Trajectory & orbital insertion
Ascent path is a representation — true ascent telemetry isn’t public.
Provider
United States Air Force
Provider type
Government
Orbit
PO
Mission type
Government/Top Secret
Launch site
United States of America
Date
Mon, 13 Apr 1959 21:18:39 GMT
Orbital launch #
#36 ever
Mission
Discoverer II successfully reached orbit and took photos of Earth. However, when the capsule with the data was ejected in order to re-enter the atmosphere there was a timer malfunction meaning it seperated too early and landed over the North Pole rather than the intended target of Hawaii. The capsule was never recovered.