Eyeing the Red Storm: Eisenhower and the First Attempt to Build a Spy Satellite

Examines the birth of space-based reconnaissance not from the perspective of CORONA (the first photo reconnaissancesatellite to fly) but rather from that of the WS-117L. Robert M. Dienesch’s revised assessment places WS-117L within the larger context of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency, focusing on the dynamic between military and civilian leadership.