| Discoverer 22 | |
| Mission Type: | Optical reconnaissance |
| Operator: | US Air Force/NRO |
| Mission Duration: | Failed to orbit |
| Spacecraft Type: | Corona KH-2 |
| Spacecraft Bus: | Agena-B |
| Manufacturer: | Lockheed |
| Launch Date: | UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Thor DM-21 Agena-B 300 |
| Launch Site: | Vandenberg LC-1 launch pad 75-3-4 |
| Orbit Epoch: | Planned |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
| Apsis: | gee |
| Programme: | Discoverer |
| Previous Mission: | Discoverer 21 |
| Next Mission: | Discoverer 23 |
| Programme2: | Corona KH-2 |
| Previous Mission2: | Corona 9013 |
| Next Mission2: | Corona 9017 |
Discoverer 22, also known as Corona 9015, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1961. It was the fourth of ten Corona KH-2 satellites, based on the Agena-B.[1]
The launch of Discoverer 22 occurred at 20:34:43 UTC on 30 March 1961. A Thor DM-21 Agena-B rocket was used, flying from launch pad 75-3-4 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.[2] Due to a malfunction of the rocket's second stage, it failed to achieve orbit.[3]
Discoverer 22 was to have operated in a low Earth orbit. It had a mass of,[4] and was equipped with a panoramic camera with a focal length of, which had a maximum resolution of .[5] Images were to have been recorded onto 70mm film, and returned in a Satellite Recovery Vehicle. The Satellite Recovery Vehicle carried aboard Discoverer 22 was SRV-509.[4]