The question of the possible recovery of the Soviet submarine K-129 (a diesel-electric submarine with nuclear warheads) came to President Nixon’s desk as soon as he took office. It had already been considered by Johnson, but given the imminent end of his term, no decision had been made. His foreign policy advisor was Henry Kissinger, 45. Together with Secretary of Defense David Packard (co-founder of HP), they decided to launch Project Azorian to attempt its recovery from a depth of 5,500 meters. All this was done under the cover of the CIA.
