The primary goal of the satellites was to replace the U-2 spyplane in surveilling the Sino-Soviet Bloc, determining the disposition and speed of production of Soviet missiles and long-range bombers assess.

The KH-1 payload included the C (for Corona) single, vertical-looking, panoramic camera that scanned back and forth, exposing its film at a right angle to the line of flight.

Discoverers 12 and 13 largely differed from their operational predecessors in that, instead of mounting the "C" (for Corona) surveillance camera, the SRV contained extra telemetry.

After the Agena pitched itself down 60 degrees, the recovery vehicle was ejected by small springs, and the new spin engine, utilizing cold gas, spun the SRV for stability.

[5] Though the SRV was supposed to have been caught in midair, the recovery airplane went off in the wrong direction,[4]: 59  and the capsule splashed down in 610 kilometres (380 mi) NNW of Honolulu in the Pacific Ocean.

[5] Four days later, on 15 Aug, the American flag that Discoverer 13 carried instead of a camera was presented to President Eisenhower, the public celebration reinforcing the Corona program's civilian cover.

Lockheed employees celebrated the successful flight with a party at a hotel in East Palo Alto, California, during which they threw program manager James Plummer into the pool and then jumped in, themselves.