Corona (satellite)

The Corona program was a series of American strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency Directorate of Science & Technology with substantial assistance from the U.S. Air Force. The Corona satellites were used for photographic surveillance of the Soviet Union (USSR), the People's Republic of China, and other areas beginning in June 1959 and ending in May 1972. The name of this program is sometimes seen as "CORONA", but its actual name "Corona" was a codeword, not an acronym.

History and costs

Corona started under the name "Discoverer" as part of the WS-117L satellite reconnaissance and protection program of the US Air Force in 1956. The WS-117L was based on recommendations and designs from the RAND Corporation. The United States Air Force credits the Onizuka Air Force Station as being the "birthplace of the Corona program." In May 1958, the Department of Defense directed the transfer of the WS-117L program to Advanced Research Projects Agency. In FY1958, WS-117L was funded by the AF at a level of US$108.2 million (inflation adjusted US$0.89 billion in 2016). For Discoverer, the Air Force and ARPA spent a combined sum of US$132.3 million in FY1959 (inflation adjusted US$1.07 billion in 2016) and US$101.2 million in FY1960 (inflation adjusted US$0.81 billion in 2016). According to John N. McMahon, the total cost of the CORONA program amounted to $US 850 million.