KH-8 46

Mission

KH-8 46

• Type: Government/Top Secret
• Orbit: Low Earth Orbit

KH-8 Block 3 high resolution reconnaissance satellite.

Location

Space Launch Complex 4W

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Space Launch Complex 4W has witnessed the launch of 93 rockets, including 93 orbital launch attempts, while Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA, has been the site for 765 rocket launches.

Rocket

Lockheed Martin Titan 24B

Titan IIIB was the collective name for a number of derivatives of the Titan II ICBM and Titan III launch vehicle, modified by the addition of an Agena upper stage. It consisted of four separate rockets. The Titan 23B was a basic Titan II with an Agena upper stage, and the Titan 24B was the same concept, but using the slightly enlarged Titan IIIM rocket as the base. The Titan 33B was a Titan 23B with the Agena (which had a smaller diameter than the Titan) enclosed in an enlarged fairing, in order to allow larger payloads to be launched. The final member of the Titan IIIB family was the Titan 34B which was a Titan 24B with the larger fairing used on the Titan 33B.

Agency

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947.