Abstract

In June 1959, the United States launched the Discoverer satellite program, loudly proclaiming it as a next-generation scientific exploration initiative. In reality, it was developed by the intelligence community to monitor Cold War adversaries and help the U.S. pinpoint weaknesses in Soviet capabilities. President Clinton later declassified these images in 1995, enabling their use in environmental research. Taking advantage of these rich resources, this study compares a select snapshot of downtown Las Vegas in 1969 to Landsat images from 2000 and 2023. Using supervised land classification, it tracks the explosive pace of urban development and notes the expansion of entertainment-related infrastructure that made Las Vegas one of the most unique urban phenomena in the U.S.