The first satellites appeared in the late 1950s as the USSR and the US engaged in a space race for military and diplomatic prestige. By 1960, the Corona, the first US surveillance satellite, successfully dropped a canister from orbit containing 3000 feet of exposed film. The spy race was on. By the 1990s spy satellites added digital cameras and electronic listening equipment. The resolution of these cameras was so high that items as small as two inches could be viewed. New mobile satellites were deployed that could change orbital paths to avoid anti-satellite targeting. The days of secrecy were at an end.