[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Fascinating stuff,...thanks for posting!

I was a college student studying math and physics when spuknik went up.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

just dropping a link here...to Wikipedia:

KH-11 Kennan

************************************EXCERPT************************************

the KH-11 was the first American spy satellite to utilize electro-optical digital imaging, and create a real-time optical observation capability.^[3]

[Marine_Uncle]

The big eye ball in the sky. :)

[blam]

This program was significant in producing equipment/instruments (spin-offs) for improving the quality of micro-chips. Defects were reduced enormously.

See the Perkin-Elmer projection printer in 1973 (again in 1981) at this link.