First generation photo surveillance; return of camera and film by capsule; program still partially classified, evidently due to embarrassment. Samos satellites carried one of four payloads:

• E-1 frame readout camera with 1.83 m focal length, 30 m ground resolution, and 161 km x 161 km frame coverage;
• E-2 frame readout camera with 0.91 m focal length, 6 m ground resolution, and 27 km x 27 km frame coverage;
• E-5 recoverable panoramic camera with 1.67 m focal length, 1.5 m ground resolution, and 98 km swath length;
• E-6 recoverable panoramic camera with 0.7 m focal length, 2.4 m ground resolution, and 280 km swath width.

Typical orbit: 229 x 354 km, 94.6 deg inclinaton. Mass: 1,900 kg (4,100 lb).

• 1960 October 11 - Samos 1 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. FAILURE: Second stage failure. Mass: 1,845 kg (4,067 lb).
  First generation photo surveillance; radio relay of images; Satellite and Missile Observation Satellite.

• 1961 January 31 - Samos 2 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. Mass: 1,900 kg (4,100 lb). Perigee: 474 km (294 mi). Apogee: 557 km (346 mi). Inclination: 97.40 deg. Period: 95.00 min.
  First generation photo surveillance; radio relay of images; micrometeoroid impact data. Poor results.

• 1961 September 9 - Samos 3 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. FAILURE: Exploded on launch pad. Mass: 1,890 kg (4,160 lb).
  First generation photo surveillance; radio relay of images.

• 1961 November 22 - Samos 4 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. FAILURE: Failure. Mass: 1,860 kg (4,100 lb). Apogee: 200 km (120 mi).
  First generation photo surveillance; return of camera and film by capsule; SAMOS type satellite.

• 1961 December 22 - Samos 5 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3E. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. Mass: 1,860 kg (4,100 lb). Perigee: 187 km (116 mi). Apogee: 310 km (190 mi). Inclination: 89.60 deg. Period: 89.40 min.
  First generation photo surveillance; return of camera and film by capsule; SAMOS type satellite. Reached orbit but failed to deorbit and be recovered. In his memoirs Sergei Khrushchev recounts recovery of what he believed to be a recoverable Samos, except the date given is the winter before tests of this configuration actually started. He relates that a second American capsule was recovered in the spring of 1961. It was equipped with a 30 cm lens and 100�s of metres of 10 cm wide film. Also recovered were a pear-shaped module made of fibreglass, and an inertial orientation system powered by electric motors. It may have been a SAMOS prototype. The capsule was found by tractor drivers, who disassembled it and used the film to wrap around the frame of their outhouse to provide some privacy in the treeless area. Unfortunately this ruined the film, preventing the Russians from developing it and discovering the technical capabilities of the system.

• 1962 March 7 - Samos 6 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3E. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. Mass: 1,860 kg (4,100 lb). Perigee: 236 km (146 mi). Apogee: 686 km (426 mi). Inclination: 90.90 deg. Period: 93.90 min.
  First generation photo surveillance; return of camera and film by capsule; SAMOS type satellite. Failed to return camera and film. Samos film return project cancelled; remaining 4 cameras placed in warehouse and later used on KH-6 Lanyard.

• 1962 April 26 - FTV 2401 RV - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas.
  

• 1962 April 26 - Samos 7 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. Mass: 1,588 kg (3,500 lb).
  Second generation photo surveillance; radio relay of images; Satellite and Missile Observation Satellite. Poor results.

• 1962 June 17 - FTV 2402 RV - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas.
  

• 1962 June 17 - Samos 8 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. Mass: 1,860 kg (4,100 lb). Perigee: 198 km (123 mi). Apogee: 198 km (123 mi). Inclination: 96.20 deg. Period: 88.40 min.
  First generation photo surveillance; radio relay of images; Satellite and Missile Observation Satellite. Poor results.

• 1962 July 18 - FTV 2403 RV - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas.
  

• 1962 July 18 - Samos 9 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. Mass: 1,860 kg (4,100 lb). Perigee: 184 km (114 mi). Apogee: 234 km (145 mi). Inclination: 96.00 deg. Period: 88.60 min.
  First generation photo surveillance; radio relay of images; Satellite and Missile Observation Satellite. Poor results.

• 1962 August 5 - Samos 10 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. Mass: 1,860 kg (4,100 lb). Perigee: 201 km (124 mi). Apogee: 203 km (126 mi). Inclination: 96.20 deg. Period: 88.50 min.
  Second generation photo surveillance; radio relay of images; Satellite and Missile Observation Satellite. Poor results.

• 1962 August 5 - FTV 2404 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas.
  

• 1962 August 5 - FTV 2404 RV - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas.
  

• 1962 November 11 - Samos 11 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. Mass: 1,860 kg (4,100 lb). Perigee: 128 km (79 mi). Apogee: 292 km (181 mi). Inclination: 96.00 deg. Period: 88.70 min.
  Second generation photo surveillance; radio relay of images; Satellite and Missile Observation Satellite. Poor results. SAMOS project cancelled.

• 1962 November 11 - FTV 2405 RV - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3W. Launch Vehicle: Atlas.