KH-5 Argon

KH-5 ARGON was a series of reconnaissance satellites produced by the United States from February 1961 to August 1964.

The KH-5 operated similarly to the CORONA series of satellites, as it ejected a canister of photographic film.

This was one of the tasks that had originally been planned for the SAMOS series of satellites equipped with the (quickly cancelled) E-4 cameras.

A Thor DM-21 Agena-B launch vehicle was used, flying from LC 75-3-4 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Recovery of the capsule was not attempted due to a system malfunction, and thus the scientific experiment data obtained were limited.