The 6593d Test Squadron is an inactive
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...
unit. Its last was assigned to the 6594th Test Group, stationed at
Hickam AFB
Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The installation merged in 2010 with Naval Station Pearl Harbor to become part of the newly formed Joint ...
, Hawaii. It was inactivated on 1 July 1972.
Mission
The 6593d Test Squadron's mission was to develop and maintain a capability of effect the aerial recovery of a capsule ejected from an orbiting satellite.
[Mulcahy ]
The work performed by the squadron was classified until 1995, as its primary mission was directed at recovering film imaged by the
Corona
Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to:
* Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star
* Corona (beer), a Mexican beer
* Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...
strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Air Force and the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
(CIA). The Corona satellites were the first operational United States
photographic reconnaissance satellites used for intelligence purposes.
History

The Discoverer/Corona reconnaissance satellite was a revolutionary breakthrough in intelligence gathering and altered the course of the
Cold War. From 1960 to 1972, the recovery of the Corona space capsules was among the highest priorities of the U.S. Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community.
The 6593d Test Squadron (Special) conducted one of the most important Air Force missions of the Cold War. The 6593d was one of the first Air Force organizations to combine air and space as integral parts of its mission. The classified status of the Corona program did not permit the details of Corona or its aerial recovery to be released until the declassification of Corona in 1995.
Initially flying modified C-119J Flying Boxcars, equipped with rope winches and large hooks that were extended in the air behind the plane to "snag" the parachute of the payload. Later, the Flying Boxcars were replaced by larger C-130B Hercules aircraft, designated JC-130B. The squadron would fly out to a target recovery area, spacing its airplanes within the "box" for maximum coverage. A telemetry signal from the payload would send out a signal that could be triangulated on to locate where the location of the satellite, and the plane that was in the best location would proceed to recover it.
On 19 August 1960, the squadron successfully recovered the Discoverer 14 payload, containing film of the first pictures of the earth's surface made from space. It was also the first recovery of an object placed in earth orbit.
The squadron wanted to recover the payloads in midair while parachuting to the earth, although occasionally they were recovered from the Pacific Ocean. When recoveries from the ocean were necessary, the squadron was equipped with helicopters and also had operational control of two Navy ships to retrieve it from the ocean. Ocean recoveries, however, could damage the payload as when it hit the water, it could go under the water surface, and salt water getting inside could damage the film and other components of the payload.
Throughout the 1960s as Corona Satellites were launched, their invaluable film payloads were retrieved by the squadron. It was stated by one of the units senior NCOs, that satellite payload retrieval became almost a routine mission for the well-practiced unit. Many of the squadron members served extended tours with the unit, their experience in recovery of the capsules being invaluable to its success.
The unit was inactivated in 1972 and its mission turned over to the
6594th Test Group
The 6594th Test Group was a United States Air Force Unit stationed in Hawaii at Hickam Air Force Base from 1958 until it was inactivated in 1986.
The 6594th Test Group was established in 1958 to support U.S. Air Force Systems Command missile ...
.
Lineage
* Designated and organized as the 6593d Test Squadron (Special) on 1 August 1958
: Inactivated on 1 July 1972
Assignments
*
Air Research and Development Command
The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems.
Ove ...
, 1 August 1958
* 6594th Recovery Control Group, 1 November 1959
Stations
*
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
, California, 1 August 1958
*
Hickam Air Force Base
Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The installation merged in 2010 with Naval Station Pearl Harbor to become part of the newly formed Joint ...
, Hawaii, 1 November 1959 – 1 July 1972
Aircraft
*
C-119J Flying Boxcar
The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechaniz ...
, 1958–1962
*
JC-130B Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally des ...
, 1961–1972
*
Piasecki H-21
The Piasecki H-21 Workhorse/Shawnee is an American helicopter, the fourth of a line of tandem rotor helicopters designed and built by Piasecki Helicopter (later Boeing Vertol). Commonly called "the flying banana", it was a multi-mission helicop ...
B, 1962–1972
*
Sikorsky CH-3
The Sikorsky S-61R is a twin-engine helicopter used in transport or search and rescue roles. A developed version of the S-61/SH-3 Sea King, the S-61R was also built under license by Agusta as the AS-61R. The S-61R served in the United States ...
B, 1963–1972
Ships
The squadron had operational control of the following
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
Ships for satellite recovery operations:
*
USS Longview
SS ''Haiti Victory'' (T-AGM-238) was originally built and operated as Greenville class cargo Victory ship which operated as a cargo carrier in both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean during World War II .
In 1960 she was renamed USNS ''L ...
(T-AGM-3), 1 February 1965 – 1 July 1972
*
USS Sunnyvale
SS ''Dalton Victory'' was built as Victory ship used as a cargo ship for World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. She was launched by the California Shipbuilding Company on 6 June 1944 and completed on 19 July 1944 as a Greenville ...
(T-AGM-5), 1 February 1965 – 1 July 1972
References
* Mulcahy, ''Corona Star Catchers: The Air Force Aerial Recovery Aircrews of the 6593d Test Squadron (Special), 1958–1972''. Military Bookshop (30 June 2012), {{ISBN, 1780398905
Test squadrons of the United States Air Force
Military units and formations established in 1958
Military units and formations disestablished in 1972
MAJCOM squadrons of the United States Air Force
1958 establishments in the United States