Discoverer 31

The launch of Discoverer 31

Discoverer 31, also known as Corona 9024, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1961. It was a KH-3 Corona''' satellite, based around an Agena-B.^[1]

The launch of Discoverer 31 occurred at 21:00 UTC on 17 September 1961. A Thor DM-21 Agena-B rocket was used, flying from Launch Complex 75-1-1 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.^[2] Upon successfully reaching orbit, it was assigned the Harvard designation 1961 Alpha Beta 1.

Discoverer 31 was operated in a low Earth orbit, with a perigee of 233 kilometres (145 mi), an apogee of 380 kilometres (240 mi), 82.7 degrees of inclination, and a period of 90.7 minutes.^[3] The satellite had a mass of 1,150 kilograms (2,540 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 were to have been returned in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle. The Satellite Recovery Vehicle carried aboard Discoverer 31 was SRV-552. During the spacecraft's thirty-third orbit, the attitude control and power systems malfunctioned, and as a result Discoverer 31 was unable to complete its mission or return images.^[4][6] It decayed from orbit on 26 October 1961.^[3]

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