What did the declassified documents reveal?

From the Declassified archives, this is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency memorandum concerning K-H-4 satellite coverage of China, dated April seventeenth, nineteen-sixty-four. This document illustrates the intelligence community's strategic allocation of overhead reconnaissance assets during the Cold War. You can find this document at vault.fbi.gov. This memorandum was released by The Black Vault under a Freedom of Information Act request, as part of its U.S. Intelligence on China archive, declassified by the National Reconnaissance Office. The document is a memorandum for the Director of Central Intelligence, with the subject "Additional K-H-4 Coverage of China." It states: "One. Colonel Giller advised the undersigned on April sixteenth, of the interest of Secretary Vance and the Director in increasing K-H-4 coverage of China in view of the fact that for various reasons scheduled U-2 photography of that area had been greatly delayed this year. The one successful K-H-4 mission, J one-zero-zero-four, flown this year obtained coverage on the order of one-fifth of the area of China. Two. The C-O-M-O-R agreed to recommend to the N-R-O that in the execution of the program already established for Mission one-zero-zero-five, scheduled for launch on April twenty-fourth, some increase in emphasis on China could be effected, without serious detriment to the priority attention which it considers the U-S-S-R must continue to have, by promoting two year old 'holidays' areas in China to a co-equal basis with those in the U-S-S-R while still giving the U-S-S-R priority over China in regard to the one year old 'holidays.' It should be noted that high-priority pinpoint targets in China are already programmed for coverage. Three. C-O-M-O-R will review this matter again in connection both with targeting for the May K-H-4 mission and will provide guidance to the N-R-O in the execution of the program for that mission." The memorandum is signed by the Chairman of the Committee on Overhead Reconnaissance. The distribution list includes the D-C-I, D-D-C-I, D/N-I-P-E, U-S-I-B, and S-A, C-O-M-O-R, D-D-S and T. This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. For this document and more, visit storyflo.com and archive.org/download/us-china-intel-CI01610/CI01610djvu.txt.

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

CIA From The Declassified Archives, This Is A Declassified Central Intelligence

◆ BLUF — The short version

From the Declassified archives, this is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency memorandum concerning K-H-4 satellite coverage of China, dated April seventeenth, nineteen-sixty-four. This document illustrates the intelligence community's strategic allocation of overhead reconnaissance assets during the Cold War. gov. S.

Date: SEP 4 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was CIA From The Declassified Archives, This Is A Declassified Central Intelligence about?: From the Declassified archives, this is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency memorandum concerning K-H-4 satellite coverage of China, dated April seventeenth, nineteen-sixty-four. This document illustrates the intelligence community's strategic allocation of overhead reconnaissance assets during the Cold War. gov. S.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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