Discoverer-8 ( Eng. Discoverer 8 ) ( KH-1 5 , Corona 8 ) - American spacecraft. The device is from the KH-1 series of reconnaissance satellites launched under the CORONA program.
| Discovery-8 | |
|---|---|
| Discoverer 8 | |
 | |
| Customer |  Darpa |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed corporation |
| Tasks | Reconnaissance satellite |
| Satellite | Of the earth |
| Launch pad | Base Vandenberg |
| Launch vehicle | Tor Agena A |
| Launch | November 20, 1959 19:25 UTC |
| Descent from orbit | March 8, 1960 |
| NSSDC ID | 1959-011A |
| SCN | 00025 |
| Specifications | |
| Platform | Kh-1 |
| Weight | 795 kg |
| Dimensions | length 5.73 m |
| Diameter | 1.52 m |
| Elements of the orbit | |
| Eccentricity | 0,10196799 |
| Mood | 80.65 ° |
| Circulation period | 103.7 minutes |
| Apocenter | 1679 km |
| Pericenter | 187 km |
Design
The satellite was inseparable from the second stage of the Agen and with it was 5.73 meters in length and 1.52 meters in diameter. The case is made of magnesium alloy. Useful equipment weighing 111 kg was located in the nose fairing. At the very front of the satellite was a returnable capsule weighing 88 kg. The capsule had the form of a hemisphere with a diameter of 84 cm and a length of 69 cm.
The equipment consisted of a panoramic camera with a resolution of 12 meters. The film with the footage was supposed to be delivered to Earth in a descent capsule.
Launch
Discovery-8 was successfully launched by the Tor Agen missile from Vandenberg base on November 20, 1959 . After 15 orbits around the earth, the descent capsule was separated. However, during the descent, the parachute did not open, the capsule landed outside the planned descent zone and could not be found.
Links
- NSSDC Master Catalog. Discoverer 8 . Archived May 15, 2012. (eng.)
- KH-1 Corona . Archived May 15, 2012. (eng.)
- Encyclopedia Astronautica. KH-1 . Archived May 15, 2012. (eng.)