Who watches the birds? Cold War era launch vehicle photographs (part 2)by Dwayne A. Day
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  The ninth HEXAGON mission, launched in October 1974. (credit: John Hilliard Collection) |
The value of Peter Hunter’s work was significant for writers of military missile and space history, because it enabled writers and publishers to be more varied in what they showed, rather than using the same officially-released publicity photos as every other publication, something that was common in space history books in the 1980s and later.
 The eleventh HEXAGON mission launched in December 1975. (credit: John Hilliard Collection) |
Now, a new collection of launch photographs has closed some of the gaps. John Hilliard worked for the National Reconnaissance Office before he retired and began collecting rocket launch photos. His collection includes some of the missing photos in Peter Hunter’s collection.
  The first KH-11 KENNEN mission launched in December 1976. (credit: John Hilliard Collection) |
Thanks to Hunter and Hilliard, we now have launch photos of many of the KH-9 HEXAGON and KH-11 reconnaissance satellites. HEXAGON was a large satellite that used film to scan vast areas of the Earth to detect new activities and count weapons systems. Twenty satellites were launched and HEXAGON operated from 1971 until the last mission ended in a dramatic launch explosion in 1986.
 The second KENNEN mission launched in June 1978. (credit: John Hilliard Collection) |
The KH-11, code-named KENNEN, entered service in late 1976 and its descendants were launched into the 2000s. KENNEN was an electro-optical reconnaissance satellite that could relay images in near-real time to the ground, meaning that it could take a photo over downtown Moscow that within an hour or so could be seen by somebody at the Pentagon. The National Reconnaissance Office has declassified the name and the history leading to the decision to build the KENNEN, but not any technical information about the satellite itself. In 1985 one of the satellites failed to reach orbit when its Titan rocket malfunctioned. This was the beginning of a string of launch failures for the United States and a period during which American on-orbit reconnaissance assets were stretched thin.
 The fifth KENNEN mission launched in November 1982. This was probably the first block 2 version of the satellite. (credit: John Hilliard Collection) |
At some point the satellite code name was changed to CRYSTAL. Independent observers have speculated that the second block of satellites began with the fifth launch and these included upgraded capabilities. But it is impossible to know how closely related satellites launched in the 1990s were to the ones launched two decades earlier.
 The eighth KH-11 mission launched in October 1987. This launch restored American photo-reconnaissance capabilities after the 1985 launch failure of a KH-11 satellite. (credit: John Hilliard Collection) |
Both the HEXAGON and the KENNEN initially used the Titan 34D launch vehicle with the same diameter shroud. By the 1990s, the Titan 34D was replaced with the Titan IV, which had a larger shroud to accommodate payloads designed for the shuttle bay. It is unknown if the versions of the KH-11 that used the Titan IV were also larger.
 The ninth KH-11 mission launched in November 1988. (credit: John Hilliard Collection) |
This year is the fiftieth anniversary of the first KH-11 launch and it is possible that some more information may be released to celebrate it. Or maybe we’ll have to keep waiting. In the meantime, look at the pretty launch photos.
Special thanks to JB for help locating the photos.
 The tenth KH-11 mission launched in November 1992. By this time the satellites had changed to the Titan IV rocket, with a much larger payload shroud. The shroud was capable of handling satellites designed for the space shuttle. It is unknown if the KH-11 descendants were also enlarged. (credit: John Hilliard Collection) |
 The eleventh KH-11 mission launched in December 1995. (credit: John Hilliard Collection) |
 The twelfth KH-11 mission launched in December 1996. (credit: John Hilliard Collection) |
 The fourteenth KH-11 mission launched in October 2005. It is unclear when the program was replaced, although there are indications that follow-on satellites may be even larger. (credit: John Hilliard Collection) |
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