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Atlas-Agena
The Atlas-Agena 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 launched 109 times between 1960 and 1978. It was used to launch the first five Mariner uncrewed probes to the planets Venus and Mars, and the Ranger and Lunar Orbiter uncrewed probes to the Moon. The upper stage was also used as an uncrewed orbital target vehicle for the Gemini crewed spacecraft to practice rendezvous and docking. However, the launch vehicle family was originally developed for the Air Force and most of its launches were classified DoD payloads.
The Atlas-Agena was a two-and-a-half-stage rocket, with a stage-and-a-half Atlas missile as the first stage, and an RM-81 Agena second stage. Initially, Atlas D missiles, redesignated as the LV-3, were used as the first stage. These were later replaced by the standardized Atlas SLV-3, and its derivatives, the SLV-3A and B. The final Atlas-Agena launch used an Atlas E/F.
Launches were conducted from Launch Complexes 12, 13 and 14 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and Launch Complexes 1 and 2 at Point Arguello (now SLC-3 and 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base).
The earliest Agena variant was the Agena A in 1959–60, which did not have restart capability, mostly flown on Thor-Agena boosters for the Discoverer program.
The early Atlas LV3 Agena A variant was flown four times for the Midas and Samos programs (Midas 1, Midas 2, Samos 1, and Samos 2), with two failures.
Late in 1960, Lockheed introduced the uprated Agena B stage which was restartable and had longer propellant tanks for more burn time. It first flew on the Thor and did not make its maiden voyage on an Atlas for months, when Midas 3 launched on July 12, 1961.
The Atlas LV-3 Agena B was used between 1961 and 1965 for a variety of NASA and DoD programs, including Ranger, Mariner, Samos, and Midas but proved an unreliable, with only 21 successes in 28 flights.
The Atlas SLV-3 Agena-B was a specific variant used to launch the OGO-3 satellite in 1966.
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Atlas-Agena
The Atlas-Agena 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 launched 109 times between 1960 and 1978. It was used to launch the first five Mariner uncrewed probes to the planets Venus and Mars, and the Ranger and Lunar Orbiter uncrewed probes to the Moon. The upper stage was also used as an uncrewed orbital target vehicle for the Gemini crewed spacecraft to practice rendezvous and docking. However, the launch vehicle family was originally developed for the Air Force and most of its launches were classified DoD payloads.
The Atlas-Agena was a two-and-a-half-stage rocket, with a stage-and-a-half Atlas missile as the first stage, and an RM-81 Agena second stage. Initially, Atlas D missiles, redesignated as the LV-3, were used as the first stage. These were later replaced by the standardized Atlas SLV-3, and its derivatives, the SLV-3A and B. The final Atlas-Agena launch used an Atlas E/F.
Launches were conducted from Launch Complexes 12, 13 and 14 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and Launch Complexes 1 and 2 at Point Arguello (now SLC-3 and 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base).
The earliest Agena variant was the Agena A in 1959–60, which did not have restart capability, mostly flown on Thor-Agena boosters for the Discoverer program.
The early Atlas LV3 Agena A variant was flown four times for the Midas and Samos programs (Midas 1, Midas 2, Samos 1, and Samos 2), with two failures.
Late in 1960, Lockheed introduced the uprated Agena B stage which was restartable and had longer propellant tanks for more burn time. It first flew on the Thor and did not make its maiden voyage on an Atlas for months, when Midas 3 launched on July 12, 1961.
The Atlas LV-3 Agena B was used between 1961 and 1965 for a variety of NASA and DoD programs, including Ranger, Mariner, Samos, and Midas but proved an unreliable, with only 21 successes in 28 flights.
The Atlas SLV-3 Agena-B was a specific variant used to launch the OGO-3 satellite in 1966.
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