Blogs & Articles
Articles, guides, and analysis on declassified satellite imagery, spaceports, and remote sensing. Includes external articles using images sources via SpaceFromSpace.
The 'Open Data' Directory: List of Open Satellite Data 2026
Open data should be standard for every satellite imagery company in 2026, but few have properly gone ahead with it. This short guide walks you through the best options.
Breaking dishes: the space facility at Yevpatoriya
Using declassified imagery and reports to look at Soviet communication sites in Crimea.
4 Places Cold War Era Spy Satellites Photographed That You Won't Recognise Today
Declassified CORONA and HEXAGON spy satellite imagery from the 1960s and 70s shows a world almost unrecognisable compared to today. Here are four of the most striking before-and-after locations in our archive.
Where to Get Free Satellite Imagery in 2026
The best free sources of satellite imagery in 2026. No need to waste time doing through complicated sales processes. It's now easier than ever!
The Backfire bomber controversy
The article explores the Cold War intelligence debate over the Soviet Tu-22M Backfire bomber, highlighting how declassified CORONA and HEXAGON satellite imagery allowed analysts to track the aircraft from its first prototypes to its final deployment.
Mapping the dark side of the world (part 3): Replacing ARGON, the SAMOS E-4, and mapping the Moon
Throughout the early 1960s, there was a constant bureaucratic turf battle over which service would control satellite mapping. While ARGON was in development and beginning launches, the Air Force was trying to produce a follow-on system, in the hopes that it would succeed ARGON...
Mapping the dark side of the world (part 2): supplementing, and supplanting, the ARGON geodetic satellite program
In February and April 1961, the first two KH-5 ARGON mapping satellite missions were unsuccessful due to reentry malfunctions. The next two missions, in June and July, suffered launch failures...
Mapping the dark side of the world (part 1): The KH-5 ARGON geodetic satellite
The US Air Force began studying the possible uses of a satellite for military purposes in 1946. At a time when space was no more than a Flash Gordon fantasy...
Unleashing hell: the R-16 ICBM
In early 1966, an American reconnaissance satellite overflew the Soviet Union and hit the jackpot: during several passes over the Yurya ICBM complex, it captured Soviet SS-7 ICBMs sitting outside...
Carriers and battleships from space (part 3): The Mighty O and the Mighty Mo
In summer 1980, an American reconnaissance satellite flew over the Soviet Union’s Severodvinsk shipyard and for the first time photographed a new, large nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine...
Flashpoint Cyprus 1974: Cold War satellite reconnaissance and peripheral wars
Using declassified spy satellite images to look back at the 1974 invasion of Cyprus.
Power lifting: Cold War satellite reconnaissance and the Buran space shuttle
The construction and modification of facilities and aircraft for the soviet space shuttle tracked using declassified spy satellite imagery.
How to Download Declassified Spy Satellite Images For Free
A quick guide on how to download historic declassified spy satellite images from the USGS website.
Satellite reconnaissance and the Falklands War
Using declassified KH-9 HEXAGON spy satellite images to view scenes of the Falklands War in 1982.
HEXAGON vs. Kirov: American satellite reconnaissance and the Soviet Union’s most powerful warship
Using declassified KH-9 HEXAGON spy satellite images to track the construction of Soviet warships, and more.
Declassified Spy Satellite Images of Famous Landmarks
Ever wondered what famous places looked like from space during the Cold War? This blog shares some images of many famous landmarks all over the world.
Carriers from space (part 2): Contemporary use of satellite imagery for open source intelligence
Part 2 of Dwayne's previous article on using satellite images to observe and track aircraft carriers, this time with more modern imaging satellites.
Carriers from space (part 1)
Following some back and forth discussion and sleuthing on the NASASpaceflight forums Dwayne wrote this fascinating article going over some history of aircraft carriers that were imaged by US spy satellites.
Satellite Images of the World's Spaceports
An overview of serveral key spaceports arpund the world using stunning satellite imagery taken by the Sentinel-2 satellites.