Discoverer 33

Discoverer 33
Mission type Optical reconnaissance
Operator US Air Force/NRO
Mission duration Failed to orbit
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type KH-3 Corona'''
Bus Agena-B
Manufacturer Lockheed
Launch mass 1,150 kilograms (2,540 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 23 October 1961, 19:23 (1961-10-23UTC19:23Z) UTC
Rocket Thor DM-21 Agena-B 329
Launch site Vandenberg LC-75-3-5
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Epoch Planned

Discoverer 33, also known as Corona 9026, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1961. It was a KH-3 Corona''' satellite, based on an Agena-B.[1]

The launch of Discoverer 33 occurred at 19:23 UTC on 23 October 1961. A Thor DM-21 Agena-B rocket was used, flying from Launch Complex 75-3-5 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.[2] The launch ended in failure after the Agena suffered a hydraulics system malfunction that led to premature main engine shutdown.[3]

Discoverer 33 was intended 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] It would have recorded images onto 70-millimeter (2.8 in) film, and returned this in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle at the end of its mission. The Satellite Recovery Vehicle carried by Discoverer 33 was SRV-553.

References

  1. Krebs, Gunter. "KH-3 Corona". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  2. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  3. Lindborg, Christina; Pike, John (9 September 2000). "KH-3 Corona". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  4. Wade, Mark. "KH-3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  5. "Corona". Mission and Spacecraft Library. NASA. Retrieved 30 June 2010.


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