All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Space Armor tiles are hexagon-shaped and designed to protect space assets.
The HEXAGON program began in the mid-1960s as a replacement for the CORONA satellite.
HEXAGON was designed to photograph large areas of the Soviet Union to identify Soviet weapons systems.
The first HEXAGON launch took place on June 15, 1971, followed by several more launches in the subsequent years.
The proposed configuration for HEXAGON would support four launches per year for continuous near-real-time capability.
HEXAGON had two powerful cameras that spun in opposite directions and exposed long lengths of film.
Perkin-Elmer estimated that the HEXAGON satellite could only transmit for 38 minutes per orbit, allowing approximately 12 feet of film to be transmitted.
The proposed HEXAGON system would have a total operational lifetime of 135 days.
In late 1970, the Perkin-Elmer Corporation proposed to modify the HEXAGON film reconnaissance satellite for near-real-time reconnaissance.
HEXAGON was originally planned to launch in 1970 but was delayed by a year due to technical problems.
A declassified document from 1976 referred to a program named RED SHIRT as a near-real-time film readout device for HEXAGON.
A mapping camera was added to HEXAGON starting with its fifth launch in 1973.
The HEXAGON satellite was designed and built by the Perkin-Elmer Corporation in Danbury, Connecticut.
The near-real-time capability of HEXAGON would rely on monoscopic imagery, unlike the stereoscopic imagery provided by its two main cameras.
The HEXAGON missions were designed to cover large areas with high-resolution imaging, returning significant intelligence data in a short time.
After 45 days of its primary mission, HEXAGON would be boosted to a higher altitude for 90 days of near-real-time operation.
Perkin-Elmer had not yet conducted a detailed study for the proposed near-real-time capability for HEXAGON.
Film from HEXAGON was transported to Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York for development and then sent to Washington, DC for analysis.
The last HEXAGON launch occurred on April 20, 1986, using the Titan 34D rocket.
The Titan 34D rocket carrying the last HEXAGON exploded shortly after launch, with debris damaging surrounding areas.