Discoverer 14 was a spy satellite

Spy satellite

A spy satellite is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications....

 used in the Corona

Corona (satellite)

The Corona program was a series of American strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency Directorate of Science & Technology with substantial assistance from the U.S. Air Force...

 program managed by DARPA and the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

. On 19 August 1960, usable photographic film images taken by the satellite were recovered by a C-119

C-119 Flying Boxcar

The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar 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 mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute...

 recovery aircraft. This was the first successful recovery of film from an orbiting satellite and the first mid-air recovery

Mid-air retrieval

Mid-air retrieval is a technique used in atmospheric reentry when the reentering vehicle is incapable of a satisfactory unassisted landing. The vehicle is slowed by means of parachutes, and then a specially-equipped aircraft matches the vehicle's trajectory and catches it in mid-air.This is a risky...

of an object returning from Earth orbit.