The Underside of the Hexagon Reconnaissance Satellite

The Underside of the Hexagon Vehicle

This is a view of the underside of the Hexagon reconnaissance satellite. The imagery that 19 orbital missions produced over 15 years provided key intelligence information for the United States and helped keep the peace during the cold war.

The photo shows the aft section on the left that contained the film reels, the middle section contained the two cameras, one facing 10 degrees forward and the other facing 10 degrees to the rear, thus providing the ability to take stereo photos. The forward section contained four Re-Entry vehicles that periodically returned the used film to earth.