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Reference.org
Samos (satellite)
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<p>The SAMOS (misidentified as Satellite and Missile Observation System) or SAMOS-E program was a relatively short-lived series of <a href="/facts/Spy_satellite/LkL0IYHH">reconnaissance satellites</a> for the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a> in the early 1960s, also used as a cover for the initial development of the <a href="/facts/KH-7_Gambit/ywVRq5rS">KH-7 GAMBIT</a> system. <a href="/facts/Reconnaissance/WbBwMhqs">Reconnaissance</a> was performed with film cameras and television surveillance from polar <a href="/facts/Low_Earth_orbit/rq1TwayJ">low Earth orbits</a> with film canister returns and transmittals over the United States. SAMOS was first launched in 1960 from <a href="/facts/Vandenberg_Air_Force_Base/CHNed3F4">Vandenberg Air Force Base</a>. </p><p>SAMOS was also known by the unclassified terms Program 101 and Program 201. </p>