Mission type Optical reconnaissance Mission duration Failed to orbit Rocket Thor DM-21 Agena-B 253 Bus RM-81 Agena | Operator US Air Force/NRO Spacecraft type KH-2 Corona' Launch date 26 October 1960 Manufacturer Lockheed Corporation | |
Launch mass 1,091 kilograms (2,405 lb) People also search for Discoverer 18, Discoverer 19 | ||
Discoverer 16, also known as Corona 9011, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1960. It was the first KH-2 Corona' satellite, based on an Agena-B.
The launch of Discoverer 16 occurred at 20:26 UTC on 26 October 1960. A Thor DM-21 Agena-B rocket was used, flying from Launch Complex 75-3-4 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base. The Agena failed to separate from the Thor first stage, and as a result the satellite failed to achieve orbit.
Discoverer 16 was intended to have been operated in a low Earth orbit. It had a mass of 1,091 kilograms (2,405 lb), and was equipped with a panoramic camera with a focal length of 61 centimetres (24 in), which had a maximum resolution of 7.6 metres (25 ft). It was to have recorded images onto 70-millimeter (2.8 in) film, which would have been returned in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle. The Satellite Recovery Vehicle aboard Discoverer 16 was SRV-506.