KH-1

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Code Name: Corona. Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Destination: Surveillance Orbit. Nation: USA. Agency: DARPA. Manufacturer: Lockheed.

First US film reconnaissance satellite, and first polar orbiting satellite. Carried one 'C' type camera, with a focal length of 61 cm and a ground resolution of 12 m.

Typical orbit: 198 x 901 km, 82.5 deg inclinaton. Mass: 779 kg (1,717 lb).

KH-1 Chronology

1959 January 21 - Thor Agena test - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: Launch vehicle failure.
First flight test of Thor-Agena for KH program.

1959 February 28 - Discoverer 1 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 618 kg (1,362 lb). Perigee: 163 km (101 mi). Apogee: 968 km (601 mi). Inclination: 89.70 deg. Period: 96.00 min.
First polar orbiting satellite; KH-1 prototype; did not carry camera or film capsule.

1959 April 13 - Discoverer 2 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 743 kg (1,638 lb). Perigee: 239 km (148 mi). Apogee: 346 km (214 mi). Inclination: 89.90 deg. Period: 90.40 min.
KH-1 prototype; tested capsule recovery techniques; did not carry camera; capsule recovery failed. Because of a timing error, the US believed that the capsule landed somewhere on the island of Spitsbergen, north of Norway, instead of landing in the recovery zone near Hawaii. The capsule was never found; and CIA officials suspect it may have been snatched by the Soviets. The search for this capsule formed the basis of the book and film 'Ice Station Zebra'.
In the winter of 1960/1961, a US Discovery spy satellite capsule was found by loggers near Kalinin, 200 km north of Moscow. The loggers cracked it open with an axe. Sergei Khrushchev believed this to be the Discoverer 2 capsule. What was left was examined by Soviet engineers but didn’t reveal much information - it was a polished aluminium sphere, 30 cm in diameter, gilded on the exterior. Some said it was found as early as the winter of 1959.

1959 June 3 - SRV - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: Failure.

1959 June 3 - Discoverer 3 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: No telemetry after Agena ignition. Mass: 753 kg (1,660 lb).
KH-1 prototype; did not carry camera; film capsule recovery failed.

1959 June 25 - SRV 102 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1E. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: Failure.

1959 June 25 - Discoverer 4 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1E. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: Insufficient stage 2 velocity. Mass: 743 kg (1,638 lb).
KH-1; 1st generation low resolution photo surveillance. Failed to achieve orbit.

1959 August 13 - Discoverer 5 Capsule - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Perigee: 218 km (135 mi). Apogee: 1,700 km (1,000 mi). Inclination: 78.90 deg. Period: 104.30 min.
KH-1; 1st generation low resolution photo surveillance; film capsule boosted into higher orbit, decayed 2/11/61. Mission failed. Power supply failure. No recovery.

1959 August 13 - Discoverer 5 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 781 kg (1,721 lb). Perigee: 214 km (132 mi). Apogee: 731 km (454 mi). Inclination: 79.90 deg. Period: 94.10 min.
KH-1; 1st generation low resolution photo surveillance; film capsule boosted into higher orbit, decayed 2/11/61. Mission failed. Power supply failure. No recovery.

1959 August 19 - Discoverer 6 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1E. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 783 kg (1,726 lb). Perigee: 207 km (128 mi). Apogee: 846 km (525 mi). Inclination: 83.90 deg. Period: 95.10 min.
KH-1; 1st generation low resolution photo surveillance; film capsule recovery failed. Mission failed. Retro rockets malfunctioned negating recovery.

1959 November 7 - Discoverer 7 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 794 kg (1,750 lb). Perigee: 158 km (98 mi). Apogee: 820 km (500 mi). Inclination: 81.60 deg. Period: 94.40 min.
KH-1; 1st generation low resolution photo surveillance; satellite tumbled; film capsule not recovered. Mission failed. Failed to achieve orbit.

1959 November 20 - Discoverer 8 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1E. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 795 kg (1,752 lb). Perigee: 186 km (115 mi). Apogee: 1,661 km (1,032 mi). Inclination: 80.50 deg. Period: 103.50 min.
KH-1; 1st generation low resolution photo surveillance; film capsule recovery failed. Mission failed. Eccentric orbit negating recovery.

1960 February 4 - Discoverer 9 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: Failure. Mass: 765 kg (1,686 lb).
KH-1; 1st generation low resolution photo surveillance. Mission failed.

1960 February 4 - SRV 113 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: Failure.

1960 February 19 - Discoverer 10 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1E. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: Failure. Mass: 765 kg (1,686 lb).
KH-1; Mission failed.

1960 February 19 - SRV 110 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1E. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: Failure.

1960 April 15 - Discoverer 11 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1E. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 790 kg (1,740 lb). Perigee: 166 km (103 mi). Apogee: 603 km (374 mi). Inclination: 80.40 deg. Period: 92.20 min.
KH-1; film capsule recovery failed. Mission failed. Attitude control system malfunctioned.

1960 June 29 - Discoverer 12 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: Failure. Mass: 790 kg (1,740 lb).
KH-1 prototype; designed to test capsule recovery system; did not carry camera.

1960 June 29 - SRV - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: Failure.

1960 August 10 - Discoverer 13 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1E. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 850 kg (1,870 lb). Perigee: 258 km (160 mi). Apogee: 683 km (424 mi). Inclination: 82.80 deg. Period: 94.00 min.
KH-1 prototype; designed to test capsule recovery system; did not carry camera; capsule successfully recovered from ocean.

1960 August 18 - Discoverer 14 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 850 kg (1,870 lb). Perigee: 177 km (109 mi). Apogee: 803 km (498 mi). Inclination: 79.60 deg. Period: 94.40 min.
KH-1; film capsule recovered 1.2 days later; 1st successful photosurveillance mission. First successful mission. Cameras operated satisfactorily.

1960 September 13 - Discoverer 15 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC1E. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 863 kg (1,902 lb). Perigee: 200 km (120 mi). Apogee: 755 km (469 mi). Inclination: 80.90 deg. Period: 94.10 min.
KH-1; film capsule lost at sea. Mission failed. Attained orbit successfully. Capsule sank prior to retrieval.

Bibliography:

McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page (launch records), Harvard University, 1997-present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Web Address when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.
Bramscher, Robert G, Spaceflight, "A Survey of Launch Vehicle Failures", 1980, Volume 22, page 351.
McDowell, Jonathan, Launch Log, October 1998. Web Address when accessed: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/log/launch.html.

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