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| A Discoverer 3 launch cover from "Goldcraft", postmarked at Vandenberg Air Force Base with a machine cancel on June 3, 1959. |
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)
