The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and the National Reconnaissance Office will be 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 Saturday, Sept. 17. 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, which includes an invitation-only event later that evening.