An interactive map of declassified spy satellite images from Cold War-era reconnaissance programs, now publicly available through spacefromspace.com via the USGS EarthExplorer archive.
Captured between 1960 and 1984 by US intelligence satellites including CORONA, ARGON, LANYARD, GAMBIT (KH-7), and HEXAGON (KH-9). Declassified in the 1990s and freely available via USGS EarthExplorer. These images were georeferenced for easy viewing by Harry Stranger.
Each footprint is coloured by satellite programme. The Programme list in the filters panel is also the legend.
It filters the visible footprints by the year they were captured. Drag either handle to narrow the range.
Footprint locations are sourced directly from the USGS M2M API. Some may be approximate. This map is experimental and may contain errors.
Yes. You can submit a request here, however it's not guaranteed that a cloud-free image of every location or timeframe exists.
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Each coloured rectangle is a real photograph, placed at its exact footprint. Click one to preview it, or choose from the list.