Discoverer 28

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

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 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

1. Krebs, Gunter. "KH-2 Corona". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
2. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
3. Pike, John (9 September 2000). "KH-2 Corona". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
4. "Corona". Mission and Spacecraft Library. NASA. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
5. Wade, Mark. "KH-2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 26 June 2010.