| Note: The CORONA Pioneers were
honored during ceremonies at CIA Headquarters
and the NASM in May 1995. These remarks are drawn
from those ceremonies. To read individual descriptions,
click on the name.
Program Managers:The two
program manager are being honored posthumously for
their tireless efforts in overseeing the design,
creation, production, delivery, and performance
of the product. Without the vision and oversight
of these gentlemen, the program would not have succeeded.
Program Office: The program
office served as CORONA's nerve center, coordinating
the activities of CIA, Air Force, and industry contractors
under the tightest security. The program office
honorees exhibited that non-stop "can do"
attitude that helped make the program a success.
Program Staff:The talents
exhibited by these early pioneers of the program
staff ranged from writing contracts for an effort
never before envisioned and convincing the contractor
they could meet the deadline, to melding together
a team of experts from different industrial cultures
into a team that was unstoppable.
Launch Base: The Launch
Base at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California
was the poor cousin to the other US space launch
facilities under the civilian programs. Operating
under the burden of secrecy, the launch team was
not only responsible for sending CORONA through
the atmosphere, but supporting a cover story mission
that did not exist, in essence doubling the work
load.
Operations: Once a CORONA
spacecraft reached its destination, a team of operations
personnel controlled its activities, directing its
photo operations, attitude control, and de-orbit
of the capsules back to earth. While less visible
than other program elements, their mission was equally
dramatic.
Recovery Group: All the
activity of designing, building, and launching the
CORONA spacecraft was dependent on one metal hook
for mission success, for if the film buckets were
not recovered, there would be no photography to
evaluate. As it set so many other trends, CORONA
was the first object ever recovered from space,
on the unlikely Number 13 mission. The Recovery
Group was responsible for creating this miracle,
a combination of technology, luck, and dogged perseverance.
Lockheed: The Lockheed team
created the upper stage vehicle that took CORONA
into space. Lockheed also served as the integrator
for the entire effort. The dedication and the drive
for excellence that each member of the team, from
the highest levels of the corporation down to the
engineers, made the CORONA program a success.
Itek: The talents of Itek
Corporation brought about the design of the spaceborne
camera which revolutionized photoreconnaissance.
Their design excellence and knowledge of panoramic
cameras systems allowed the CORONA program to become
the success we herald today.
Eastman Kodak: Eastman Kodak
is honored for developing the leading edge technology
in film which allowed the cameras to operate in
the unique environment of space without the film
sticking or cracking.
General Electric:General
Electric designed and manufactured the recovery
capsule. Affectionately called the "bucket"
by later members of the program, this recovery capsule
was the first system to be successfully returned
and recovered from space. This technology provided
solutions for manned space flight programs that
would follow
Program
Managers
Richard Bissell had
the vision, determination, and courage that gave
the CORONA program the opportunity required to
move from failure to success. His intervention
was vital, particularly at the White House level.
When a string of one dozen failures was testing
the nerves of key government officials, Bissell
never faltered--and the program moved on. If a
single person were selected to be given the bulk
of credit for the success of CORONA, it would
be, by general acclaim, Richard Bissell.
Osmund Ritland, as
Vice Commander of the Air Force Ballistic Missile
Division and Deputy Chief of the CORONA program,
shared, with Richard Bissell, oversight of CORONA
as well as development of the critical three-axis
stabilized Agena upperstage that carried the CORONA
payload. His attention to schedule, without jeopardizing
performance, was a major contributor to CORONA's
remarkably short development span and prodigious
launch schedule.
Program Office
Clarence. L. (Lee) Battle
guided day-to-day management of the CORONA program
by emphasizing a streamlined approach with simple
clarity: select a small group of good people,
demand quality performance, focus on mission accomplishment,
don't waste time on busy work, and the pay-off
is on results. These and other management principles
are known today throughout the National Reconnaissance
Office as "Battle's Laws."
Edward F. Blum managed
Lockheed's engineering development and manufacture
of the Agena A, B, and D upperstage to which the
CORONA payload was integrated. He oversaw modifications
of the standard Agena for use in other government
programs as well, and was responsible for Agena
launch pad development.
Frank S. (Buzz) Buzard
led CORONA's system integration and operations
in which he was responsible for ensuring that
all launch, on-orbit, and recovery activities
were implemented according to plans before and
after each mission. It was his job to get the
program back on track when glitches or failures
occurred.
Ralph J. Ford assisted
Paul Worthman in the day-to-day implementation
of the CORONA development. His diligence in moving
the program forward spanned all portions of CORONA:
contracting, security, technical, integration,
launch, and administration.
Albert W. (Bill) Johnson
oversaw the development of CORONA's increasing
complex payloads and recovery capsules, working
closely with contractors. He was the final responsible
government person to sign off on each contractor
delivery of cameras and recovery capsules.
Richard R. (Dick) Moore
came to the CORONA Program from training with
industry at Douglas Aircraft which made him a
natural to oversee the Thor booster activities.
Working with the Thor Program Office and Douglas,
he was instrumental in getting the Thor modified
and improved when greater performance was required.
William A. (Red) Sheppard,
as General Ritland's executive and later as General
Schriever's Program Director, established the
early processes and procedures that provided the
transition between the unclassified Discoverer
Program and the classified CIA activities. He
interacted with senior Air Force leadership to
maintain booster funding, and was also responsible
for establishing a study to determine how conventional
film could be modified to survive the space environment.
Roy Worthington,
as a member of Colonel Battle's project team,
was responsible for the Agena spacecraft development,
and succeeded in the challenging task of managing
development of the three-axis stabilized space
vehicle, the Agena. He also later served as the
CORONA Program Manager.
Program Office
Paul E. Worthman
had headed an Air Force laboratory which developed
aerial recovery equipment; he adapted these procedures
designed for hooking and reeling in packages parachuted
from a high-altitude balloon to capturing recovery
systems from space. He later replaced Red Sheppard
as the principal interface between the CIA and
the program office. He was also the CORONA Director
during the period of greatest activity.
.
Program Staff
John Parangosky served
as Deputy Chief, then later as Chief of the CORONA
Program Office Development Staff. Throughout 1959
and 1960, John guided the technical efforts of
the contract team. He is known as one of the finest
team builders to have ever worked in the CIA's
Directorate of Science and Technology. John's
talent in forging together a government contractor
team was an essential element of the Program's
success.
Eugene P. Kiefer served
in Mr. Bissell's staff as the Special Assistant
for Technical Analysis. Gene conducted a number
of the early trade-off studies as Thor booster
performance limited the total on-orbit payload.
He was Mr. Bissell's right hand as decisions regarding
time on-orbit, film capacity, and resolution were
considered.
Daniel Kelly was the
CORONA Contracting Officer who negotiated the
initial contract with Lockheed Missiles and Space
Company in April 1958. At a time when no one had
ever launched a stabilized platform in space,
recovered an object from space, or built a long,
focal length panoramic camera, Dan convinced the
contractor they could be ready for the first launch
in ten months. He was right, and his enthusiasm
helped mold the team.
George Kucera was
the first Chief of the CIA CORONA Development
Staff. George had served Mr. Bissell in both contracts
and technical aspects of the U-2 and A-12 aircraft
developments. George's experience in covert contracting
and his technical ability in contractor management
helped get the program underway in minimal time.
James H. McDonald
served as the principal liaison between the Pentagon's
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and the
CIA CORONA Program Office during the formative
years of the Program. His fiscal skills helped
to keep the CORONA Program moving forward in spite
of the early launch failures.
Launch Base
Roy B. Lefstad was
the Launch Control Officer on the CORONA Program
at Vandenberg AFB, where the system came together.
He worked many long days and many long hours on
the launch pad with the Lockheed and Douglas people
as they checked out, tested, and prepared the
Agena and Thor for launch.
Joseph J. Cody was
the Commander of the 6555th Aerospace Squadron
at Vandenberg AFB. He had overall responsibility
for all Air Force Systems Command launch activities
at Vandenberg, where the CORONA Program all came
together. Joe took a deep personal interest in
the CORONA Program and deconflicted ballistic
missile and space launches.
Will Heisler arrived
at Vandenberg in 1958 as chief of the launch control
team and set up the CORONA operation there. As
the weight of the Agena/CORONA payload grew, he
was under continued pressure to increase the lift
capability of the Thor booster. Through improvements
in operational procedures, he managed the operations
of the successful Thor launches.
Rob Roy was one of the
first Air Force officers at Vandenberg AFB assigned
the task of launching CORONA on the Thor/Agena.
As the first CORONA launch controller, he developed
the test procedures and countdown manuals; and
he manned the blockhouse for the early CORONA
launches.
Operations
Charles L. Murphy
served as the First CORONA Field Technical Director
at the Advanced Projects Integration Facility,
known as the "Skunkworks." At this facility
the cameras, the reentry vehicles, and the payload
spacecraft came together for testing prior to
shipment to Vandenberg AFB for Launch. Charlie
managed the integration, test, launch, and on-orbit
operations of the CORONA System.
William Bumm was one
of the original 13 individuals assigned to work
space operations at the Satellite Test Center.
He provided the vital link between the operations
of the Skunkworks and the on-orbit controllers
at the satellite test center.
Charles G. (Moose) Mathison
was the commander of the Air Force operations
at Palo Alto and Sunnyvale during the early days
of the CORONA Program. He directed the on-orbit
operations of the Air Force - industry team. When
Discoverer 13 was retrieved by the Navy, he traveled
by helicopter to the ship and brought the capsule
to Hickam and eventually to the White House.
Forrest S. McCartney
was at the Satellite Test Center and responsible
for the on-orbit control of early CORONA satellites.
Forrest also served as the Commander's executive
officer, and was at the console during the first
successful CORONA mission.
Joseph P. (Pat) O'Toole
was a Control Chief for CORONA operations at the
Satellite Test Center at Sunnyvale and supervised
the Duty Controllers. He led his team to develop
revolutionary operational procedures to control
the on-orbit satellite.
Varnard (Curly) Webb
served as the Deputy at the Lockheed Advanced
Projects Integration Facility, the "Skunkworks."
An expert in photo reconnaissance, he played an
important role in the test and acceptance of the
camera systems and also in the on-orbit operations
of the satellites.
Recovery Group
Teuvo A. (Gus) Ahola
commanded the 6594th Recovery Group and was responsible
for the total CORONA recovery effort. Gus supervised
extensive training of the Test Squadron crews
and improved on techniques and overall familiarization
in flying the probable ocean recovery areas. His
emphasis on training and rehearsals with the Navy
were critical to the success of CORONA recovery
operations.
Everett E. (Andy) Anderson
was a navigator with the 6593rd Test Squadron
(Special) and participated with the Operations
Staff of the 6594th Recovery Control Group. Andy
coordinated operational matters with the various
participants of the recovery effort, designed
and installed equipment for Victory ships for
aircraft pickup of the CORONA buckets. He was
a special training project officer for recovery
gear and DF gear crews on aircraft.
Harry L. Conway was
the pioneer in air-to-air pickup of space capsules
used in the CORONA Program. As early as 1943,
he pioneered procedures at Wright-Patterson Field
for aerial pickup of downed airmen from the ground.
In the 1950s, Harry was a key engineering assistant
for the full development of the aerial pickup
technique as employed by the CORONA Program. As
a industrial consultant, he worked with the 6593rd
Test Squadron (Special) where he trained pole
handlers, aircrews, and winch operators in preparations
for a successful recovery.
Arthur H. Grafe was
an Operations Officer with the 6594th Recovery
Control Group. Art prepared operations orders
and conducted conferences with the various CORONA
participating support organizations including
several Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, and FAA
elements. He conducted a final combined briefing
for all the participants on the day of each mission.
Art had an outstanding grasp of the many details
that had to be thoroughly examined and procedures
worked out in specific detail.
Janet Tsutomi was
the Commander's secretary who worked continuously
from the day of activation until the unit's final
deactivation (December 1958 to September 1986).
Janet was skillful, intelligent, tactful and possessed
an outstanding attitude. Janet was a totally dedicated
person--all of which contributed greatly to the
success of the Recovery Control Group's mission.
.
Lockheed
James W. Plummer was
the CORONA Program Manager at Lockheed and had
overall responsibility for the project. Jim led
the Lockheed team from the early days of WS-117L,
through the difficult formative years of CORONA,
all the way to CORONA's full operational capability.
He is the one person from industry most directly
responsible for the success of CORONA.
Ray Gavlak supervised
the engineers and technicians at the Lockheed
facility at Vandenberg AFB, and coordinated the
launch effort with the other contractors. In the
early days, there were many changes made to correct
deficiencies found in tests and typically these
changes continued until the final assembly for
launch. Ray, half jokingly, would say he had to
close the windows to keep late engineering changes
from blowing in.
Willis M. Hawkins
was the General Manager of the Lockheed space
vehicle effort during the formative days of the
CORONA Program. Willis was always happiest when
he could roll up his sleeves and work in the details
of the current engineering problem. His emphasis
on "common sense engineering" brought
the unending respect of all his engineers. Few
top level managers made as many direct engineering
contributions to a major aerospace project as
did Willis.
Fred O'Green was the
manager for the design, manufacture, and test
of the Agena vehicle for CORONA. He was a strong
leader with a very active involvement in all phases
of the program. He was always present at the scene
of the action and was famous within the group
for his calling people in the early hours of the
morning to have them come to the test center and
work on a technical problem. He was a very demanding
supervisor but never asked anyone to work harder
than he did.
L. Eugene Root was
the President of Lockheed Missiles and Space Company
at the initiation of Lockheed's effort on the
Air Force Space programs. He was a very active
top executive who committed the company's total
resources to the high priority CORONA program.
During the early period of maximum security, he
was the only top executive who was briefed on
the objectives of the program. He used this responsibility
to establish a dedicated shop along the lines
of the famous Lockheed "Skunkworks"
and gave the selected team full authority to get
the job accomplished..
Itek
Richard Leghorn was
Chief of Intelligence and Reconnaissance Systems
Development at the Pentagon. Dick was a true visionary
in the field of airborne and space reconnaissance
developments, including origination of the "Open
Skies" concept. As a consultant to the USAF
Scientific Advisory Board and to the Special Assistant
to the President for Disarmament Affairs, he was
principal contributor to the early CORONA camera
development. In late 1957, Dick was a co-founder
and the first President of Itek Corporation.
Walter Levison was
the camera designer and Assistant Director of
Boston University. Walt was project manager for
the balloon reconnaissance cameras and designer
of the HYAC panoramic camera system. During his
assignment as General Manager of Itek's Defense
Systems Division, Walt was the principal proponent
of the proposal that CORONA employ a high resolution
24-inch focal length Petzval lens in a panoramic
camera to be used on a stable body space vehicle.
Francis J. (Frank) Madden
was Itek's Chief Engineer for development of the
HYAC panoramic camera, and subsequently was responsible
for all engineering development of the CORONA
camera system through most of its evolutions.
As Chief Engineer, Frank was responsible for the
physical design, development, manufacturing, and
operation of the early system and later assumed
the role of CORONA camera project manager. His
signal contributions included the unique "starwheel"
mechanism to time the movement of the complex
optical system and elimination of the static "corona"
which was present in the early imagery.
John Wolfe was Itek's
first Program Manager on the CORONA camera development
effort because of his extensive experience on
the panoramic cameras for the balloon reconnaissance
programs. John retained this responsibility for
a number of years, providing guidance for subsequent
program success..
Eastman Kodak
Edgar Green was the
Program Manager for the Kodak interface with the
government and camera manufacturers during the
critical program implementation years. Ed's drive
and initiative enabled the development of the
technical film solutions required to meet the
program requirements for physical and photographic
performance.
James Alkofer was
instrumental in investigating and characterizing
the unique technical challenges for high altitude
reconnaissance films. He helped develop and define
the film sensitometric and spatial performance
requirements for the program and assisted the
government in monitoring operational system performance.
Donald Schoessler
was the liaison with the Kodak film manufacturing
division, providing the interface necessary for
communicating the program's film requirements
and directing development of films to these unique
requirements. These efforts provided excellent
film products; developed, manufactured, and packaged
to meet the precise requirements of the film transport
and camera imaging systems.
Richard Stowe provided
management and technical guidance for the development,
integration, and quality assurance of Kodak ground
handling equipment, for films and chemistries
used to government facilities, and for processing
and duplication of the program films.
General Electric
Edward A. Miller was
an original CORONA Project Engineer and the CORONA
Program Manager when the first satellite recovery
vehicle (SRV) was successfully recovered from
space. The SRV would be the first man-made item
to ever be returned to earth from space, surviving
the harsh reentry environment. He led the team
which successfully developed the recovery vehicle
in record time.
Ingard Clausen was
the original Program Manager for the SRV assembly
at General Electric. Ingard helped design the
recovery system which was the first man-made object
to return to the earth from space.
Mark Morton was the
General Manager of the General Electric Reentry
Systems Division with overall responsibility for
all aspects of GE's support to the CORONA Program.
As such, Mark ensured that all the GE support
to CORONA was delivered on schedule for this accelerated
program.
Hilliard Paige was
the General Electric facility General Manager
with overall responsibility for development of
the CORONA bucket reentry system. He was well
known for personal engineering contributions to
CORONA of a highly technical nature.
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