Discoverer 2
Thor Agena A
United States Air Force
Mission
Discoverer 2
Type: Government/Top Secret
Discoverer II successfully reached orbit and took photos of Earth. However, when the capsule with the data was ejected in order to re-enter the atmosphere there was a timer malfunction meaning it seperated too early and landed over the North Pole rather than the intended target of Hawaii. The capsule was never recovered.
Location
Space Launch Complex 1W
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
707 rockets have launched from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.
Rocket
Thor Agena A – McDonnell Douglas
Family: Thor
Length: 28 m
Diameter: 2.44 m
Launch Mass: 53 T
Low Earth Orbit Capacity: 250 kg
The Thor Agena A was manufactured by McDonnell Douglas with the first launch on 1959-01-21. Thor Agena A has 9 successful launches and 6 failed launches with a total of 15 launches. 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.
Agency
United States Air Force
Type: Government
Abbreviation: USAF
Country: USA
