1964-027A
KH-4A Mission 1006 was launched on 1964 Jun 4 by TAT Agena D from Vandenberg. Mass of the satellite was 1618 kg. The intended orbit was 185 x 464 km x 80.0 deg, but bad Agena guidance resulted in a low perigee of 161 km. NPIC was surprised that the image motion compensation system worked even at such low altitudes and in fact the image quality was improved due to the larger scale of the photos. The launch was the first in Program 241 and the Agena may have been the first S01B variant. The aft camera door did not eject during launch, and the first aft camera images were on pass 3D.
After the mixed record of the KH-4A program so far, Mission 1006 began a string of almost unbroken successes. SRV-1 was recovered after 4 days, after which Mission 1006-2 began, leading to the recovery of SRV-2 a further 4 days later. The imagery was the best yet obtained, including data on the USSR, China and French Polynesia.
| KH-4A Mission 1006 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 Jun 4 | 2259 | Launch by TAT Agena D | PALC 1-1 |
| 2300 | Castor sep (T+1:00) | ||
| 2301 | Thor MECO (T+2:29) | ||
| 2301 | Thor VECO (T+2:38) | ||
| 2301 | Thor sep (T+2:45) | ||
| 2301 | Agena 1176 burn (T+2:50) | ||
| 2305 | Agena MECO (T+6:54) | 90.63 161 x 480 x 79.97 (VCR) | |
| 1964 Jun 5 | 0130? | Camera door separates | |
| 1964 Jun 5 | 0259 | 90.57 147 x 457 x 80.0 | |
| 1964 Jun 7 | 0016 | 90.27 146 x 429 x 80.0 | |
| 1964 Jun 7 | 0230 | 90.27 149 x 429 x 80.0 (RAE) | |
| 1964 Jun 8 | 0024 | 90.44 150 x 441 x 79.9 | |
| 1964 Jun 9 | 0100? | SRV-1 ejected rev 65D | |
| 1964 Jun 9 | 0139 | SRV-1 recovered (Mission 1006-1) | |
| 1964 Jun 9 | 0934 | 90.34 144 x 438 x 79.9 | |
| 1964 Jun 12 | 2347? | SRV-2 ejected rev 128 | |
| 1964 Jun 13 | 0025 | SRV-2 recovered (Mission 1006-2) | |
| 1964 Jun 13 | 1120 | 90.04 149 x 403 x 79.9 | |
| 1964 Jun 17 | 0000 | 89.15 139 x 324 x 80.0 (RAE) | |
| 1964 Jun 18 | 0142 | 88.42 133 x 259 x 79.9 | |
| 1964 Jun 18 | 2200? | Reentered | |
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