History and Costs
Corona started under the name "Discoverer" as part of the WS-117L satellite reconnaissance and protection program of the US Air Force in 1956. The United States Air Force credits the Onizuka Air Force Station as being the "birthplace of the Corona program." In May 1958, the Department of Defense directed the transfer of the WS-117L program to Advanced Research Projects Agency. In FY1958, WS-117L was funded by the AF at a level of US$108.2 million (inflation adjusted US$0.87 billion in 2012). For Discoverer, the Air Force and ARPA spent a combined sum of US$132.3 million in FY1959 (inflation adjusted US$1.05 billion in 2012) and US$101.2 million in FY1960 (inflation adjusted US$0.8 billion in 2012).
The Corona project was pushed forward rapidly following the shooting down of a U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union in May 1960.
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