Discoverer 16, also known as Corona 9011, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure on 26 October 1960.
A Thor DM-21 Agena-B rocket was used, flying from Launch Complex 75-3-4 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.
[3][4] Discoverer 16 was intended to have been operated in a low Earth orbit.
It had a mass of 1,091 kilograms (2,405 lb),[5] 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).
[4] It was to have recorded images onto 70-millimeter (2.8 in) film, which would have been returned in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle.