The first KH-8 satellite, Mission 1701, was launched on 1966 Jul 29. It was the 31st flight in the GAMBIT program. The week long test flight was in a low 158 x 250 km orbit, at an inclination of 94 degrees. The launch saw the introduction of the three-stage Titan IIIB Agena D launch vehicle. A single pad at Vandenberg, Space Launch Complex 4-West, was dedicated to the Titan IIIB missions. The pad was previously known as PALC2-3 and had been used for KH-7 GAMBIT launches.
| KH-8 Mission 1701 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 Jul 29 | Launch by Titan IIIB Agena D | V SLC4W | |
| 88.6 158 x 250 x 94.1 | |||
| 1966 Jul 29 | 2354 | 88.66 150 x 266 x 94.1 | |
| 1966 Jul 31 | 2312 | 88.53 157 x 246 x 94.1 | |
| 1966 Aug 3 | 0421 | 88.42 145 x 247 x 94.1 | |
| 1966 Aug 3 | 1440 | 88.32 149 x 233 x 94.1 | |
| 1966 Aug 5 | 2120 | 88.76 151 x 274 x 94.1 | |
| 1966 Aug 6 | Reentered after 7 d | ||