1966-069A
The first KH-8 satellite, Mission 4301, was launched on 1966 Jul 29. It was the 31st flight in the GAMBIT program. The week long test flight was in a low 158 x 250 km orbit, at an inclination of 94 degrees. The launch saw the introduction of the three-stage Titan IIIB Agena D launch vehicle. A single pad at Vandenberg, Space Launch Complex 4-West, was dedicated to the Titan IIIB missions. The pad was previously known as PALC2-3 and had been used for KH-7 GAMBIT launches.
The SRV was similar to those flown on CORONA missions.
A Lockheed report described the first Program 206-II mission with SLV-5B (i.e. Titan 3B) 66-8131, satellite control section 58205/4751, and a forward satellite vehicle section (FSVS) with a recovery capsule. The PPS was flight model FM-1. Insertion was accomplished with a 2.7 m/s underspeed. The SRV was recovered in mid-air on orbit 83. Following this, the spacecraft was tested for three days with three yaw manuevers and three SPS burns. The engine was then used to deorbit the vehicle.
| KH-8 Mission 4301 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 Jul 29 | 1830:19 | Launch by Titan IIIB Agena D | V SLC4W |
| 1832 | T+2:46? Stage 1 sep | ||
| T+2:46 Stage 2 ignition | |||
| 1836 | T+6:50? Stage 2 sep | ||
| 1836 | T+6:52 Agena MES | ||
| 1840 | T+10:35 Agena MECO | 88.6 158 x 250 x 94.1 | |
| 1966 Jul 29 | 2354 | 88.66 150 x 266 x 94.1 | |
| 1966 Jul 31 | 2312 | 88.53 157 x 246 x 94.1 | |
| 1966 Aug 3 | 2104? | SRV recovered rev 83 | |
| 2109? | Entry | ||
| 2130? | Recovered | ||
| 1966 Aug 3 | 0421 | 88.42 145 x 247 x 94.1 | |
| 1966 Aug 3 | 1440 | 88.32 149 x 233 x 94.1 | |
| 1966 Aug 4 | 0530? | TCM rev 89 | |
| 1966 Aug 4 | 1700? | TCM rev 97 | |
| 1966 Aug 5 | 2120 | 88.76 151 x 274 x 94.1 | |
| 1966 Aug 6 | 0600? | TCM rev 122 | |
| 1966 Aug 7 | Reentered | ||
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