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Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Nation: USA. Agency: U.S. Air Force. Manufacturer: Lockheed. Early US reconnaisance satellite. Carried one 'C-Prime' panoramic camera, with a focal length of 61 cm and a ground resolution of 9 m.
SpecificationTotal Mass: 1,146 kg.
KH-2 Chronology
26 October 1960
SRV 506 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor Agena B. FAILURE: Failure.
12 November 1960
Discoverer 17 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor Agena B. Mass: 1,091 kg. Perigee: 190 km. Apogee: 984 km. Inclination: 81.7 deg. KH-1; film capsule recovered 2.1 days later. Mission failed. Obtained orbit successfully. Film separated before any camera operation leaving only 1.7 ft of film in capsule. On December 2, the Air Force revealed that exceedingly valuable information had been obtained from human tissues carried by Discoverer 17 (the cover story for the mission). The tissues had been exposed to an unexpectedly heavy dose of radiation for more than 50 hours in flight.
08 December 1960
Discoverer 18 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor Agena B. Mass: 1,240 kg. Perigee: 233 km. Apogee: 510 km. Inclination: 81.5 deg. KH-2; film capsule recovered 3.1 days later. First successful mission employing KH-2 camera system.
30 March 1961
Discoverer 22 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor Agena B. FAILURE: Second stage failed to obtain orbital velocity. Mechanical error. Mass: 1,150 kg. KH-2; Mission failed.
16 June 1961
Discoverer 25 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor Agena B. Mass: 1,150 kg. Perigee: 222 km. Apogee: 404 km. Inclination: 82.1 deg. KH-2; film capsule recovered 2.1 days later. Capsule recovered from water on orbit 32. Streaks throughout film.
08 July 1961
Discoverer 26 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor Agena B. Mass: 1,150 kg. Perigee: 228 km. Apogee: 803 km. Inclination: 82.9 deg. KH-2; film capsule recovered 2.1 days later. Main camera malfunctioned on pass 22.
04 August 1961
SRV 512 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor Agena B. FAILURE: Failure.
Bibliography:- 126 - Bramscher, Robert G, Spaceflight, "A Survey of Launch Vehicle Failures", 1980, Volume 22, page 351.
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Last update 12 March 2001.
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