Discoverer 28
Mission type | Optical reconnaissance |
---|---|
Operator | US Air Force/NRO |
Mission duration | Failed to orbit |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | KH-2 Corona' |
Bus | Agena-B |
Manufacturer | Lockheed |
Launch mass | 1,150 kilograms (2,540 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 4 August 1961, 00:01 | UTC
Rocket | Thor DM-21 Agena-B 309 |
Launch site | Vandenberg LC-75-1-1 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Epoch | Planned |
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 on 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 (2,540 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-millimeter (2.8 in) film, and returned in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle. The Satellite Recovery Vehicle carried by Discoverer 28 was SRV-512.[5]
References
- ^ Krebs, Gunter. "KH-2 Corona". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ Pike, John (9 September 2000). "KH-2 Corona". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ a b "Corona". Mission and Spacecraft Library. NASA. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ a b Wade, Mark. "KH-2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 26 June 2010.