Atlas-Able
 An Atlas-Able launching Pioneer P-30 | |
| Function | Expendable launch system |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Convair General Dynamics |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | LC-12, 13 & 14, Cape Canaveral |
| Total launches | 3 |
| Failures | 3 |
| First flight | 26 November 1959 |
| Last flight | 15 December 1960 |
The Atlas-Able was an American expendable launch system derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile. It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets, and was used to launch several Pioneer spacecraft towards the Moon. Of the five Atlas-Able rockets built, two failed during static firings, and the other three failed to reach orbit.[1]
The Atlas-Able was a three-and-a-half-stage rocket, with a stage-and-a-half Atlas missile as the first stage, an Able second stage, and an Altair third stage.[2] The first Atlas-Able used an Atlas C as the first stage,[3] but this exploded during a static fire test on 24 September 1959.[4]
The remaining launches used Atlas D missiles. Launches were conducted from Launch Complexes 12 and 14 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. One launch was planned from Launch Complex 13; this became the second Atlas-Able to be destroyed during a static firing, and hence never launched.[1]
References
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||