Posted at end of last Bread. Big Bird 9's genesis…I think
KH-9 HEXAGON main features
KH-9 Hexagon during assembly by Lockheed
KH-9 (BYEMAN codename HEXAGON), commonly known as Big Bird[1] or Keyhole-9, was a series of photographic reconnaissance satellites launched by the United States between 1971 and 1986. Of twenty launch attempts by the National Reconnaissance Office, all but one were successful.[2] Photographic film aboard the KH-9 was sent back to Earth in recoverable film return capsules for processing and interpretation. The best ground resolution achieved by the main cameras was better than 0.6 meters.[3]
They are also officially known as the Broad Coverage Photo Reconnaissance satellites (Code 467), built by Lockheed Corporation for the National Reconnaissance Office.[1]
The KH-9 was declassified in September 2011 and an example was put on public display for a single day on September 17, 2011 in the parking lot of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum.[4][5][6]