On August 18, 1960, a US Air Force recovery aircraft snagged a film canister falling by parachute from orbit over the Pacific Ocean. Inside were photographs from the Corona satellite — the first successful reconnaissance satellite in history. Six decades later, anyone with a smartphone can view sub-meter resolution satellite imagery of almost anywhere on Earth.
The Military Origins
The impetus for satellite imagery was entirely military. After World War II, intelligence about the other side's capabilities was existential. The Corona program offered a camera in orbit, above the range of any missile, that could photograph denied territory at will.
In a single mission, Corona photographed more Soviet territory than all previous U-2 flights combined.
— National Reconnaissance Office, declassified history
Landsat: Science Takes the Wheel
Launched by NASA in 1972, Landsat was the first civilian Earth observation satellite. Scientists could suddenly see deforestation in the Amazon at regional scales, track urban sprawl, monitor drought-stressed crops, and document desertification. The satellite revealed processes that no human could observe from ground level.
Key Milestones
- 1972: NASA Landsat-1 launches, beginning the continuous civilian Earth observation record
- 1999: IKONOS delivers 1-meter resolution commercial imagery
- 2005: Google Earth launches, making satellite imagery accessible to everyone
- 2014: Planet Labs launches Dove CubeSats, pioneering daily global imaging
- 2020s: Sub-meter commercial imagery available for the entire Earth's surface
Google Earth and the Democratization of the View
For the first time, anyone could zoom from the full disk of Earth down to their own backyard. Journalists used Google Earth to verify claims about military activity and environmental damage. The satellite view became a shared cultural resource.
Where We Are Now
Games like EarthGuessr are a product of this democratization. The same imagery archive that informs climate science and military intelligence now powers a geography game where anyone can explore the world from above. The view from orbit, once the exclusive privilege of superpowers, has become a shared human resource.