Mary Ross was working in that environment.

The specific projects she worked on most directly, in the missile and space systems dimensions of Lockheed’s work, are less completely documented than the aircraft work partly because the classification of missile and satellite programs was often more stringent than the classification of aircraft programs.

The National Reconnaissance Office — the agency that managed America’s satellite reconnaissance programs — was itself a classified entity for decades.

The existence of certain programs was not officially acknowledged until decades after they were operational.