# What would an "orbiting astronomical observatory" do in 1964? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 6, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-orbiting-astronomical-observatory-do-in-1964/1032195 "2026-08-06T22:59:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Timz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Timz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timz)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-orbiting-astronomical-observatory-do-in-1964/1032195/1 "2026-08-06T22:59:07Z")
Did [such things](http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/browse/orbiting-astronomical-observatory) actually exist then? Gathering useful info and transmitting it to the ground? Or could it be a spy satellite? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-orbiting-astronomical-observatory-do-in-1964/1032195/2 "2026-08-06T23:17:03Z")
Apparently, they were astronomical observatories. Not for the visible spectrum, but rather UV and X-ray. There were 4 launched, but only 2 were successful. > **[Orbiting Astronomical Observatory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbiting_Astronomical_Observatory)** > > The Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO) satellites were a series of four American space observatories launched by NASA between 1966 and 1972, managed by NASA Chief of Astronomy Nancy Grace Roman. These observatories, including the first successful space telescope, provided the first high-quality observations of many objects in ultraviolet light. Although two OAO missions were failures, the success of the other two increased awareness within the astronomical community of the benefits of sp T... ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-orbiting-astronomical-observatory-do-in-1964/1032195/3 "2026-08-06T23:17:15Z")
> [@Timz](#): > > Did [such things](http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/browse/orbiting-astronomical-observatory) actually exist then? Gathering useful info and transmitting it to the ground? Yes, they did. Check out this Wikipedia list. The publicized ones which orbited by the early '60s were primarily studying the upper atmosphere, the Earth’s magnetic field, cosmic radiation, etc. And, by then there were also [weather satellites](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_satellite). > **[Timeline of first Earth observation satellites](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_first_Earth_observation_satellites)** > > The timeline of first Earth observation satellites shows, in chronological order, those successful Earth observation satellites, that is, Earth satellites with a program of Earth science. Sputnik 1, while the first satellite ever launched, did not conduct Earth science. Explorer 1 was the first satellite to make an Earth science discovery when it found the Van Allen belts. ---
**Author:** ![sb1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@sb1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sb1953)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-orbiting-astronomical-observatory-do-in-1964/1032195/4 "2026-08-08T12:40:09Z")
I have become so cynical over the years. I assume that those were actually spy satellites. My brother -in -law spent his year in Vietnam flying in an air force “weather plane” over the South China sea & Tonkin gulf area. 10 % of the plane was weather - related,..90% of the plane was listening and studying North Vietnamese radar signals . As those old vets used to say..“There it is” ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-orbiting-astronomical-observatory-do-in-1964/1032195/5 "2026-08-08T12:50:52Z")
The US Corona spy satellite program started life in 1959, and by 1964 was fully operational with the KH-4 satellites. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-orbiting-astronomical-observatory-do-in-1964/1032195/6 "2026-08-08T13:20:33Z")
An X-ray observatory would be useless for spying, for the same reason that it’s necessary to put a real X-ray observatory in orbit: Despite us thinking of X-rays as especially penetrating, and the atmosphere being completely clear, air is actually opaque to X-rays. We also had spy satellites, of course. But I don’t think they were ever disguised as astronomical missions. It’d be a lousy cover for a spy satellite, since it would leave the astronomers wondering why they’re not getting any of the astronomical data. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-orbiting-astronomical-observatory-do-in-1964/1032195/7 "2026-08-08T17:57:58Z")
If you go to 1967, satellites looking for covert nuclear tests via x-ray and gamma rays discovered gamma-ray bursts [Gamma-ray burst - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-ray_burst?wprov=sfti1#)