SmithAirandSpace2Feb1015 062
Developed under the super-secret "Corona" project, the golden "bucket" reentry capsule of the Discoverer spy satellite system carried film reels back to earth in the 1960s. The primary recovery mode was by aircraft that snagged the descending parachutes and reeled in the capsules. If the air snatch failed, divers attempted to recover the vehicle on the water, before a "salt plug" dissolved and sank it, to keep it out of Soviet hands.
SmithAirandSpace2Feb1015 062
Developed under the super-secret "Corona" project, the golden "bucket" reentry capsule of the Discoverer spy satellite system carried film reels back to earth in the 1960s. The primary recovery mode was by aircraft that snagged the descending parachutes and reeled in the capsules. If the air snatch failed, divers attempted to recover the vehicle on the water, before a "salt plug" dissolved and sank it, to keep it out of Soviet hands.