1961-034A
CORONA 36 was the fifth KH-3 mission, mission 9029. For the first time, a piggyback payload was carried on an Agena, the OSCAR amateur radio satellite. The CORONA mission was also the first flight to attain the design goal of four days and the SRV was recovered from the sea. Mid-air recovery was aborted due to an incorrect capsule beacon bearing according to a telex in the NRO archive.
Additional scientific experiments were also carried including an ionospheric beacon and particle detectors. Biological samples and nuclear emulsions were included with the film canister inside the SRV. The camera used an experimental mixture of SO-130 and SO-132 film on this flight.
A debris object which reentered on Dec 19, Alpha Kappa3, is listed in the SATCAT as Discoverer 36 Capsule, but is probably an experiment cover associated with the science payload.
| KH-3 Mission 9029 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 Dec 12 | 2040:21 | Launch by Thor Agena B | V Pad 4 |
| 2042 | Thor MECO (T+2:29) | ||
| 2042 | Thor VECO (T+2:38) | ||
| 2042 | Thor sep (T+2:47) | ||
| 2043 | Agena burn (T+3:24) | ||
| 2047 | Agena cutoff (T+7:21) | ||
| 241 x 413 x ? (VCR) | |||
| 1961 Dec 12 | OSCAR 1 ejected | ||
| 91.84 234 x 494 x 81.23 (OE) | |||
| 1961 Dec 13 | 1733 | 91.78 235 x 488 x 81.21 | |
| 1961 Dec 14 | 1700 | 91.82 241 x 484 x 81.2 | |
| 1961 Dec 16 | 91.78 233 x 488 x 81.23 (OE) | ||
| 1961 Dec 16 | 2236? | SRV sep on rev 64 | |
| 2248? | SRV splashdown | ||
| 2309 | SRV splashdown (AFSC release 16 Dec) | ||
| 1961 Dec 17 | 0014 | 76ARS paras jump into ocean | |
| 0020 | SRV recovered from sea | ||
| 1961 Dec 21 | 1037 | 91.63 237 x 471 x 81.2 | |
| 1962 Jan 1 | 1346 | 91.43 237 x 452 x 81.2 | |
| 1962 Jan 30 | 1200 | 90.85 229 x 396 x 81.21 (RAE) | |
| 1962 Feb 27 | 1200 | 89.60 218 x 298 x 81.15 (RAE) | |
| 1962 | 88.5 194 x 207 x 81.2 (SATCAT) | ||
| 1962 Mar 6 | 1904 | 88.50 193 x 206 x 81.18 | |
| 1962 Mar 8 | 0500? | CORONA/Agena reentered | |
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