Therefore, your request is denied pursuant to FOIA exemptions (b)(1) and (b)(3). The first such program was the Corona project, a codeword itself code named "Discoverer" for the public explanation of why the government was firing a rocket into space (a rare event in the late 1950s that would have attracted a curious public and international scrutiny). Date range: 1/1/2003 through 12/31/2014.”. According to the Utah Department of Health, the outbreak in Utah was recognized on Jan. 1st. That year, CIA funding was also being “quietly” funneled through the National Science Foundation to projects that might help create “new capabilities to combat terrorism through advanced technology.” The following year, Google bought the firm Keyhole, which had originally been funded by In … The KH-7 and KH-8 series, codenamed Gambit, were a marked departure from that trend and the only other predominantly successful satellite ISR program in the 1960s. Oversight from the DoD and Congress was virtually non-existent save for the "open-checkbook" policy of the times. This kind of active public boasting pretty much stopped after Google bought Keyhole. [Raytheon - NRO - FAS 1, 2 - Wiki 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - Oneonta - Images: NRO, CIA, NASA]. anyone know what kind of plane is pictured? Fortunately, we have a process explicitly designed to allow the public to find out what the government is up to behind closed doors: A Freedom of Information Act request, or FOIA. The KH-5 ARGON ran in conjunction with Corona from 1961 to 1964, though never with the same degree of success. The In-Q-Tel alliance has put the Agency back at the leading edge of technology”. And so, back in May, I submitted a FOIA request to the CIA, asking for: 1) “… a copy of all correspondence (emails, letters, related documents and attachments) relating to Keyhole Inc. In other words: What deal did Google -- now the biggest private surveillance operation on planet earth -- make with the CIA and the NSA, which run the largest government surveillance operations? Keyhole Inc also had one major client base: US military and intelligence agencies. As President Lyndon B. Johnson famously quipped in 1967 after a Soviet hoax led to worries of a bomber gap: I wouldn't want to be quoted on this ... We've spent $35 or $40 billion on the space program. Launched aboard a Thor booster rocket and Agena spacecraft, these satellites relied on a pair of five foot long stereoscopic Itek cameras using 12-inch, f/5 triplet lenses and a 24-inch focal length (later models also incorporated a third "index" camera for reference). After the capsule discarded its heat shield at 60,000 feet, it deployed a parachute and could either be nabbed by a passing plane equipped with a claw hook (above) or land safely in the ocean where it would float for two days awaiting pickup. The fact of the existence or nonexistence of requested records is currently and properly classified and is intelligence sources and methods information that is protected from disclosure by section 6 of the CIA Act of 1949, as amended, and section 102A(i)(l) of the National Security Act of 1947, as amended. It wasn't until the early 1990's that any information on these devices was declassified, after the fall of the Soviet Union brought an end to the Cold War. In-Q-Tel, a venture capital fund run by the CIA on behalf of the military and intelligence community, made a “strategic investment” in Keyhole in February 2003, a month before the US launched Operation Iraqi Freedom. It is likely that they have since been replaced by another system. This Salt Lake City data center marks the third in the western region joining LA and Dalles, Oregon with the goal of providing lower latency compute power across the region. But, post-acquisition, the search giant continued selling Keyhole's underlying tech to the Pentagon and assorted US intelligence services. In-Q-Tel, a venture capital fund run by the CIA on behalf of the military and intelligence community, made a “strategic investment” in Keyhole in February 2003, a month before the … In-Q-Tel is notorious for investing in … Surveillance Valley However, the image quality was so poor that they were virtually useless. Initially launched as a spin-off of Intrinsic Graphics, first round funding came from a Sony venture capital fund and others, additional capital came from an NVIDIA bundling deal, from the CIA (via its For all of Google's posturing as the scourge of governement surveillance, the CIA’s blanket GLOMAR denial of my Freedom of Information Act request speaks very loudly to a different side of Google’s relationship with US military intelligence agencies. As Pando readers might recall, I'm currently writing a book on "Surveillance Valley" -- how tech giants are building the biggest private surveillance network the world has ever known. When the Army and Navy couldn't agree on who would have control over the orbital technology, it was assigned to the newly-formed USAF in 1947. In-Q-Tel, a venture capital fund run by the CIA on behalf of the military and intelligence community, made a “strategic investment” in Keyhole in February 2003, a month before the … Eastman Kodak's A&O Division in Rochester, New York, produced the Gambit's primary strip camera system. The Hidden Connection Of the CIA and Google. This part of the request should include all correspondence between the CIA and representatives of Google regarding Keyhole, including Keyhole software and services. This one will be a little more involved, and take a little bit of time and planning so Im going to give it a shot. Great documentary by ColdFusion channel on YouTube on the Silicon Valley to Government connections that wind their way from the founders of Google at start up being financed by the CIA. The last three generations featured a pair of panoramic cameras as well as upgraded electronics, C&C systems and nitrogen-supplied re-entry canisters. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) prevents threats to national security by collecting and analyzing intelligence data that is used in coordinating covert operations overseas. a keyhole is the shaped channel into which the key slides to open a locked door. Keyhole, Inc, founded in 2001, is a pioneering software development company specializing in geospatial data visualization applications. One of the key, early backers of Keyhole was a firm called In-Q-Tel. The CIA poured an unknown amount of money into Keyhole. An investment from the CIA-backed venture firm In-Q-Tel — who said they would use Keyhole’s tech to “support United States troops in Iraq” — kept them moving. The MDDS abstract published online at the University of Texas confirms that the rationale for the CIA-NSA project was to “provide seed money to … The company was named after the old “eye-in-the-sky” military satellites. John Hanke). The program began in 1959 at the Onizuka Air Force Station, ran until 1972, and was declassified in 1995 by President Clinton. This $3.262 billion Lockheed-built NRO program is officially deemed a Broad Coverage Photo Reconnaissance satellite but is better known as "Big Bird." What is it about Keyhole and Google’s relationship with the CIA that is so sensitive and so vital to the military objectives of the United States that the mere admission of existence of these records poses a grave threat to national security? The big question for a lot of people is: "What can they see?" 2017. In its May 2, 1946 report, "Preliminary Design for an Experimental World Circling Spaceship," the Douglas Aircraft Corporation examined the potential value … Even now, information on the early satellites is sparse and anything after 1972 is non-existent save for a few photos taken by the KH-11 satellite which were leaked to Jane's Defence Weekly in 1985. This ability came in handy in 1973. In a press release announcing the investment a few months later, In-Q-Tel discussed Keyhole’s close collaboration with military and intelligence partners and explained that Keyhole technology was already being successfully deployed by active military forces in Iraq. They are typically used to take overhead photos for military missions. We were building things we didn't need to build. , written on Or did Google see the acquisition as a convenient way of getting into the military contracting business? As NASA scrambled to send up a manned repair mission, the NRO launched a new Gambit, which snapped this picture and helped NASA engineers plan accordingly. Gary Powers' U2 was shot down over Soviet airspace. Some notable portfolio companies include Palantir, whose data mining software is used across public and private sector institutions, and Keyhole, a mapping firm acquired by Google[4]. I'm trying to pinpoint as best I can the moment when Google began transitioning from being a consumer-oriented Internet search company into the hybrid military-intelligence contractor that it is today. In addition to keeping tabs on Soviet air capabilities, Gambit was also designed to photograph the spacecraft around it. In accordance with section 3.6(a) of Executive Order 13526, the CIA can neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of records responsive to your request. If the capsule wasn't retrieved within 48 hours, a salt plug at the bottom of the canister would dissolve and sink it. Then there’s the CIA’s perspective: Given Keyhole's close collaboration with active military and intelligence operations, how did the CIA approach the deal? The hotspots were San Diego and Salt Lake City. Because tonight we know how many missiles the enemy has and, it turned out, our guesses were way off. 1155 S Oak Hills Way Salt Lake City, UT 84108 U.S.A. Gerald & Cullen Rapp 420 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10170 U.S.A. These 1150 - 1500 kg satellites manufactured by Lockheed Martin and operated by the NR used a single 76 mm focal length camera with a 140 meter resolution were operated primarily for map-making—they were the first to image Antarctica from space—and took less than a week to produce. The In-Q-Tel alliance has put the Agency back at the leading edge of technology”. Google had developed the software behind Google Earth by purchasing Keyhole from the CIA venture firm In-Q-Tel. twin body after the fuselage and cargo door? Keyhole, Inc. was founded by John Hanke (who previously worked in a “foreign affairs” position within the U.S. government). The code named Kennan "Keyhole-class" (KH) reconnaissance satellites have been orbiting the Earth for more than 30 years. Was there any internal discussion in the company about the benefits and pitfalls of absorbing a startup so closely tied with the CIA and the Pentagon? Thirty-eight D-21s were built, with 21 expended. The letter did not explain why these two in particular — (b)(1) and (b)(3) — were relevant to the decision to withhold the requested information. Did Google buy Keyhole -- and take on all its military contracts and NatSec liabilities -- because it badly needed its 3D mapping technology? Did the Agency have any concerns? The second exemption (b)(3) is equally broad. It has clinched a near monopoly on government battlefield mapping tech, outfitted the CIA and NSA with advanced search capabilities, co-invested in spy satellites and battlefield robots with the Pentagon, partnered with traditional military contractors like Lockheed Martin, and has increasingly filled its executive ranks with top Pentagon officials from the U.S. Army, Air Force Intelligence, and the CIA. The only successful flight returned 910 photographic frames. Keyhole Inc also had one major client base: US military and intelligence agencies. As long as the intelligence justified the price tag, any cost was acceptable. Satellite technology is, by far, the most expensive ISR method at the US's disposal but also the most effective, its results well worth the billions of dollars spent. Systems and nitrogen-supplied re-entry canisters Hanke ( who previously worked in a project rifle and Lake! The long Read: Google – Seeded by the new KH-11 Keyhole reconnaissance satellite a... 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