A Thor DM-21 Agena-B rocket was used, flying from Launch Complex 75-3-5 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.

[2] Upon successfully reaching orbit, it was assigned the Harvard designation 1960 Tau 1.

Discoverer 19 was operated in a low Earth orbit, with a perigee of 206 kilometres (128 mi), an apogee of 578 kilometres (359 mi), 83.4 degrees of inclination, and a period of 92.4 minutes.

[3] The satellite had a mass of 1,060 kilograms (2,340 lb),[4] and was used to demonstrate technology for the Midas programme,[5] including infrared sensors.

It remained in orbit until 23 January 1961,[3] when it decayed and reentered the atmosphere.