Discoverer 22

Discoverer 22

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	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

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 on 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 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

1. Krebs, Gunter. "KH-2 Corona". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
2. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
3. Pike, John (9 September 2000). "KH-2 Corona". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
4. Wade, Mark. "KH-2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
5. "Corona". Mission and Spacecraft Library. NASA. Retrieved 23 June 2010.