Discoverer 37

{{Short description|American optical reconnaissance satellite}}

{{Infobox spaceflight

| name = Discoverer 37

| image =

| image_caption =

| mission_type = Optical reconnaissance

| operator = US Air Force/NRO

| mission_duration = Failed to orbit

| spacecraft =

| spacecraft_type = KH-3 Corona‴

| spacecraft_bus = Agena-B

| manufacturer = Lockheed

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

| launch_date = {{start-date|13 January 1962, 21:41|timezone=yes}} UTC

| launch_rocket = Thor DM-21 Agena-B 327

| launch_site = Vandenberg LC-75-3-4

| orbit_epoch = Planned

| orbit_reference = Geocentric

| orbit_regime = Low Earth

| orbit_periapsis =

| orbit_apoapsis =

| orbit_inclination =

| orbit_period =

| apsis = gee

}}

File:Thor Agena B with Discoverer 37 (Jan. 13 1962).gif

Discoverer 37, also known as Corona 9030, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1962. It was the last KH-3 Corona satellite, which was based on an Agena-B rocket.{{cite web|url=http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/kh-3.htm|title=KH-3 Corona|first=Gunter|last=Krebs|publisher=Gunter's Space Page|access-date=30 June 2010}}

The launch of Discoverer 37 occurred at 21:41 UTC on 13 January 1962. A Thor DM-21 Agena-B rocket was used, flying from Launch Complex 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|access-date=30 June 2010}} however, it failed to achieve orbit.{{cite web|url=http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/imint/kh-3.htm|title=KH-3 Corona|first=Christina|last=Lindborg|first2=John|last2=Pike|date=9 September 2000|access-date=30 June 2010|publisher=Federation of American Scientists}}

Discoverer 37 was intended to be operated in a low Earth orbit. It had a mass of {{convert|1150|kg}},{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/kh3.htm|title=KH-3|first=Mark|last=Wade|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=30 June 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918005311/http://astronautix.com/craft/kh3.htm|archive-date=18 September 2010}} 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|access-date=30 June 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071003082210/http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/Programs/corona.html|archive-date=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 at the end of the mission. The Satellite Recovery Vehicle which was to have been used by Discoverer 37 was SRV-571.

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