The first HEXAGON reconnaissance satellite sits on its pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1971. Twenty of these schoolbus-size satellites were launched, with one failure. They photographed huge amounts of territory during each mission, enabling photo-interpreters to detect and assess adversary weapons capabilities. (credit: Peter Hunter Collection)

Who watches the birds? Cold War era launch vehicle photographs

by Dwayne A. Day
Monday, April 13, 2026

During the Cold War, the US Air Force launched hundreds of rockets from both the East and West Coasts. Usually, the military made some kind of announcement that a launch had occurred, or was about to occur, without releasing any further details, and for many years, rarely releasing any photographs. The result was that many military space launches—probably a significant majority of them—had no public photographic evidence that they happened. But starting in the late 1990s, an Australian space enthusiast by the name of Peter Hunter began collecting photographs of United States Thor, Delta, Atlas, and eventually Titan launches. Hunter was a 747 pilot for Qantas, and during his long layovers in Los Angeles he visited an archive of launch vehicle photos near San Diego. He was able to gain access to it through his professionalism, charm, and Australian accent. Over many years of hard work, he produced a collection of high-resolution scans of as many launches and launch vehicles as possible, later providing copies to multiple museums and historians.

The second HEXAGON satellite, launched in January 1972. Early in the program the plan was to launch multiple times per year. As the satellite lifetimes increased, the launch rate decreased. (credit: John Hilliard Collection)

The value of Peter Hunter’s work was significant for writers of military missile and space history, because it enabled writers and publishers to be more varied in what they showed, rather than using the same officially released publicity photos over and over again. His collection also demonstrated that the military had some talented photographers, particularly during the early 1960s, who captured the moodiness and the isolation of a fog-shrouded rocket on the California coast, or a rocket sitting a short distance from a sandy beach in a Florida sunrise. There was also historical value to some of the photos, which indicated payload or configuration changes that were not reflected in the public record.

The third HEXAGON reconnaissance launch, in July 1973. (credit: John Hilliard Collection)

The 13th HEXAGON launch, in June 1977. By 1976, the NRO had reduced the HEXAGON launch rate to one per year. (credit: John Hilliard Collection)

Hunter was not able to find every rocket and every launch, however. There were still gaps in the collection. The Air Force certainly photographed and filmed every launch, but not all of those images were saved in the same place, or even saved at all. Now, a new collection of launch photographs has closed some of the gaps. John Hilliard had worked for the National Reconnaissance Office before he retired and began collecting rocket launch photos. His collection includes some of the missing photos in Peter Hunter’s collection.

The 14th launch, in March 1978. (credit: John Hilliard Collection)

Thanks to Hunter and Hilliard, we now have launch photos of over half of the 20 HEXAGON reconnaissance satellites launched between 1971 and 1986. Before Hilliard’s collection, only about half as many were available. We also have more photos of the KH-11 KENNEN satellites and their successors. There are other photos of other missing launches in Hunter’s collection, including some rare missions, and I’ll share some of them in the future. But Hunter and Hilliard, through their hard work, have made it possible to chronicle more of these important reconnaissance programs.

The 15th launch, in March 1979. (credit: John Hilliard Collection)

The 15th launch, in March 1979. (credit: John Hilliard Collection)

The 16th launch, in June 1980. By this time, the program was scheduled to end, although it was not replaced with an equivalent capability. (credit: John Hilliard Collection)

The 16th launch, in June 1980. By this time, the program was scheduled to end, although it was not replaced with an equivalent capability. (credit: John Hilliard Collection)

The 17th launch, in May 1982. Before this launch, National Reconnaissance Office officials had considered ways to retrieve a spent spacecraft using the Space Shuttle, with the goal of refurbishing it and re-launching it a final time. (credit: John Hilliard Collection)

The 18th launch, in June 1983. (credit: John Hilliard Collection)

The 19th launch, in June 1984. (credit: John Hilliard Collection)

Dwayne Day can be reached at zirconic1@cox.net.

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