taken by KH-7 mission 4025 on 19 February 1966. :
Section source: Space Review The developed results was sent to
US Air Force imagery research analysts in
Washington, DC. GAMBIT mission 4003, was launched on 25 October 1963. The film canister was again ejected successfully after the photographic phase and the capsule recovered by an aircraft. Other tests were carried out with the OCV. GAMBIT mission 4004 was launched and its film canister recovered on 18 December 1963. Missions 4005 through 4007 were also successful. In May 1964, mission 4008 suffered major problems when the Agena did an unexplained roll during the boost phase. Even with OCV system problems, the film canister was able to return some imagery. A variety of problems occurred with many of the remaining missions including poor or no imagery. Many of these difficulties were caused by the unreliable wire recording system carried by the GAMBITs (tape recorders were not yet in widespread use in the mid-1960s). Two satellites ended up in the Pacific Ocean. The first of them was 4012, launched on October 8, 1964. The Agena engine shut down after 1.5 seconds of operation and the GAMBIT did not attain orbit. An investigation of the failure found that an electrical short occurred in an engine relay box, resulting in a cutoff signal being issued 0.4 seconds after ignition. As soon as the engine arming command was stopped at 1.5 seconds, the Agena propulsion system shut down. Examination of factory records for the Agena found that a pair of metal screws from a little-used terminal connector had broken off and disappeared to parts unknown; it was speculated that they landed somewhere as to cause a short. Telemetry data indicated otherwise entirely normal performance of all Agena systems. The other failure was 4020, launched on 12 July 1965 when the Atlas programmer accidentally issued simultaneous SECO and BECO commands, the resultant propulsion system shutdown sending the launch vehicle into the Pacific Ocean some downrange. The latter was the first flight witnessed by newly arrived Brig. Gen John L. Martin who replaced Maj. Gen Robert Greer as head of the KH-7 program. Martin cracked down and began demanding higher workmanship and quality standards. He is credited with having significantly improved the success rate of the program. It was noted that the GAMBIT flights through the first half of 1964 had been mostly successful, but a string of malfunctions occurred starting in the second half of the year and continuing through the first half of 1965. These included the two above-mentioned launch failures plus GAMBIT 4013 which did not return any imagery and GAMBIT 4014 which suffered a battery explosion. GAMBIT 4019 did not return any imagery either. Eventually, it was determined that the culprit was an extra structure added to the
SLC-4W umbilical tower that sent resonant vibration through the Atlas-Agena stack at liftoff, jarring random components in the booster and/or spacecraft loose. The KH-7 GAMBIT was an overall success, even with some failures; thus providing
National Reconnaissance Office and the President with quality intelligence collection. Following KH-7 projects had greatly improved major upgrades in the spacecraft and its camera systems. == Cost ==