Jul 22, 2024 07:40 PM
https://www.space.com/how-the-cia-kidnap...space-race
EXCERPTS: The Soviet Union was intent to crash a craft into the moon - and at the same time gain a political punch by delivering metallic pennants with the U.S.S.R.'s coat of arms onto the lunar surface. On September 13, 1959 the Soviet Union achieved that goal with Luna 2.
To gain insight on how the Soviet Union built moon-bound gear, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) carried out a covert spy job on a Soviet exhibit in 1959.
A CIA action team dismantled a "Lunik 2" exhibit to document what techniques and technologies were used by the Soviet Union. Years later, that secretive act was detailed by the CIA and ballyhooed as a stealthy spy operation that was done unbeknownst to the Soviet Union.
The unusual overnight caper by the CIA involved Soviet upper stage space hardware that was being toted around as part of an exhibition to promote Soviet industrial and economic achievements. A conical spacecraft on four wheels on its side, with a cone fairing cut in half to reveal a smaller chrome antenaed space probe.
"A team of CIA officers gained unrestricted access to the display for 24 hours, which turned out not to be a replica but a fully-operational system comparable to the Lunik 2."
The team disassembled the vehicle, the posting adds, "photographed all the parts without removing it from its crate before putting everything back in its place, gaining invaluable intelligence on its design and capabilities."
Concludes the posting: "And the Soviets were none the wiser. Sound like something from a movie script? It really happened."
[...] As for the mission accomplished, kidnapping the Lunik was an "example of fine cooperation on a job between covert operators and essentially overt collectors," the FOIA-obtained document states... (MORE - missing details)
For more on this inside job, read the CIA's historical review here: https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static...-Lunik.pdf
The story of how the CIA stole & returned a Soviet spacecraft before being noticed ... https://youtu.be/zoE4m8RqOWs
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/zoE4m8RqOWs
EXCERPTS: The Soviet Union was intent to crash a craft into the moon - and at the same time gain a political punch by delivering metallic pennants with the U.S.S.R.'s coat of arms onto the lunar surface. On September 13, 1959 the Soviet Union achieved that goal with Luna 2.
To gain insight on how the Soviet Union built moon-bound gear, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) carried out a covert spy job on a Soviet exhibit in 1959.
A CIA action team dismantled a "Lunik 2" exhibit to document what techniques and technologies were used by the Soviet Union. Years later, that secretive act was detailed by the CIA and ballyhooed as a stealthy spy operation that was done unbeknownst to the Soviet Union.
The unusual overnight caper by the CIA involved Soviet upper stage space hardware that was being toted around as part of an exhibition to promote Soviet industrial and economic achievements. A conical spacecraft on four wheels on its side, with a cone fairing cut in half to reveal a smaller chrome antenaed space probe.
"A team of CIA officers gained unrestricted access to the display for 24 hours, which turned out not to be a replica but a fully-operational system comparable to the Lunik 2."
The team disassembled the vehicle, the posting adds, "photographed all the parts without removing it from its crate before putting everything back in its place, gaining invaluable intelligence on its design and capabilities."
Concludes the posting: "And the Soviets were none the wiser. Sound like something from a movie script? It really happened."
[...] As for the mission accomplished, kidnapping the Lunik was an "example of fine cooperation on a job between covert operators and essentially overt collectors," the FOIA-obtained document states... (MORE - missing details)
For more on this inside job, read the CIA's historical review here: https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static...-Lunik.pdf
The story of how the CIA stole & returned a Soviet spacecraft before being noticed ... https://youtu.be/zoE4m8RqOWs