Approved for Release: 2013/06/25
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Secret NOFORN
Chapter 4
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to gather intelligence on the Soviet missile program. Discussions continued the following day with the addition of Secretary of State Herter, who stated in support of the CIA proposal that “the intelligence objective outweighs the danger of getting trapped.” The strong backing of the proposed overflight by both CIA and the State Department finally convinced President Eisenhower to approve the mission.⁹
On 9 July 1959, more than 16 months after the previous overflight of the Soviet Union, a U-2 equipped with a B camera left Peshawar, Pakistan, flew over the Urals, and then crossed the missile test range at Tyuratam. This mission, known as Operation TOUCHDOWN, produced excellent results. Its photography revealed that the Soviets were expanding the launch facilities at Tyuratam. While this overflight was under way, another U-2 flew a diversionary mission along the Soviet-Iranian border.¹⁰
Despite its success, this overflight remained an isolated incident. President Eisenhower was unwilling to authorize additional overflights of the Soviet Union, in part because he did not wish to increase tension before Premier Khrushchev’s visit to the United States scheduled for 15-27 September 1959. Nevertheless, the President still wanted as much intelligence on the Soviet missile program as possible. Because the Soviets were conducting an extensive program of missile tests in mid-1959, Eisenhower authorized a steady stream of the less provocative electronic intelligence (ELINT)-gathering missions (14 in all) along the Soviet border during the remainder of the year.¹¹
Within the United States, concern about the Soviet missile program continued to grow. On 12 September 1959 the Soviets scored another space success when their Luna 2 rocket reached the moon, and Khrushchev stressed this success when he arrived in the United States three days later. He also boasted of Soviet missile progress in private conversations with President Eisenhower, while making no
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⁹ Andrew J. Goodpaster, Memorandum for the Record, 7 July 1959 (TS); idem, Memorandum of Conference with the President, 8 July 1959, WHOSS, Alpha, DDEL (TS).
¹⁰ Mission folder 4125 (9 July 1959), OSA records (TS Codeword).
¹¹ *OSA History*, chap. 19, annex 120, pp. 12-14 (TS Codeword).
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Approved for Release: 2013/06/25
Secret