In the 1960s, geodesy was the superficial goal of the satellite program CORONA, while military reconnaissance was in fact a driving force. Even for geodetic data, new secrecy guidelines worked to restrict collaboration in a field that had formerly been fundamentally international; the Figure of the Earth had geopolitical significance beyond questions of pure geoscience. Still, geodesists were able to retain enough autonomy and subvert secrecy limitations enough to make use of the findings of their military research to overturn some of the fundamental theories of geodesy.
In the 1960s, the CORONA satellite program's primary goal was superficially about geodesy, while its true motivation lay in military reconnaissance. Geodetic data faced new secrecy guidelines that restricted collaboration within a field previously characterized by international cooperation; the Figure of the Earth had geopolitical importance beyond basic geological questions. Despite these restrictions, geodesists were able to maintain autonomy and use military research findings to challenge some fundamental geodesy theories.