Discoverer 16

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 around an Agena-B.^[1]

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.^[2] The Agena failed to separate from the Thor first stage, and as a result the satellite failed to achieve orbit.^[3][4]

Discoverer 16 was intended to have been operated in a low Earth orbit. It had a mass of 1,091 kilograms (2,410 lb),^[5] 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).^[4] It was to have recorded images onto 70-millimetre (2.8 in) film, which would have been returned in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle. The Satellite Recovery Vehicle aboard Discoverer 16 was SRV-506.^[5]

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