Customer Reviews

The Corona Project: America's First Spy Satellites

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This book brings together quite a bit of new information about early satellite imaging in general and Corona in particular. It covers many interesting political, technical, military and personal aspects of the subject. The author combines information already in the public domain with new information from sources who have spoken with him now that the program has officially come out of the "black world". It is heartily recommended for anyone interested in the development of military space technology but is also a fine source for those who are mainly interested in Cold War politics. Hats off to anyone reading this who was involved in Corona. You folks did a lot to make sure the good guys won!

Curtis Peebles, an aerospace historian affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, has written a book that serves as a good introduction to the early years of American satellite reconnaissance. Without going into too many details, the book does a good job of describing the different aspects of the program, and its ramifications. The book will probably appeal more to those who were involved in the Corona Project, or looking into it for a particular reason than to those looking for casual reading.

Of the 3 books on this subject which I have so far read, this was the second book I obtained and read. The most accurate picture can be gained by having all three books (sorry, but more $ to Amazon, and you may tire of seeing certain images again).

Peebles' Corona book has more chapters on the human side of the recovery (mid-air capture, ++) and process (3 stages of interpretation, ++). Reading this latter part brings more meaning to McDonald's Appendices (mentioned below). [Most human story. The whole story is important cold war history.]

Day's book (Eye in the Sky: The Story of the Corona Spy Satellites (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight)) has a chapter on the Soviet Zenit program and launch vehicles lacking in the other books (++ and a few details not covered by either Peebles or McDonald.

The most technical, expensive, longest-delivery time, and most professional is McDonald's ASPRS book. A chapter details the Corona earth model (++, math). The appendices include redacted original reports (++) and some marginally reproduced space images (++). The book also has a pointer to the breast cancer X-ray ID which the NRO/CIA claim to have released. These will not be found in Peebles. [Most space images.]

This book is a fascinating look at America's first spy satellites. The early history of them seems plausible, the author describes both the successes and failures of the program, the codewords and mission numbers are accurate, and the book offers tantalizing looks at Corona photography. The book has its humorous moments, especially when describing the "funnies". And it gives a respectable "hats off" to the photo interpreters who worked with it on a day-to-day basis. The book does all the hard working Corona personnel proud; they've been hidden far too long! Congratulations to everyone from Dr. Land to the Corona recovery teams and users to the author of this book!

Do you like spies? Do you like mysteries? If you do, read this book. IT is packed with fun facts and a history that will blow your mind!