Imagine a vehicle orbiting the earth taking photographs. Now imagine two film reels, each holding 30 miles of film. Now imagine the exposed film being dropped in a container from 100 miles above the earth. Imagine a skilled pilot catching the container in midair with a net pulling it into a plane and returning it to earth for skilled analysis. Now imagine this happening over and over again. That’s the core of the HEXAGON satellite program.

Join us today in person, to hear about the US’s last filmbased intelligence spy satellite program directly from Phil Pressel. Pressel was the project engineer in charge of the design of the formerly topsecret Hexagon KH9 spy satellite’s stereo cameras. The Hexagon satellite was an invaluable asset providing photographic intelligence information during the Cold War.

Pressel’s presentation will show photographs that the system took of some Russian military assets and of some cities. Hexagon was responsible for President Nixon signing the SALT treaty and allowing President Reagan to say, “trust but verify.” It was also one of America’s best and most successful spy satellites. Pressel’s book Meeting the Challenge, the Hexagon KH9 Reconnaissance Satellite was published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) in 2013.

The program was declassified in 2011 by the RO/CIA in 2011, which is why Pressel can talk about it.
After his talk, guests will have a chance to see the Museum’s own HEXAGON TakeUp Reel.


Check out more of the Spy Museum's upcoming VIRTUAL programs: https://www.spymuseum.org/calendar/'>https://www.spymuseum.org/calendar/

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The International Spy Museum is an independent nonprofit museum which documents the tradecraft, history, and contemporary role of espionage. It holds the largest collection of international espionage artifacts on public display. For museum tickets or for more information, visit: https://www.spymuseum.org/