Mission Discoverer 11 Type: Government/Top Secret Orbit: Low Earth Orbit Launch Cost: $10,700,000 Discoverer 11 was an American optical reconnaissance satellite. The eighth of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series, it successfully employed the first space-worthy camera film; however, Discoverer’s film return capsule was lost during reentry on 16 Apr when […]
Mission Luna-4a Type: Lunar Exploration Orbit: Lunar flyby Luna 1960A was the second Soviet attempt to photograph the far side of the Moon. The first being the highly successful Luna 3 mission. Luna 1960A was designed to replicate the Luna 3 mission, but with higher resolution cameras and a closer approach to the Moon. Location […]
Mission Transit 1B Type: Navigation Orbit: Polar Orbit The Transit system was the first satellite navigation system to be used operationally. The system was primarily used by the U.S. Navy to provide accurate location information to its Polaris ballistic missile submarines, and it was also used as a navigation system by the Navy’s surface ships, […]
Mission Tiros 1 Type: Earth Science Orbit: Low Earth Orbit TIROS-1 was the first successful low-Earth orbital weather satellite, and the first of a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites. Location Space Launch Complex 17A Cape Canaveral, FL, USA Space Launch Complex 17A has witnessed the launch of 145 rockets, including 145 orbital launch attempts, […]
Mission NASA S-46 Type: Earth Science Orbit: Medium Earth Orbit Explorer 5 was a United States satellite with a mass of 15.7 kg. It was the last of the original series of Explorers built, designed, and operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Location Launch Complex 26B Cape Canaveral, FL, USA Launch Complex 26B has witnessed […]
Mission Pioneer V Type: Astrophysics Orbit: Heliocentric N/A Pioneer 5 was a spin-stabilized space probe in the NASA Pioneer program used to investigate interplanetary space between the orbits of Earth and Venus. Location Space Launch Complex 17A Cape Canaveral, FL, USA Space Launch Complex 17A has witnessed the launch of 145 rockets, including 145 orbital […]
Mission Midas 1 Type: Government/Top Secret Orbit: Low Earth Orbit The MIDAS Series 1 (Military Defense Alarm System) satellites, MIDAS 1 and 2, were the first development models for the MIDAS early warning system. Location Space Launch Complex 14 Cape Canaveral, FL, USA Space Launch Complex 14 has witnessed the launch of 20 rockets, including […]
Mission Discoverer 10 Type: Government/Top Secret Orbit: Low Earth Orbit Launch Cost: $10,700,000 Discoverer 10 was an American optical reconnaissance satellite, the seventh of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series. Location Space Launch Complex 1E Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA Space Launch Complex 1E has witnessed the launch of 45 rockets, including […]
Mission Discoverer 9 Type: Government/Top Secret Orbit: Low Earth Orbit Launch Cost: $10,700,000 Discoverer 9 was an American optical reconnaissance satellite, the sixth of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series, and the first of them to be equipped with a new, vacuum-proof, polyester-based film. The satellite was not successfully orbited. Location […]
Mission LJ-1B Type: Test Flight Orbit: Suborbital The Little Joe 1B was a suborbital launch escape system test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. The mission also carried a female rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) named Miss Sam in the Mercury spacecraft. Location Launch Area 1 Wallops Island, Virginia, USA […]
Mission LJ-2 Type: Test Flight Orbit: Suborbital The Little Joe 2 was a suborbital test flight of the Mercury space capsule, carrying the rhesus monkey Sam close to the edge of space. He was sent to test the space equipment and the adverse effects of space on humans. Location Launch Area 1 Wallops Island, Virginia, […]
Mission P-3 Type: Lunar Exploration Orbit: Lunar Orbit The Pioneer P-1, -3, -30 and -31 series was intended to be a lunar orbiter probe, but the mission failed shortly after launch. The objectives were to place a highly instrumented probe in lunar orbit, to investigate the environment between the Earth and Moon, and to develop […]
Mission Discoverer 8 Type: Government/Top Secret Orbit: Low Earth Orbit Launch Cost: $10,700,000 The KH-1 (Keyhole-1) was the first attempt in the Corona-program to build an optical reconnaissance satellite. These satellites were all launched under the name Discoverer. Location Space Launch Complex 1E Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA Space Launch Complex 1E has witnessed the launch […]
Mission Discoverer 7 Type: Government/Top Secret Orbit: Low Earth Orbit Launch Cost: $10,700,000 The KH-1 (Keyhole-1) was the first attempt in the Corona-program to build an optical reconnaissance satellite. These satellites were all launched under the name Discoverer. Location Space Launch Complex 1W Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA Space Launch Complex 1W has witnessed the launch […]
Mission LJ-1A Type: Test Flight Orbit: Suborbital Little Joe 1A (LJ-1A) was an unmanned rocket launched as part of NASA’s Mercury program on November 4, 1959. This flight, a repeat of the Little Joe 1 (LJ-1) launch, was to test a launch abort under high aerodynamic load conditions. Due to a delayed in the escape […]
