Hexagon

[Plane]

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/29/141824562/spy-satellite-engineers-top-secret-is-revealed


   Extremely complex spy satellite Classified for most of our lives, helped presidents from Nixon to Reagan make decisions.


Declassified now, wonder what is replacing it?

[Michael Tee]

Thanks, plane.  Interesting story.  Film.  Slide rules.  Amazing my grandchildren will be asking me, what was film, Gramps?  What were slide rules?  I think even my KIDS don't know what slide rules are.  Or log tables.  Wish I'd have kept my last slide rule.  They looked so neat and "scientific."  I had log tables, but they were in the basement and got mouldy so I threw them out.

Wonder if the Russkis had their own Hexagons?

[Amianthus]

Thanks, plane.  Interesting story.  Film.  Slide rules.  Amazing my grandchildren will be asking me, what was film, Gramps?  What were slide rules?  I think even my KIDS don't know what slide rules are.  Or log tables.  Wish I'd have kept my last slide rule.  They looked so neat and "scientific."  I had log tables, but they were in the basement and got mouldy so I threw them out.

Still have two of my slide rules. I tried to teach my daughter how to use it once, she didn't have the time. I still have several copies of various CRC publications, including their books of math tables.

Wonder if the Russkis had their own Hexagons?

Of course.

[hnumpah]

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/29/141824562/spy-satellite-engineers-top-secret-is-revealed


   Extremely complex spy satellite Classified for most of our lives, helped presidents from Nixon to Reagan make decisions.


Declassified now, wonder what is replacing it?

KH-9 was one of the 'keyhole' series of spy satellites. These were compromised by the 'Falcon and the Snowman', which was a real life duo (book of the same name) feeding the satellite system information they stole from TRS in California to the Russians in Mexico City. What they covered in the article has not really been a secret for years. It almost caused the collapse of the Australian government in the 80's when the book came out and a passage revealed that a 'NASA' station near Alice Springs was actually an 'NSA' station used for comms with the Keyhole satellites, against Australian law by a secret agreement. Details about the satellites have been available for years.

Nowadays they use encrypted links to return their data to earth, rather than film cartridges.