АҚШ-тың барлау спутнигі KH-5 ARGON сериясы

Series of reconnaissance satellites produced by the United States

KH 5 ARGON was a series of reconnaissance satellites produced by the United States from February 1961 to August 1964. The KH 5 operated similarly to the CORONA series of satellites, as it ejected a canister of photographic film. At least 12 missions were attempted, but at least 7 resulted in failure. The satellite was manufactured by Lockheed. Launches used Thor Agena launch vehicles flying from Vandenberg Air Force Base, with the payload being integrated into the Agena.

Different versions of the satellite varied in mass from At least two missions deployed ELINT subsatellites. Ground resolution for the satellite was , with a swath of The onboard camera had a focal length of 76 mm. The purpose of the system, which produced relatively low resolution images compared to other spy satellites, was to provide imagery for cartography purposes. This was one of the tasks that had originally been planned for the SAMOS series of satellites equipped with the (quickly cancelled) E 4 cameras. Each satellite took photographs for less than a week before returning its film. The satellite was in use during the same period as the KH 2 to KH 4A CORONA and the KH 6 LANYARD satellites. Later satellites were the KH 4B and KH 7 GAMBIT. Images from three of the successful missions returned the first images of Antarctica from space.

Discoverer 20 (KH 5 9014A), was a USAF photographic reconnaissance satellite under the supervision of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Discoverer 20 was the first KH 5 ARGON satellite to be launched. The launch occurred at 20:24:00 GMT on 17 February 1961. A Thor DM 21 Agena B launch vehicle was used, flying from LC 75 3 4 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base. It was assigned the Harvard designation 1961 Epsilon 1. Discoverer 20 was operated in an Earth orbit, with a perigee of , an apogee of , 80.91° of inclination, and a period of 95.81 minutes. The satellite was equipped with a camera with a focal length of 76 mm, which had a resolution of Images were recorded onto 127 mm film, and were to have been returned in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle (SRV) before the satellite ceased operations. The satellite weighed Recovery of the capsule was not attempted due to a system malfunction, and thus the scientific experiment data obtained were limited. Discoverer 20 decayed on 28 July 1962.

Name Launch Date NSSDC ID Alt Name Alt Name Mass (kg) Decay Date NotesKH 5 9014A 1961 02 17 1961 005A Discoverer 20 1961 Epsillon 1 1110 1962 07 28 Film capsule not ejected. KH 5 9016A1961 04 081961 011ADiscoverer 231961 Lambda 111501962 04 16Film capsule ejected into wrong orbit, not recovered. KH 5 9018A 1961 06 08DISC24Discoverer 241961 F051150 Failed to orbit. KH 5 9020A1961 07 21DISC27Discoverer 271961 F071150 Failed to orbit. KH 5 9034A1962 05 151962 018AFTV 11261962 Sigma11501962 06 20Successful. KH 5 9042A1962 09 011962 044AFTV 11321962 A Upsillon11501962 10 01Film capsule sank. KH 5 9046A1962 10 091962 053AFTV 11341962 B Epsillon15001962 10 17Successful. KH 5 9055A1963 04 261963 004XOPS 10081963 F071150 Failed to orbit. KH 5 9058A1963 08 291963 035AOPS 156110001963 09 30Successful; deployed ELINT subsatellite. KH 5 9059A1963 10 29 1963 042AOPS 243715001963 11 29Successful; deployed ELINT subsatellite. KH 5 9065A1964 06 131964 030AOPS 323615001964 07 14Successful. KH 5 9066A1964 08 211964 048AOPS 273915001964 09 20Successful.