Discoverer 3 "Goldcraft" launch cover postmarked at Vandenberg Air Force Base on June 3, 1959. |
The Space Race was a technological competition between the United States and the Soviet Union in demonstrating superiority in aerospace capabilities, including artificial satellites launches, robotic space probes to the Moon, Venus, and Mars, and human spaceflight in low Earth orbit and ultimately landing on the Moon. This blog features my collection of US and Soviet Union space events on covers and press photos.
1959-06-03 USA Discoverer 3
Discoverer 3 was an American optical reconnaissance satellite launched on June 3, 1959, at 20:09:20 GMT. It was the third of three test flights in the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series and marked the first Discoverer mission to carry live animal passengers. Unfortunately, the mission was lost when its Agena-A booster crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Three black mice were launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, aboard Discoverer 3 as part of this covert operation. They perished when the Atlas upper stage was intentionally fired downward into the Pacific.
(Reference from Discoverer 3)