Status
Partial Failure
Samos 5
Launch Time
Fri Dec 22, 1961 19:12 UTC
Fri Dec 22, 1961 19:12 UTC
The sustainer cutoff timer failed, causing the Atlas to burn to propellant depletion and putting the payload in a higher-than-planned orbit.
Rocket
Mission Details
Samos 5
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.
Payloads: 1
Low Earth Orbit
Location
SLC-3E, Vandenberg SFB, California, USA
Stats
1961
50th orbital launch attempt
Atlas-Agena
11th mission
8th mission of 1961