Discoverer 5
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 | |
| Mission type | Optical reconnaissance |
|---|---|
| Operator | US Air Force / NRO |
| Harvard designation | 1959 EPS 1 |
| COSPAR ID | 1959-005A |
| SATCAT no. | S00018 |
| Mission duration | 1 day |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | CORONA KH-1 |
| Bus | Agena-A |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed |
| Launch mass | 870 kilograms (1,920 lb) after orbit insertion |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 13 Aug 1959 19:00:08 GMT |
| Rocket | Thor DM-21 Agena-A (Thor 192) |
| Launch site | Vandenberg LC 75-3-4 |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | 14 August 1959 (SRV) |
| Decay date | 28 September 1959 (Agena) |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Eccentricity | 0.01202 |
| Perigee altitude | 193 kilometers (120 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 353 kilometers (219 mi) |
| Inclination | 80.0° |
| Period | 90 minutes |
| Epoch | 14 August 1959 21:21:00 |
Discoverer 5, also known as Corona 9002,[1]: 236 was an American optical reconnaissance satellite launched on 13 August 1959 at 19:00:08 GMT, the second of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series. Though the satellite was successfully orbited, the onboard camera failed within the first orbit, and the film-return capsule failed to deorbit as planned.
"Discoverer" was the civilian designation and cover for the Corona satellite photo-reconnaissance series of satellites managed by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force. The primary goal of the satellites was to replace the U-2 spyplane in surveilling the Sino-Soviet Bloc, determining the disposition and speed of production of Soviet missiles and long-range bombers assess. The Corona program was also used to produce maps and charts for the Department of Defense and other US government mapping programs.[2]
The first series of Corona satellites were the Keyhole 1 (KH-1) satellites based on the Agena-A upper stage, which not only offered housing but whose engine provided attitude control in orbit. The KH-1 payload included the C (for Corona) single, vertical-looking, panoramic camera that scanned back and forth, exposing its film at a right angle to the line of flight.[3]: 26 The camera, built by Fairchild Camera and Instrument with a f/5.0 aperture and 61 centimetres (24 in) focal length, had a ground resolution of 12.9 metres (42 ft). Film was returned from orbit by a single General Electric Satellite Return Vehicle (SRV) constructed by General Electric. The SRV was equipped with an onboard small solid-fuel retro motor to deorbit at the end of the mission. Recovery of the capsule was done in mid-air by a specially equipped aircraft.[4]
Discoverer 5 was preceded by Discoverer 4, launched 25 June 1959, and three Discoverer test flights whose satellites carried no cameras, launched in the first half of 1959.[1]: 51–56
Spacecraft
The battery-powered[4] Discoverer 5 was a cylindrical satellite 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) in diameter, 5.85 metres (19.2 ft) long and had a mass after second stage separation, including propellants, of roughly 3,850 kilograms (8,490 lb).[5] After orbital insertion, the satellite and SRV together massed 870 kilograms (1,920 lb).[1]: 236 The capsule section of the reentry vehicle was 84 centimetres (33 in) in diameter and 69 centimetres (27 in) long.[5] Like Discoverer 4, Discoverer 5 carried the C camera for its photosurveillance mission.
The capsule was designed to be recovered by a specially equipped aircraft during parachute descent, but was also designed to float to permit recovery from the ocean. The main spacecraft contained a telemetry transmitter and a tracking beacon.[5]
