NRO To Declassify Cold-War Spy-Sat Tech

Muad'Dave writes "The National Reconnaissance Office is set to reveal details of two of the cold war's most capable spy satellite programs on September 17th — the GAMBIT and HEXAGON projects, aka the keyhole KH-7, -8, and -9 satellites. These bus-sized sats provided critical imagery during the height of the cold war, and were likely the inspiration for the movie Ice Station Zebra. The article links midway down the first page provide a fascinating look into the world of real spy-vs-spy, cloak-and-dagger intelligence gathering."

Re:Proven Technology

[DerekLyons]

"But," said the professor with a wink, "the sizing of Hubble was based in part on what was already known to be possible."

Hubble's size, weight, and CG were based on what was possible within the Shuttle's cargo bay. The size, weight, and CG capabilities of the Shuttle's cargo bay were based on current and reasonable future spy birds.
 
QED
 
That being said, the optical path (and weight/CG) are probably going to differ somewhat between Hubble and a notional spy bird. Hubble looks straight out axially, while spy birds are generally believed to have a mirror that allows an axial camera to look out the side of bird. There's also some debate over whether or not the supposed mirror is fixed or movable. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.