Eyeing the Red StormIn 1954 the U. S. Air Force launched an ambitious program known as WS 117L to develop the worlds first reconnaissance satellite. The goal was to take photographic images from space and relay them back to Earth via radio. Because of technical issues and bureaucratic resistance, however, WS 117L was seriously behind schedule by the time Sputnik orbited Earth in 1957 and was eventually cancelled. The air force began concentrating instead on new programs