Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950–1955, The Intelligence Community, 1950–1955

122. Memorandum of Conversation¹

Pasadena, California, July 17, 1952.

PARTICIPANTS

• Cal Tech
• President L. A. DuBridge
• Dean E. C. Watson
• Professor C. C. Lauritsen
• Professor R. F. Bacher
• Professor J. L. Greenstein (Part time)
• PSB
• Palmer Putnam
• CIA
• Willis A. Gibbons
• [name not declassified]

SUBJECT

• Discussion of the Feasibility and Utility of a Satellite Vehicle for Reconnaissance Purposes

1. Background. At the request of Mr. Palmer Putnam (PSB), and of Admiral Luis deFlorez (OTS/CIA), I called Dean E. C. Watson, California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) on 10 July 1952 and asked if he could arrange for himself, President DuBridge and Professors Lauritsen, Bacher and Millikan to meet with us in Pasadena on Thursday, July 17th for the purpose of discussing this subject. Dean Watson said that he would be delighted to arrange the discussion. Upon arrival we found that Professor Millikan had been called out of town and could not meet with us. Dean Watson said that Professor J. L. Greenstein, an astrophysicist, had conducted some discussion with the Rand Corporation people regarding the vehicle and suggested that Greenstein’s knowledge would be helpful if we were agreeable to inviting him into the discussion. We thereupon asked Professor Greenstein to consult with us.

2. Putnam had brought with him several copies of a paper which he had prepared outlining current capabilities of the Soviets and indicating that by 1957 the Soviets will possess the capability of a saturation attack with atomic weapons against the United States and against which the United States can have no effective defense. Putnam held that some drastic policies are required and that we need to increase our intelligence take regarding the Soviet Union. He suggested that the utilization of a satellite vehicle for reconnaissance purposes might be one means of increasing our intelligence concerning the Soviet Union and of physical structures and the characteristics relating thereto.

3. We made reference to the Rand Corporation report “Utility of a Satellite Vehicle for Reconnaissance,” R–217. The scientists present from Cal Tech had read the report.

4. The report contemplated and discussed the feasibility of building and launching a so-called satellite vehicle which would orbit around the earth at an altitude of some 350 miles above the earth travelling at a speed of five miles per second, thus completing from 14 to 18 complete orbits every 24 hours earth time. The satellite would be powered by an isotope of cerium (Ce–144), a beta emitter, which would heat mercury into a vapor which in turn would drive an engine which would drive generators for production of power. The power would be utilized, once the satellite was on orbit, for operating the navigational controls and a television camera and transmitter which would be incorporated in the satellite. The orbit of the vehicle would be predetermined with respect to the earth’s latitude and longitude thereby permitting intensive coverage from the standpoint of photography of certain portions of the earth. The Rand study contemplated that five television receiving stations would be erected on the earth to receive the television signals and transmissions from the vehicle. The vehicle would not be man-carrying.

5. It was the general consensus of the Cal Tech scientists:

a. That it was probably feasible to build such a vehicle;

b. That there would be unforeseen difficulties, which probably could be surmounted, in “marrying” the different technical systems to be contained within the satellite;

c. That the problem of insuring sufficient reliability of electronic equipment installed in the satellite when such equipment could not be got at or serviced would be great;

d. Serious question was raised as to the value of pictures taken from an altitude of 350 miles.

(1) Resolution of presently available television camera equipment was recognized to be of not much significance for objects of less than 200′ × 200′ in size. Question was therefore raised as to the net addition to be made by such photographs to our intelligence knowledge concerning Soviet territory.

(2) Question was raised as to whether the gross information thus obtainable would be worth the cost and the time interval which necessarily must take place before such a vehicle could be developed and successfully operated.

e. Factors relating to the pitch, roll and yaw characteristics of the vehicle were discussed. It was considered that very slight pitches and rolls might seriously interfere with picture collection and might make difficult the identification of areas of which pictures were taken;

f. Inasmuch as almost no facts are available concerning temperatures at altitudes above 100 miles from the earth’s surface, it was considered that heating and cooling aspects of the satellite vehicle would be subject to considerable speculation and experimentation;

g. Normal atmospheric turbulence was considered to be a factor which might interfere with picture taking;

h. It was considered that four or five such satellites might have to be built and launched before one could be launched that would stay on orbit and operate as we required.

6. Professor Lauritsen appeared to be the least impressed by the possibility of use of a satellite vehicle for such reconnaissance purposes. He asserted that in his opinion it would require from eight to ten years to develop and construct such a vehicle for launching. He considered also that the same or better reconnaissance information could be secured by the employment of from six to twelve jet aircraft flying at an altitude of 50,000 feet over the Soviet Union. He further asserted that such aircraft in one day could secure the photographic information of better resolution and quality than could the satellite vehicle camera. Lauritsen asserted that this could be done immediately with presently available equipment and that such aircraft could not be picked up by radar.

7. At the conclusion of our discussion I posed substantially the following question to the scientists present: “If you were at present the Director of Central Intelligence what would be your attitude and action regarding the satellite vehicle for reconnaissance purposes?” President DuBridge and Dean Watson responded substantially as follows:

a. They would continue to consider the possibility of utilization of such a satellite vehicle and in so doing they would

(1) consult with the scientists at the Rand Corporation who have studied the matter intensively and have prepared the reports;

b. They would insure that additional and continuing feasibility studies regarding the development and construction of such a vehicle were pursued;

c. They would seriously investigate the nature and quality of pictures (information) that could be secured from operation of such a vehicle;

d. They would consider whether the additional intelligence information that theoretically could be secured from such a vehicle would be worth the possible cost and the time lag necessary to create and produce it;

e. They would consider whether alternative means for securing the information might not be more effective. Among such alternative means they mentioned clandestine operations and aerial photography from aircraft or balloons;

f. They suggested that aerial photographic analysis people of the Air Force be consulted as to their ability to interpret photographs of the approximate resolution to be expected from the satellite vehicle.

8. At the conclusion of our discussion at Cal Tech, President DuBridge arranged for Messrs. Gibbons and Putnam to go to Santa Monica to discuss the matter further with the Rand Corporation people. I did not accompany them for this discussion.

[name not declassified]

1. Source: Central Intelligence Agency, History Staff, Job 83–00036R, Box 11. Secret; Security Information. Drafted on July 25 by [name not declassified], Special Assistant for Research, Office of Policy Coordination, Central Intelligence Agency.