The Image Data Exploitation (IDEX) I system entered service in 1981 as the first computerized imagery processing system employed by U.S. intelligence agencies. Prior to IDEX, imagery was processed using film. Even when images were collected digitally, they had to be converted to film to be analyzed. IDEX II, built by Lockheed Missiles and Space, entered service in 1991 and over 100 workstations were deployed in the United States and overseas. IDEX II was decommissioned in 2003.
The Ask An Expert lecture series at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is presented every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 12:30 PM. A Museum staff member talks to the public about the history, collection, or personalities related to a specific artifact or exhibition in the Museum.
Shown in this 2006 photo are two of the most popular artifacts at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (foreground) in the Boeing Aviation Hangar and Space Shuttle Enterprise (background) in the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar. Enterprise was replaced by Space Shuttle Discovery in 2012.