Pilot 1

Launch data: Designation  F00017 / 58F07 Launch date  25 Jul 1958 Launch site  NOTS DZSB (In, F4D-1) 34N, 120W Launch vehicle  Pilot (NOTS-EV-1) (#1) Mission  Technology Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  2250 / 2400 km Inclination  ° Period   min

Spacecraft data:

Description:

• With a mass of 1.05 kilograms (2.3 pounds) and a diameter of 20 centimeters (8 inches), the doughnut-shaped NOTSNIK satellite is among the smallest orbital payloads ever launched. This battery-powered satellite was constructed at NOTS China Lake facility and carried a single instrument - an infrared "television" scanner. Similar to the units supplied by the Navy for the USAF lunar orbiters, this simple imager was hardly a "television" in the usual sense. A small mirror focused light onto an infrared detector which would use the rotation of the satellite to scan a line in the scene. The forward motion of the satellite itself would then allow a picture to be built one line at a time. While the crude images produced by this system would have little intelligence value, the experienced gained would be valuable in developing more capable follow-on systems.
• The images produced by the satellite would be transmitted to a network of about a half dozen portable MINITRACK stations scattered around the globe. Because of the small size of the satellite, the system would only operate for about three orbits before the batteries were depleted, long enough to verify that orbit had been achieved and attempt to secure some images.
• Since orbital reconnaissance was a touchy subject at the time, NOTSNIK and its mission were kept top secret. Except for those with a need to know, NOTSNIK´s "cover story" was that it was to conduct radiation measurements in support of Project Argus which would assess the effects of nuclear detonations in space. The satellite´s small size and short lifetime made it unlikely that it would be detected by anyone outside the program.

Mission details: