Atlas agena payload8/6/2023 In place of the Shuttle NASA gets a more balanced "manned spaceflight package" I wrote once an alternate history where the Shuttle gets cancelled by Nixon OMB and PSAC late 1971.įletcher resigns in anger and George Low gets the job. STS was supposed to be the ultimate standardization, but the Air Force began to develop Titan 4 even before the Challenger failure.Ĭompeting mission requirements continue to defy launch vehicle standardization even to the present day, with NSSL's Medium and Heavy requirements, NASA's crew and cargo launch needs, and commercial satellite goals a prime example. Meanwhile, NASA's Atlas-Centaur wasn't ready.Īfter the initial "interim" efforts, the Air Force strove to attain standardization with Titan 3B/3C/3D, but then NASA created its own custom adaptation with Titan 3E/Centaur. Delta wasn't adequate for the Gemini missions for a variety of reasons, so Atlas-Agena was used. NASA tagged along, using Agena for some missions, but the Agency developed Thor-Delta for East Coast launches and Thor-Agena only flew from the West Coast. Each improvement added time on orbit and more miles of film. Titan 3B-Agena was developed for the follow-on Gambit-3, replacing Atlas-Agena. Thor-Agena evolved into the more capable TAT-Agena and finally Thorad-Agena.Ītlas-Agena was the obvious next step, ultimately for Gambit. Thor was ready before Atlas, so Thor-Agena was selected for Corona. Nineteen were launched, of which two failed.I think that part of it was timing, and the biggest drivers were the massive photo spysat programs. ![]() The Atlas E/F was used with a Trident upper stage, between 19, for suborbital tests of re-entry vehicles. Another launch failed due to stage separation occurring at the correct time despite the first stage burn being extended by fifty seconds to resolve an underperformance issue, the end result of which was the upper stage separating and igniting while the first stage was still firing. The RM-20 launch failed due to damage to the first stage, caused by the explosion of residual fuel in the flame trench during launch. With the Star-37 upper stage, the rocket could place 1,100 kg (2,400 lb) into a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). A Star-17A was used in the launch of the RM-20 spacecraft on 12 April 1975, giving the rocket a LEO payload of 725 kg (1,598 lb), while the Star-37S-ISS was used to launch nineteen Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Television Infrared Observation Satellite ( TIROS) weather satellites between 19. The Star was used to propel most of the other upper stages used on the Atlas E/F, however it was also used in its own right on several launches. The first eight used the SGS-1, which could place 455 kg (1,003 lb) of payload into a medium Earth transfer orbit, whereas the last four used the more powerful SGS-2. The SGS upper stage, which consisted of two series-burning solid rocket motors, was used on twelve Atlas E/F launches, with early GPS satellites. The upper stage gave the vehicle a payload capacity of 295 kg (650 lb) to a medium Earth transfer orbit. The PTS upper stage was used to launch the NTS-1 satellite on 14 July 1974. In this configuration, the rocket could place 363 kg (800 lb) into LEO. Two of the launches also carried secondary payloads. Three of the launches carried two OV1 satellites, and one carried three. The Atlas E/F was used between 19 to launch four groups of OV1 satellites, using OV1 upper stages. The rocket could place 870 kilograms (1,920 lb) into low Earth orbit. The OIS upper stage was used for two Atlas E/F launches in 19, with the Solwind and Geosat spacecraft respectively. This configuration had a maximum payload capacity of 800 kg (1,800 lb) to LEO. The fourth of these launches failed when one of the booster unit engines shut down early. Atlas E/F-MSD Ītlas E/F rockets with MSD upper stages were used for four launches, with NOSS naval reconnaissance satellites between 19. ![]() The rocket had a payload capacity of 950 kg (2,090 lb) to low Earth orbit. Atlas E/F-Burner Ī Burner-2 upper stage was used on an Atlas E/F to launch the Radsat and Radcat satellites on 2 October 1972. ![]() The rocket was capable of placing 210 kg (460 lb) of payload into low Earth orbit. Atlas E/F-Altair Īn Atlas E/F with an Altair-3A upper stage was used to launch three Stacksat spacecraft on 11 April 1990. Previous Atlas-Agena launches were launched on Atlas D or Atlas SLV-3 first stages, but the final Atlas-Agena used an Atlas E/F. This was the final flight of the Atlas-Agena. An RM-81 Agena upper stage was used on a former Atlas-F, to launch the Seasat satellite on 27 June 1978.
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