Objectives The USA military launched the KeyHole (KH) satellite program in the 1950s and recorded the surface and military conditions around the world. This batch of data was officially declassified in the 1990s and used for research on global changes and realted fields. KH satellite imagery, a remote sensing dataset with earlier shooting time and extremely high image quality, is exciting for researchers. However, compared to the extensive research and application of modern commercial satellites such as Landsat, the study of KH satellite imagery is far from in-deep, both in modern science like remote sensing and in history disciplines.

Methods Starting from the dual perspectives of remote sensing and history, we systematically sorted out the KH satellite program of the USA military, and expounded the background of its interpretation. And we analyzed its data characteristics, and introduced its decryption and downloading process.

Results Taking the Shanghai area, China in 1965 as an example, the processing and image classification methods of historical images were discussed.

Conclusions We will further enrich the research content of aerial images in the historical period, and provide a solid historical basis and data basis for the development of research in the pre-remote sensing era, especially the pre-Landsat period, and the research of forming a longer time series with Landsat and other data.