| previous_mission = [[Discoverer 28]]
| previous_mission = [[Discoverer 28]]
| next_mission = [[Discoverer 30]]
| next_mission = [[Discoverer 30]]
| programme2 = [[Corona (satellite)|KH-3 Series]]
| previous_mission2 =
| next_mission2 =
}}
}}
[[File:Thor Agena B with Discoverer 29 (Aug. 30, 1961).gif|left|75px|thumb|The launch of Discoverer 29]]
[[File:Thor Agena B with Discoverer 29 (Aug. 30, 1961).gif|left|75px|thumb|The launch of Discoverer 29]]
”’Discoverer 29”’, also known as ”’Corona 9023”’, was an American optical [[reconnaissance satellite]] which was launched in 1961. It was the first [[Corona (satellite)|KH-3 Corona]] satellite, which was based on an [[RM-81 Agena|Agena-B]] rocket.<ref name=”GSP”>{{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|accessdate=28 June 2010}}</ref>
”’Discoverer 29”’, also known as ”’Corona 9023”’, was an American optical [[reconnaissance satellite]] which was launched in 1961. It was the first [[Corona (satellite)|KH-3 Corona]] satellite, which was based on an [[RM-81 Agena|Agena-B]] rocket.<ref name=”GSP”>{{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|accessdate=28 June 2010}}</ref>
American optical reconnaissance satellite
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Discoverer 29, also known as Corona 9023, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1961. It was the first KH-3 Corona satellite, which was based on an Agena-B rocket.[1]
The launch of Discoverer 29 occurred at 20:00 UTC on 30 August 1961. A Thor DM-21 Agena-B rocket was used, flying from Launch Complex 75-3-4 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.[2] Upon successfully reaching orbit, it was assigned the Harvard designation 1961 Psi 1.
Discoverer 29 was operated in a low Earth orbit, with a perigee of 138 kilometres (86 mi), an apogee of 511 kilometres (318 mi), 82 degrees of inclination, and a period of 91 minutes.[3] The satellite had a mass of 1,150 kilograms (2,540 lb),[4] and was equipped with a panoramic camera with a focal length of 61 centimetres (24 in), which had a maximum resolution of 7.6 metres (25 ft).[5] Images were recorded onto 70-millimeter (2.8 in) film, and returned in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle two days after launch, but all of the images returned were found to be out of focus.[4] The Satellite Recovery Vehicle used by Discoverer 29 was SRV-554.[2] Once its images had been returned, Discoverer 29 remained in orbit until it decayed on 9 September 1961.[3]
