Engineering:Atlas-Able

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Atlas-Able
Atlas-D Able - Pioneer P-3.jpg
The Atlas-D Able rocket carrying Pioneer P-3, sitting on Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 14.
ManufacturerConvair Division of General Dynamics
Country of originUnited States
Size
Height28 m (91 ft)
Diameter3.05 m (10 ft)
Payload to
Trans-lunar injection
170 kg (370 lb)
Launch history
StatusRetired
Launch sitesLC-12, 13 & 14, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Total launches3
Failures3
First flight26 November 1959
Last flight15 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] and was intended to carry Pioneer P-1, but exploded during a static fire test on 24 September 1959.[4]

The remaining Pioneer 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]

Launches

Launches of Atlas-Able[2][3][5]
Date Serial No. Mission Launch Site Outcome Photo
- Atlas 9C Pioneer P-1 LC-14 Failure. Explosion during a static fire test. Atlas C Able.JPG
26 November 1959 Atlas 20D Pioneer P-3 LC-14 Failure. The Payload fairing broke up at 45 seconds after liftoff, causing loss of the upper stage and payload.[6] Atlas Able 1959 Nov 26.JPG
25 September 1960 Atlas 80D Pioneer P-30 LC-12 Failure. A propellant feed on the second stage had a malfunction.[7] Atlas-Able.jpg
15 December 1960 Atlas 91D Pioneer P-31 LC-12 Failure. Vibration and/or debris from the Able adapter section ruptured the liquid oxygen tank of Atlas, causing an explosion.[8] Atlas Able 1960 Dec 15.jpg

References