Descripción : Discoverer 1 was a test of the performance capabilities of the propulsion
and guidance system of the booster and satellite. Launch took place from Vandenberg Air Force Base on a Thor-Agena A.
After first stage burnout
at 28529 km/hr the rocket coasted to orbital altitude where the second stage guidance system oriented the spacecraft by means of pneumatic nitrogen jets. The second stage engine ignited when the correct attitude was achieved, putting the spacecraft into a polar orbit where it remained until re-entry
on 17 March 1959. Discoverer 1 became the first man-made object ever put
into a polar orbit. Difficulty was encountered receiving signals after
launch, but the satellite broadcast intermittently later in the flight.
The Discoverer program was managed by the Advanced Research Projects Agency
of the Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force. The primary goal of
the program was to develop a film-return photographic surveillance satellite
to assess how rapidly the Soviet Union was producing long-range bombers and ballistic missiles and where they were being deployed, and to take photos over the Sino-Soviet bloc to replace the the U2 spyplanes.

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DISCOVERER 1 (SATELLITE) · THOR DM18