Discoverer 22
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Mission type | Optical reconnaissance |
---|---|
Operator | US Air Force/NRO |
Mission duration | Failed to orbit |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | Corona KH-2 |
Bus | Agena-B |
Manufacturer | Lockheed |
Launch mass | 1,150 kilograms (2,540 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 30 March 1961, 20:34:43 | UTC
Rocket | Thor DM-21 Agena-B 300 |
Launch site | Vandenberg LC-1 launch pad 75-3-4 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Epoch | Planned |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Thor_Agena_B_with_Discoverer_22_%28Mar._30%2C_1961%29.gif/75px-Thor_Agena_B_with_Discoverer_22_%28Mar._30%2C_1961%29.gif)
Discoverer 22, also known as Corona 9015, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1961. It was the fourth of ten Corona KH-2 satellites, based on the Agena-B.[1]
The launch of Discoverer 22 occurred at 20:34:43 UTC on 30 March 1961. A Thor DM-21 Agena-B rocket was used, flying from launch pad 75-3-4 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.[2] Due to a malfunction of the rocket's second stage, it failed to achieve orbit.[3]
Discoverer 22 was to have operated in a low Earth orbit. It had a mass of 1,150 kilograms (2,540 lb),[4] and was equipped with a panoramic camera with a focal length of 61 centimetres (24 in), which had a maximum resolution of 7.6 metres (25 ft).[5] Images were to have been recorded onto 70-millimeter (2.8 in) film, and returned in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle. The Satellite Recovery Vehicle carried aboard Discoverer 22 was SRV-509.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Krebs, Gunter. "KH-2 Corona". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ Pike, John (9 September 2000). "KH-2 Corona". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ a b Wade, Mark. "KH-2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ "Corona". Mission and Spacecraft Library. NASA. Archived from the original on 3 October 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2010.