KH-9
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Codenamed Hexagon, the KH-9 was a reconnaissance satellite used by the United States from June 1971 to April 1986. The satellite was popularly known as Big Bird. Most missions carried two cameras with a focal length of 1.52 meters, but four missions carried one camera with a 0.30 m focal length. The KH-9 operated for up to 275 days, returning four canisters of photographic film per mission. Different versions of the satellite varied in mass, most weighed 11,400 kilograms or 13,300 kg. Satellites were manufactured by Lockheed. At least 20 launch attempts were made.
The KH-9 was a backup project developed in case the KH-10 Manned Orbiting Laboratory project did not go forward (it didn't).
References
- Mark Wade (August 9, 2003). KH-9 (http://www.astronautix.com/craft/kh9.htm). Encyclopedia Astronautica. Acessed April 23, 2004.
- KH-9A Hexagon. (http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/kh-9a.htm) GlobalSecurity.org.
- KH-9B Hexagon. (http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/kh-9b.htm) GlobalSecurity.org.nl:Big Bird