During the late 1950s, the commissioning of a spy satellite program marked a significant milestone. The program commissioned the launch of Corona spy satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1960. These satellites orbited the Earth, capturing over 850,000 images from 1960 to 1972. Their primary objective was to monitor potential military threats worldwide, with a particular focus on the USSR during the Cold War. The CIA constantly updated the surveillance targets based on gathered intelligence. The satellites followed a polar orbit and encountered numerous challenges and setbacks throughout the program. To retrieve the exposed film, they utilized parachutes to drop it back to Earth.