Samos 3
Launch Failure
Liftoff Time (GMT)
19:28:00
Saturday September 9, 1961
Mission Details
Launch Notes
Pad umbilical failed to detach properly at liftoff, cutting off electrical power to the Atlas. The vehicle fell back onto the pad and exploded.
Samos 3
The Samos E or SAMOS ("Satellite and Missile Observation System") program was a relatively short-lived series of reconnaissance satellites for the United States in the early 1960s, also used as a cover for the initial development of the KH-7 Gambit system.
Low Earth Orbit
1 Payload
Rocket
Launch Site
Stats
Atlas-Agena
7th
Mission
4th
Mission of 1961
1961
32nd
Orbital launch attempt