HEXAGON (KH-9) Viewing Opportunity, One Day Only
Newly Declassified Satellite
Saturday, September 17
10:00 am to 5:30 pm
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Admission: Free, Parking $15
The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and the National
Reconnaissance Office are hosting a one-day-only viewing opportunity of the
newly declassified HEXAGON (KH-9) satellite in the parking lot of the Steven
F. Udvar-Hazy Center. This is the first time the public will be able to view
this impressive spacecraft, and it will be the only opportunity to see it in
the Washington area for some time.
Sixty feet long and 10 feet in diameter, the HEXAGONs were the largest spy
satellites the United States has ever placed in space. The satellites took
photographs of the Soviet Union and other targets around the world from 1971
to the early 1980s.
The one-day display is in conjunction with the NRO’s 50th anniversary
celebration.