Discoverer 18

The launch of Discoverer 18

Discoverer 18, also known as Corona 9013, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1960. It was a KH-2 Corona satellite, based around an Agena-B.^[1]

The launch of Discoverer 18 occurred at 20:20:58 UTC on 7 December 1960. A Thor DM-21 Agena-B rocket was used, flying from Launch Complex 75-3-4 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.^[2] Upon successfully reaching orbit, it was assigned the Harvard designation 1960 Sigma 1.

Discoverer 18 was operated in a low Earth orbit, with a perigee of 272 kilometres (169 mi), an apogee of 535 kilometres (332 mi), 81.4 degrees of inclination, and a period of 92.6 minutes.^[3] The satellite had a mass of 1,240 kilograms (2,730 lb),^[4] 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).^[5] Images were recorded onto 70-millimeter (2.8 in) film, and returned in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle, which was recovered three days after the launch. The Satellite Recovery Vehicle used by Discoverer 18 was SRV-508. Following the return of its images, Discoverer 18 remained in orbit until it decayed on 2 April 1961.^[3] It was the first KH-2 satellite to complete its mission successfully.^[6]

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