Launch Failure
Liftoff Time (GMT)
21:49:16
Saturday February 28, 1959
Maiden flight of Thor-Agena. Agena telemetry lost T+730 seconds. Fate of the payload unknown, but generally presumed to have impacted somewhere in Antarctica.
Discoverer 1 served as a technology demonstration satellite aimed at testing the propulsion and guidance systems of the booster, as well as evaluating systems for the Discoverer and Corona reconnaissance satellite program. Unlike subsequent missions, Discoverer 1 didn't carry a camera or film capsule but instead featured a cylindrical Agena-A upper stage with a conical nosecone, measuring 5.73 m in length and 1.52 m in diameter, made of magnesium. Its 18 kg payload primarily consisted of communication and telemetry equipment housed within the nosecone, including high-frequency low-power and radar beacon transmitters for tracking, along with fifteen telemetry channels to monitor spacecraft performance.
Low Earth Orbit
1 Payload
618 kilograms
1st
Mission
1st
Mission of 1959
3rd
Orbital launch attempt