1963-019A
KH-4 mission 9055 was launched at midnight UTC on 1963 Jun 13 into an 82 degree orbit. The SRV was recovered on the second day according to the Vandenberg report, but the Corona PER and flight summaries and the Itek list give a 4 day flight. I adopt the latter.
Use of the TAT Agena D suggests that there may have been space for a supplementary payload, since all other KH-4 and KH-5 flights using this vehicle carried subsatellites or attached payloads (with the possible exception of the first TAT launch). Total orbital mass was 1558 kg.
It is possible that this mission carried the EROS payload. The TRW Space Log reported that
EROS (Experimental Reflector Orbital Shot) was a 4.5 foot diameter Fresnel solar collector mounted on the aft rack of an Agena second stage. (...) EROS was orbited in mid-1963 for a 30-day lifetime.
These facts are confirmed in contemporary USAF press releases; it was decided not to identify the specific vehicle, partly because the mission was not a complete success, with the loss of temperature sensor data. EROS was build by General Motors/Allison Div. The lens was folded for launch. Documents indicate the launch was later than the beginning of June and prior to 15 July. A Jan 1963 launch schedule indicated that mission 9054/Agena 1161 was scheduled to carry a secondary payload called the `240'' Experiment', but this may refer to the P camera.
The duration in orbit of CORONA 65 was only 29 days, but the only other likely candidate mission, CORONA 66, carried a P-11 subsatellite on its aft rack, and it seems unlikely that space was available for a second major supplementary payload. The 1.4-m diameter dish was unfolded after launch, and the spacecraft was pointed at the sun so that intense heat was built up. No electrical conversion equipment was included, but it was estimated that the device could have supplied several hundred watts of power. TRW reported `An electroformed nickel structure had a flat aluminum surface with peaks and valleys like a phonograph record to focus the sun's energy into a radiometer where it was measured. A single axis solar tracking system was employed to align the reflector with the sun for one minute during each orbit.'
| KH-4 Mission 9054 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 Jun 12 | 2358:38 | Launch by TAT Agena D | V Pad 4 |
| 2359 | Castor sep (T+1:10) | ||
| 1963 Jun 13 | 0000 | Thor MECO (T+2:28) | |
| 0000 | Thor VECO (T+2:37) | ||
| 0000 | Thor sep (T+2:41) | ||
| 0000 | Agena burn (T+2:49) | ||
| 0005 | Agena MECO (T+6:51) | 90.79 197 x 445 x 81.83 (VCR) | |
| 1963 Jun 13 | 0227 | 90.43 181 x 410 x 81.7 | |
| 1963 Jun | 90.7 193 x 416 x 81.8 (SATCAT) | ||
| 1963 Jun 14 | 0930 | 90.67 192 x 419 x 81.9 (RAE) | |
| 1963 Jun 14 | 1014 | 90.64 190 x 421 x 81.9 | |
| 1963 Jun 15 | 0152? | (SRV ejected, deorbit rev 33 (VCR)) | |
| 1963 Jun 15 | 0204? | (SRV recovered after 2 day (VCR)) | |
| 1963 Jun 16 | 0133 | 90.60 190 x 417 x 81.85 | |
| 1963 Jun 17 | 0215:18 | SRV ejected, deorbit rev 65 | |
| 0215:21 | Retro | ||
| 0215:35 | T/C sep | ||
| Entry | |||
| 0225:33 | Main parachute deployed | ||
| 1963 Jun 17 | 0255 | SRV air recovered | |
| 1963 Jun 21 | 0828 | 90.39 182 x 405 x 81.81 | |
| 1963 Jul 10 | 0000 | 88.48 173 x 225 x 81.8 (RAE) | |
| 1963 Jul 10 | 0024 | 88.46 171 x 226 x 81.8 | |
| 1963 Jul 12 | 0100? | Reentered | |
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