Discoverer 22

Discoverer 22

Operator	US Air Force/NRO
Major contractors	Lockheed
Bus	KH-2 Corona' Agena-B
Mission type	Optical reconnaissance
Launch date	30 March 1961 20:34:43 UTC
Carrier rocket	Thor DM-21 Agena-B 300
Launch site	Vandenberg LC-75-3-4
Mission duration	Failed to orbit
Mass	1,150 kilograms (2,500 lb)
Orbital elements
Regime	Low Earth (planned)

The launch of Discoverer 22

Discoverer 22, also known as Corona 9015, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1961. It was a KH-2 Corona' satellite, based around an 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 Complex 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 (2,500 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-millimetre (2.8 in) film, and returned in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle. The Satellite Recovery Vehicle carried aboard Discoverer 22 was SRV-509.^[4]

References

1. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "KH-2 Corona". Gunter's Space Page. http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/kh-2.htm. Retrieved 23 June 2010. 
2. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt. Retrieved 23 June 2010. 
3. ^ Pike, John (9 September 2000). "KH-2 Corona". Federation of American Scientists. http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/imint/kh-2.htm. Retrieved 23 June 2010. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Wade, Mark. "KH-2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/craft/kh2.htm. Retrieved 23 June 2010. 
5. ^ "Corona". Mission and Spacecraft Library. NASA. http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/programs/corona.html. Retrieved 23 June 2010.