 | |
| Mission type | Optical reconnaissance |
|---|---|
| Operator | US Air Force / NRO |
| Harvard designation | 1959 LAM |
| COSPAR ID | 1959-011A |
| SATCAT no. | S00025 |
| Mission duration | 1 day |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | CORONA KH-1 |
| Bus | Agena-A |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed |
| Launch mass | 835 kilograms (1,841 lb) after orbit insertion |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 20 November 1959 19:25:24 GMT |
| Rocket | Thor DM-21 Agena-A (Thor 212) |
| Launch site | Vandenberg LC 75-3-5 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 8 March 1960 |
| Landing date | 21 November 1959 (SRV) |
| Landing site | Pacific Ocean (SRV) |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Eccentricity | 0.10197 |
| Perigee altitude | 187 kilometers (116 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 1,679 kilometers (1,043 mi) |
| Inclination | 80.650° |
| Period | 103.70 minutes |
| Epoch | 20 November 1959 |
Discoverer 8, also known as Corona 9005,[1]: 236 was an American optical reconnaissance satellite launched on 20 November 1959 at 19:25:24 GMT, the fifth of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series. Overburn by the carrier rocket placed the satellite in a higher apogee, more eccentric orbit than planned, the camera failed to operate, and the film return capsule was lost on reentry after separation from the main satellite on 21 November.
- ^ 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.