February 1959 - February 28, 1959 (Saturday)

February 28, 1959 (Saturday)

• At 1:49 PST, Discoverer 1 was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base to serve as a "north–south polar satellite". The launch was actually the first of the Project CORONA reconnaissance satellites used by the CIA to spy on the Soviet Union. The first launch, and the next 11, were failures. A declassified CIA report concluded that "Today, most people believe the DISCOVERER I landed somewhere near the South Pole."
• Died: Maxwell Anderson, 70, American screenwriter
• Born: Jim Ronayne (footballer), Former Dublin Gaelic footballer.