Ehricke also opined that Atlas would need a second-stage rocket in order to be useful for deeper space missions, so in 1956 he and a small group of Convair engineers began to study the problem in earnest. Ehricke, who had worked with Wernher von Braun at Peenemünde and later at Red Stone Arsenal, concluded that Atlas, based on the data, was capable of boosting itself into orbit, which it later did with the Project SCORE satellite. (Piction ID: 48063106 - Catalog: 14_025440)īack in 1954, Convair hired an ex-German V-2 rocket engineer named Krafft Arnold Ehricke (1917-1984) to perform conceptual studies of Atlas performance. Like Wernher von Braun, Ehricke was an alumnus of Hitler’s V-2 program but today is remembered as the father of the Atlas Centaur, a second-stage vehicle so versatile, reliable and efficient that variants are still in use 55 years later.
This carefully staged publicity shot was probably conceived as PR “damage control” in the wake of Russia’s shocking success with Sputnik I, the world’s first artificial satellite, less than one week before this photo was taken. “See, we’re doing it, too!” Poker-faced rocketeer Krafft Ehricke with futuristic GD Astronautics satellite models on 10 October 1957. After Agena’s retirement in the summer of 1978, all Atlases were subsequently flown with the Centaur upper stage. It addition to the first five Mariner unmanned probes to Venus and Mars, the first interplanetary fly-bys, and the Ranger and Lunar Orbiter unmanned moon probes, Atlas Agena was used even more extensively for launching classified DoD payloads. Atlas Agena was launched 109 times during its 18-year career, with an 85 percent success rate. Agena sat atop an Atlas D lower “stage and a half” configuration and, combined, provided two and a half stages of rocket power. Mission failed.First launched in 1960, Agena was an expendable upper-stage launch system (ELS) developed by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. KH-2 film capsule recovered 2.1 days later. Capsule recovered from water on orbit 32. Officially: Spacecraft Engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A). Loss of satellite control gas caused unstable condition. KH-5 film capsule boosted into higher orbit, decayed 5/23/62. Payload: KH-5 s/n 9016A / Agena B 1106 / Capsule SRV 521. Tested IR sensors for Midas program did not carry camera or film capsule. Officially: Spacecraft Engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A).ĭecay Date. Program malfunctioned and capsule did not reenter. The spacecraft carried a Project MIDAS test payload.
A Thor/Agena B vehicle successfully launched Discoverer XIX into a polar orbit from Vandenberg AFB. First successful mission employing KH-2 camera system. KH-2 film capsule recovered 3.1 days later. The tissues had been exposed to an unexpectedly heavy dose of radiation for more than 50 hours in flight. On December 2, the Air Force revealed that exceedingly valuable information had been obtained from human tissues carried by Discoverer 17 (the cover story for the mission). Film separated before any camera operation leaving only 1.7 ft of film in capsule. KH-1 film capsule recovered 2.1 days later. The second Thor/Agena B to be launched from Vandenberg AFB was the first successful flight of the more advanced Lockheed Agena B upper stage. LEO Payload: 400 kg (880 lb) to a 1,000 km orbit at 100.00 degrees. Two stage vehicle consisting of 1 x Thor DM-21 + 1 x Agena BĪKA: SLV-2. Home - Search - Browse - Alphabetic Index: 0- 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9Ī- B- C- D- E- F- G- H- I- J- K- L- M- N- O- P- Q- R- S- T- U- V- W- X- Y- ZĪmerican orbital launch vehicle.
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