. The use of browse imagery gives the user the opportunity to review a reduced resolution image to determine if the area of interest is covered and to check for cloud cover. The original film sources are maintained by the (http://www.nara.gov) National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).