Discoverer 1 was the first of a series of satellites which were part of the Corona

Corona (satellite)

The Corona program was a series of American strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency Directorate of Science & Technology with substantial assistance from the U.S. Air Force...

 reconnaissance satellite program. It was launched on a Thor-Agena

Thor-Agena

Thor-Agena was a series of orbital launch vehicles. The rockets used Thor first stages and Agena second stages. They are thus cousins of the more famous Thor-Deltas, which founded the Delta rocket family. The first attempted launch of a Thor-Agena was in January 1959...

 rocket on February 28, 1959 at 1:49 PST from Vandenberg Air Force Base

Vandenberg Air Force Base

Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....

 in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It was a prototype of the KH-1 satellite, but did not contain either a camera or a film capsule.. It was the first satellite launched toward the South Pole in an attempt to achieve polar orbit

Polar orbit

A polar orbit is an orbit in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited on each revolution. It therefore has an inclination of 90 degrees to the equator...

, but was unsuccessful. A CIA report, later declassified, concluded that "Today, most people believe the DISCOVERER I landed somewhere near the South Pole."

External links

• http://www.astronautix.com/craft/kh1.htm
• http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/Programs/corona.html