 | |
| Mission type | Optical reconnaissance |
|---|---|
| Operator | US Air Force / NRO |
| Harvard designation | 1960 MU |
| COSPAR ID | 1960-012A |
| SATCAT no. | S00057 |
| Mission duration | 2 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | CORONA KH-1 |
| Bus | Agena-A |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed |
| Launch mass | 810 kilograms (1,790 lb) after orbit insertion[1]: 236 |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 13 September 1960 22:13:39 GMT |
| Rocket | Thor DM-21 Agena-A (Thor 246) |
| Launch site | Vandenberg LC 75-3-5 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 18 October 1960[2] |
| Landing date | 15 September 1960 |
| Landing site | Pacific Ocean (SRV) |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Eccentricity | 0.04094[3] |
| Perigee altitude | 199 kilometers (124 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 761 kilometers (473 mi) |
| Inclination | 80.900° |
| Period | 94.23 minutes |
| Epoch | 13 September 1960 22:19:00 |
Discoverer 15, also known as Corona 9010,[1]: 236 was a spy satellite used in the Corona program managed by Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force. Launched on 13 September 1960, the satellite took reconnaissance photos of the Soviet Union. However, its recoverable film capsule was lost in the Pacific Ocean after reentry outside the recovery zone on 15 September.
- ^ a b Day, Dwayne A.; Logsdon, John M.; Latell, Brian (1998). Eye in the Sky: The Story of the Corona Spy Satellites. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 1-56098-830-4. OCLC 36783934.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathon's Space Report. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ "Discoverer 15". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved 18 September 2021.