• First Midair Recovery of a Capsule Returning from Orbit
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    On August 19, 1960, a USAF C-119J made the first midair recovery of a capsule returning from orbit.  The aircraft snagged a parachute lowering the film return capsule from the Corona spy satellite Discoverer 14 at 8,000 feet altitude, 360 miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. The capsule contained the first spy photos taken from space of the Soviet Union.  

    U.S. Air Force photo

  • First Midair Recovery of a Capsule Returning from Orbit

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040314-O-9999R-001

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U.S. Air Force Photo

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