Recovering a Secret Spy Satellite Capsule from
Underwater Ice Station Zebra
16,400 Feet below the Pacific Ocean

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. CIA Documents
3. NRO Documents

Introduction

The Trieste II (DSV-1), the Navy’s most advanced deep sea submersible at the time, surfaced about 350 miles north of the Hawaiian Islands in the pre-dawn hours of 26 April 1972 after recovering a mysterious item. Publicly called a “data package,” the object was actually part of a U.S. spy satellite, codenamed HEXAGON. Before today’s digital technology, photoreconnaissance satellites used film, which returned to Earth in capsules ejected from the satellite. The capsules, called “buckets,” reentered Earth’s atmosphere and deployed a parachute to slow their descent. During the first HEXAGON mission in 1971, the parachute broke off causing the bucket to crash into the ocean. This release includes photos of the capsule on the ocean floor, pictures of the Trieste II (DSV-1), and an article recounting the deepest undersea salvage then attempted. We also linked to the Naval Undersea Museum, where the Trieste II (DSV-1) is on permanent display.

1. An Underwater Ice Station Zebra: Recovering a Secret Spy Satellite Capsule from Booklet cover of Underwater Ice Station Zebra16,400 Feet below the Pacific Ocean [36 Pages, 6.21mb]

Declassified CIA Documents

1. 1971-07-10 - Cable 2969
2. 1971-07-11 - Cable 2972
3. 1971-07-11a - Cable 2987
4. 1971-07-12 - Cable 1311
5. 1971-07-27 - Cable 3260
6. 1971-07-28 - RV-3 Recovery Planning Meeting
7. 1971-08-04 - Cable 9097 Recovery of RV-3
8. 1971-08-05 - Effect of Salt Water on Beryllium
9. 1971-08-05a - Penetration of the RV into the Ocean Bottom
10. 1971-08-10 - Deep Sea Recovery of Hexagon Reentry Vehicle
11. 1971-08-13 - Cable 1527 RV-3 Impact Point
12. 1971-08-18 - Deep Sea Recovery of Hexagon Reentry Vehicle
13. 1971-08-23 - Cable 4960
14. 1971-09-01 - Perkin-Elmer Proposal for Recovery of RV3 of SV-1
15. 1971-09-08 - Cable 8164
16. 1971-09-13 - Cable 3709
17. 1971-09-14 - Status of Recovery Effort as of 14Sep71
18. 1971-09-16 - Cable 2150
19. 1971-09-17 - Cable 1223
20. 1971-10-07 - Cable 2266
21. 1971-10-28 - Cable 5446
22. 1971-10-28a - Cable 2338
23. 1971-11-18 - Cable 26767
24. 1971-12-10 - 1201 RV-3 Recovery
25. 1972-01-12 - Notes on Conversation of 11 Jan 72
26. 1972-01-13 - Cable 8209
27. 1972-01-31 - Trip Report Recovery of RV3
28. 1972-02-02 - Prognosis for RV-3 Recovery Operations
29. 1972-02-03 - Prognosis for RV-3 Recovery Operations
30. 1972-02-14 - Status of RV-3 Recovery Operations
31. 1972-03-15 - Recovery Operations RV-3 of SV-1
32. 1972-03-29 - Recovery Operations RV-3 of SV-1
33. 1972-04-20 - Cable 2193
34. 1972-04-27 - Cable 1097
35. 1972-05-02 - Cable 3009
36. 1972-05-24 - Deep Sea Recovery of Hexagon Recovery Vehicle 1201-3 With Four Attachments
37. 1972-07-28 - Report on the Analyses of Recovered 1201-3 Film Samples

Declassified NRO Documents

1. All NRO documents declassified on this subject [138 Pages, 5.97mb]