| ID | 154861 |
| Title Proper | How much detail do we need to see? High and very high resolution photography, GAMBIT, and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | David, James Edward |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This article examines the requirements for high and very high resolution photography of the USSR and other denied areas during the Cold War. It discusses the partial success of GAMBIT-1 and the much greater success of GAMBIT-3 beginning in 1966 in acquiring the former. The article reviews the development of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) in the same period to collect very high resolution photography, the rationale for it, and the major technical and financial problems the program soon experienced. It then describes the debate beginning in 1968 over the value of this imagery considering the MOL’s costs and the growing success of GAMBIT-3, and these and the other factors that led President Richard Nixon to cancel the program the following year. |
| `In' analytical Note | Intelligence and National Security Vol. 32, No.6; Oct 2017: p.768-781 |
| Journal Source | Intelligence and National Security Vol: 32 No 6 |
| Key Words | USSR ; Cold War ; High Resolution Photography ; GAMBIT ; Manned Orbiting Laboratory |