Seeing the airborne retrieval of satellite film canisters brought back memories. Some day I might take the time to brag about how I discovered a systemic flaw in the way that 3 letter agencies had set up their priorities for photo reconnaissance that was shortening the life span of certain consumables on those satellites that would jettison their film canisters for airborne retrieval. A GAO audit couldn’t solve it or even begin to understand it. The flaw wouldn’t haven’t been a big deal with newer birds that had encrypted digital downlink, but the early ones only had so many film canisters.
Early in my career I worked with a retired C-119 loadmaster who, although he never flew any of the canister retrieval missions, told us youngsters about them. I remember him telling us, "You only see the film of missions where they caught them, not the failures."
