That's a solid excuse as excuses go, but remember that this was in the 60s, and spy satellites had to send down landing capsules with _film_ back then, and, the

That's a solid excuse as excuses go, but remember that this was in the 60s, and spy satellites had to send down landing capsules with _film_ back then, and, therefore, had very limited usable life. They were also extremely expensive, difficult to control, and the USSR wasn't really known for its brilliance in optical tech.