Discoverer 22

{{short description|Reconnaissance satellite}}

{{Infobox spaceflight

| name = Discoverer 22

| image = KH-2_CORONA.jpg

| image_caption =

| mission_type = Optical reconnaissance

| operator = US Air Force/NRO

| mission_duration = Failed to orbit

| spacecraft =

| spacecraft_type = Corona KH-2

| spacecraft_bus = Agena-B

| manufacturer = Lockheed

| launch_mass = {{convert|1150|kg}}

| launch_date = {{start-date|30 March 1961, 20:34:43|timezone=yes}} UTC

| launch_rocket = Thor DM-21 Agena-B 300

| launch_site = Vandenberg LC-1 launch pad 75-3-4

| orbit_epoch = Planned

| orbit_reference = Geocentric

| orbit_regime = Low Earth

| orbit_periapsis =

| orbit_apoapsis =

| orbit_inclination =

| orbit_period =

| apsis = gee

| programme = Discoverer

| previous_mission = Discoverer 21

| next_mission = Discoverer 23

| programme2 = Corona KH-2

| previous_mission2 = Corona 9013

| next_mission2 = Corona 9017

}}

File:Thor Agena B with Discoverer 22 (Mar. 30, 1961).gif

Discoverer 22, also known as Corona 9015, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1961. It was the fourth of ten Corona KH-2 satellites, based on the Agena-B.{{cite web|url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/kh-2.htm|title=KH-2 Corona|first=Gunter|last=Krebs|publisher=Gunter's Space Page|accessdate=23 October 2020}}

The launch of Discoverer 22 occurred at 20:34:43 UTC on 30 March 1961. A Thor DM-21 Agena-B rocket was used, flying from launch pad 75-3-4 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.{{cite web|url=http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt|title=Launch Log|first=Jonathan|last=McDowell|publisher=Jonathan's Space Page|accessdate=23 June 2010}} The launch was nominal through Thor burn and most of the Agena burn. At T+380 seconds hydraulic pressure was lost and gimbaling of the Bell 8081 engine became impossible. Orbital velocity was not attained and the Agena reentered over the Pacific.{{cite web|url=http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/imint/kh-2.htm|title=KH-2 Corona|first=John|last=Pike|date=9 September 2000|accessdate=23 June 2010|publisher=Federation of American Scientists}}

Discoverer 22 was to have operated in a low Earth orbit. It had a mass of {{convert|1150|kg}},{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/kh2.htm|title=KH-2|first=Mark|last=Wade|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|accessdate=23 June 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023094149/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/kh2.htm|archivedate=23 October 2012}} and was equipped with a panoramic camera with a focal length of {{convert|61|cm}}, which had a maximum resolution of {{convert|7.6|m}}.{{cite web|url=http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/programs/corona.html|title=Corona|publisher=NASA|work=Mission and Spacecraft Library|accessdate=23 June 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071003082210/http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/Programs/corona.html|archivedate=3 October 2007}} Images were to have been recorded onto {{convert|70|mm|adj=on|sp=us}} film, and returned in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle. The Satellite Recovery Vehicle carried aboard Discoverer 22 was SRV-509.

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