A Visit to Vandenberg in 1999
  
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Thor booster in action in 1960.Remains of the site 39 years later.
One of the first launches, in 1960,...
and what remains of the site 39 years later.
 
Corona launch preparation shed in ruins.
Corona launch preparation shed in ruins.
 
Solid rocket booster.
Solid rocket booster.
  
 
 
Rating chart of a pilot's successful catches.
Rating chart of a pilot's successful catches.
  
Jay Prichard holding a hat worn only by the Corona pilots.
Hat worn by one of the
elite Corona pilots.
  
Hook for snagging a film parachute.
One of the hooks used for snagging a film parachute.

 
rtifacts from Corona are assembled at the Space and Missile Heritage Center, Vandenberg Air Force Base.

 


Ground zero during the Corona Years.
Ground zero during the Corona Years.
Curator Jay Prichard is standing on the right.
Also shown are Professor Keith Clarke (center) of UCSB,
and Ph.D. candidate John Cloud (left).

  


ow, nearly half a century later, a new generation of earth science satellites is being launched from Vandenberg, to gather the earthly data critical to understanding global climate change in a world now threatened by many dangers beyond the menace of nuclear weapons.

ecause "Open Skies" was crafted in utter darkness, it has taken a third of a century for the story of the concealed origins of modern earth science to be revealed.


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