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Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Nation: USA. Agency: U.S. Air Force. Manufacturer: Lockheed. Early US reconnaisance satellite. Carried two 'J-3' panoramic cameras, with a focal length of 61 cm, and a ground resolution of 1.8 m. Ground swath was 16 km x 217 km. Also carried a DISIC (Dual Improved Stellar Index) camera, with a focal length of 91 cm, a ground resolution of 30 m, and frame coverage of 260 km x 260 km.
SpecificationTotal Mass: 3,000 kg.
KH-4B Chronology
15 September 1967
KH-4B 1101 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 156 km. Apogee: 372 km. Inclination: 80.0 deg. KH-4B. First mission of the KH-4B series. Best film to date.
09 December 1967
KH-4B 1102 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 151 km. Apogee: 248 km. Inclination: 81.6 deg. KH-4B. Noticeable image smear for forward camera, but best imagery to date.
01 May 1968
KH-4B 1103 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 164 km. Apogee: 243 km. Inclination: 83.1 deg. KH-4B. Out-of-focus imagery is present on both main camera records.
07 August 1968
KH-4B 1104 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 3,000 kg. Perigee: 160 km. Apogee: 259 km. Inclination: 82.1 deg. KH-4B. Best imagery to date on any KH-4 systems. Bicolor and color infrared experiments were conducted on this mission.
03 November 1968
KH-4B 1105 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 150 km. Apogee: 288 km. Inclination: 82.2 deg. KH-4B. Image quality is variable and displays areas of soft focus and image smear.
05 February 1969
KH-4B 1106 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 147 km. Apogee: 275 km. Inclination: 81.6 deg. KH-4B. The best image quality to date.
24 July 1969
KH-4B 1107 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 182 km. Apogee: 203 km. Inclination: 74.9 deg. KH-4B. Forward camera failed on pass 1 and remained inoperative throughout the rest of the mission.
04 December 1969
KH-4B 1108 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 161 km. Apogee: 229 km. Inclination: 81.4 deg. KH-4B. Cameras operated satisfactorily and the mission carried 811 ft of aerial color film added to the end of the film supply.
04 March 1970
SRV 819 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 60 kg. Perigee: 441 km. Apogee: 509 km. Inclination: 88.1 deg. Radar monitoring; may or may not have existed!!!
20 May 1970
KH-4B 1110 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 162 km. Apogee: 247 km. Inclination: 83.0 deg. KH-4B. The overall image quality is less than that provided by recent missions and 2,000 feet of S0-349
23 July 1970
KH-4B 1111 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 156 km. Apogee: 379 km. Inclination: 59.9 deg. KH-4B. The overall image quality is good.
18 November 1970
KH-4B 1112 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 180 km. Apogee: 227 km. Inclination: 82.9 deg. KH-4B. The forward camera failed on pass 104 and remained inoperative throughout the rest of the mission.
17 February 1971
SRV 826 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. FAILURE: Failure.
24 March 1971
KH-4B 1114 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 156 km. Apogee: 245 km. Inclination: 81.5 deg. KH-4B. The overall image quality is good and comparable to the best of past missions. On-board program failed
10 September 1971
KH-4B 1115 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 157 km. Apogee: 234 km. Inclination: 74.9 deg. KH-4B. Overall image quality is good.
19 April 1972
KH-4B 1116 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 154 km. Apogee: 276 km. Inclination: 81.0 deg. KH-4B. Very successful mission and image quality was good.
25 May 1972
KH-4B 1117 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 2,000 kg. Perigee: 158 km. Apogee: 305 km. Inclination: 96.3 deg. KH-4B. Last KH-4B mission. Very successful mission, image quality was good. Final CORONA mission.
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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