Discoverer 28

Discoverer 28

Operator	US Air Force/NRO
Major contractors	Lockheed
Bus	KH-2 Corona' Agena-B
Mission type	Optical reconnaissance
Launch date	4 August 1961 00:01 UTC
Carrier rocket	Thor DM-21 Agena-B 309
Launch site	Vandenberg LC-75-1-1
Mission duration	Failed to orbit
Mass	1,150 kilograms (2,500 lb)
Orbital elements
Regime	Low Earth (planned)

The launch of Discoverer 28

Discoverer 28, also known as Corona 9021, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1961. It was the last KH-2 Corona' satellite, which was based around an Agena-B.^[1]

The launch of Discoverer 28 occurred at 00:01 UTC on 4 August 1961. A Thor DM-21 Agena-B rocket was used, flying from Launch Complex 75-1-1 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.^[2] It failed to achieve orbit after the Agena's guidance and control system malfunctioned.^[3][4]

Discoverer 28 was to have operated in a low Earth orbit. The satellite had a mass of 1,150 kilograms (2,500 lb),^[5] 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).^[4] 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 by Discoverer 28 was SRV-512.^[5]

References

1. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "KH-2 Corona". Gunter's Space Page. http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/kh-2.htm. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
2. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt. Retrieved 26 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} "Corona". Mission and Spacecraft Library. NASA. http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/programs/corona.html. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Wade, Mark. "KH-2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/craft/kh2.htm. Retrieved 26 June 2010.