FTV-1132, also known as the Corona 9042A, was an American area survey optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1962. It was a KH-5 Argon satellite, based on an Agena-B.[1] The satellite operated successfully, but its film capsule was lost during recovery due to a parachute failure.
The launch of FTV-1132 occurred at 20:39 UTC on 1 September 1962. A Thor DM-21 Agena-B rocket was used, flying from Launch Complex 75-3-5 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.[2] Upon successfully reaching orbit, it was assigned the Harvard designation 1962 Alpha Upsilon 1.
FTV-1132 was operated in a low Earth orbit, with a perigee of 288 kilometres (179 mi), an apogee of 670 kilometres (420 mi), 82.8 degrees of inclination, and a period of 94.2 minutes.[3] The satellite had a mass of 1,150 kilograms (2,540 lb),[4] and was equipped with a frame camera with a focal length of 76 millimetres (3.0 in), which had a maximum resolution of 140 metres (460 ft).[5] Images were recorded onto 127-millimeter (5.0 in) film, and returned in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle, before the satellite ceased operations. The Satellite Recovery Vehicle used by FTV-1132 was SRV-600. Following atmospheric reentry, SRV-600 was to have been collected in mid-air by a Fairchild C-119J Flying Boxcar aircraft, but when this was attempted the parachute separated from the spacecraft, causing the capsule to fall into the sea.[4] FTV-1132 decayed from orbit on 26 October 1964.[3]
References
- ^ Krebs, Gunter. "KH-5 Argon (Agena-B based)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ a b McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ a b Wade, Mark. "KH-5". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ "Corona". Mission and Spacecraft Library. NASA. Archived from the original on 3 October 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
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