Discoverer 6
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Discoverer 6, also known as Corona 9003, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite launched on 19 August 1959 at 19:24:44 GMT, the third of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series. Though the spacecraft was orbited successfully, the onboard camera ceased operating by the second orbit, and the film-return capsule could not be recovered.


Background

"Discoverer" was the civilian designation and cover for the
Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...
satellite photo-reconnaissance series of satellites managed by the
Advanced Research Projects Agency The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adv ...
of the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
and the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
. 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. 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. The camera, built by Fairchild Camera and Instrument with a f/5.0 aperture and focal length, had a ground resolution of . Film was returned from orbit by a single General Electric Satellite Return Vehicle (SRV) constructed by
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...
. 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. Discoverer 6 was preceded by
Discoverer 5 Discoverer 5, also known as Corona 9002, 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 succes ...
, launched 13 August 1959,
Discoverer 4 Discoverer 4, also known as Corona 9001, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite launched on 25 Jun 1959 at 22:47:45 GMT, the first of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series, and the first satellite to be equip ...
, launched 25 June 1959, and three Discoverer test flights whose satellites carried no cameras, launched in the first half of 1959.


Spacecraft

The battery-powered Discoverer 6 was a cylindrical satellite in diameter, long and had a mass after second stage separation, including propellants, of roughly . After orbital insertion, the satellite and SRV together massed . The capsule section of the reentry vehicle was in diameter and long. Like Discoverers 4 and 5, Discoverer 6 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.


Mission

Discoverer 6 was launched on 19 August 1959 at 19:24:44 GMT from Vandenberg LC 75-3-4 into a x
polar orbit A polar orbit is one in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited (usually a planet such as the Earth, but possibly another body such as the Moon or Sun) on each revolution. It has an inclination of about ...
by a Thor-Agena A booster. As with Discoverer 5, the onboard camera failed, this time in the satellite's second orbit rather than the first. It is likely that it had broken on its way out of the supply container, which had also occurred on the prior flight. The SRV separated from its
satellite bus A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held. Bus-derived satellites are opposed to specially produced satellites. Bus- ...
the day after launch and deorbited for recovery over the Pacific but was not recovered. The satellite bus reentered on 20 October 1959.


Legacy

CORONA achieved its first fully successful flight with the mission of
Discoverer 14 Discoverer 14, also known as Corona 9009, was a spy satellite used in the Corona program managed by Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force. On 19 August 1960, usable photographic film ...
, launched on August 18, 1960. The program ultimately comprised 145 flights in eight satellite series, the last mission launching on 25 May 1972. CORONA was declassified in 1995, and a formal acknowledgement of the existence of US reconnaissance programs, past and present, was issued in September 1996.


References

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