Roadking
11-02-2005, 05:12 AM
Four black mice were launched on June 3, 1959, on Discoverer 3, part of the Corona program of U.S. spy satellites, which was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on a Thor Agena A rocket. This was the only Discoverer flight with an animal payload. The mice died when the Agena upper stage fired downward, driving the vehicle into the Pacific Ocean. The first try at launch was scrubbed after the telemetry indicated no sign of activity in the capsule and the first crew of four black mice was found dead. The mouse cages had been sprayed with krylon to cover rough edges, and the mice had found the krylon tastier than their formula and overdosed on it.