What is Atlas (rocket)?

Information about Atlas (rocket)

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The Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7, carrying astronaut John Glenn, was launched on an Atlas rocket.''
Atlas is a family of U.S. space launch vehicles. The original Atlas missile was designed in the late 1950s. It was a liquid-fuel rocket burning LOX and RP-1 in three engines configured in an unusual "stage-and-a-half" or "Parallel Staging" design: two of its three engines were jettisoned during ascent, but its fuel tanks and other structural elements were retained. Various Atlas II models were launched 63 times between 1991 and 2004. There were only 6 launches of the Atlas III, all between 2000 and 2005. The Atlas V is still in service, with launches planned through 2009.

Atlas family evolution

Original Atlas

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The first successful test launch of an Atlas missile was on December 17, 1957.[1] Approximately 350 Atlas missiles were built. Many were eventually converted to orbital launch vehicles after they were removed from service as missiles.

Early Atlas rockets were also built specifically for non-military uses. On December 18, 1958, An Atlas was used to launch the Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment (SCORE) satellite, which was, "The first prototype of a communications satellite, and the first test of any satellite for direct practical applications."[2][3] Atlas boosters were also used for four manned Project Mercury missions. On February 20, 1962 it launched Friendship 7, which made three earth orbits carrying John Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth. Identical Atlas boosters successfully launched three more manned Mercury orbital missions in 1962-63.

Beginning in 1960 the Agena upper-stage, powered by hypergolic fuel, was used extensively on Atlas launch vehicles. The United States Air Force, NRO and CIA used them to launch SIGINT satellites.[4] NASA used them in the Ranger program to obtain the first close-up images of the surface of the Moon and for Mariner 2, the first spacecraft to flyby another planet. Each of the Agena target vehicles used for space rendezvous missions was launched on an Atlas rocket.

Beginning in 1963 the LH2-fueled Centaur upper stage was also used on dozens of Atlas launches. NASA launched the Surveyor program lunar lander spacecraft and most of the Mars-bound Mariner program spacecraft with Atlas-Centaur launch vehicles.

Atlas II

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Atlas evolution.
Main article: Atlas II
In May 1988, the Air Force chose General Dynamics (now Lockheed-Martin) to develop the Atlas II.

Atlas III

Main article: Atlas III
The Atlas III was used between 2000 and 2005. Atlas III was the first member of the Atlas family to use "normal" staging. Its first stage used a single RD-180 engine.

Atlas V

Main article: Atlas V
The Atlas V is built in Decatur, Alabama by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The first Atlas V launch was on August 21, 2002. In late 2009 an Atlas V is scheduled to launch the Mars Science Laboratory rover mission.

References

1. ^ Rusty Barton. Atlas ICBM Chronology.
2. ^ Project SCORE. Patterson Army Health Clinic.
3. ^ SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment). GlobalSecurity.org.
4. ^ Mark Wade. Atlas/Agena D SLV-3A.
launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space. A launch system includes the launch vehicle, the launch pad and other infrastructure.
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SM-65 Atlas was a missile built by the Convair Division of General Dynamics. Originally designed as an ICBM in the late 1950s, Atlas was the foundation for a family of successful space launch vehicles now built by United Launch Alliance.
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liquid rocket is a rocket with an engine that uses propellants in liquid form. Liquids are desirable because their reasonably high density allows the volume and hence the mass of the tankage to be relatively low, resulting in a high mass ratio.
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Lox is salmon fillet that has been cured. In its most popular form, it is thinly sliced (less than 5 millimeters in thickness) and, typically, served on a bagel, often with cream cheese.
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RP-1 (alternately, Rocket Propellant-1 or Refined Petroleum-1) is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used in the United States as a rocket fuel.
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Atlas II

Launch of an Atlas II rocket. (NASA)
Fact sheet
Function Medium expendable Launch vehicle
Manufacturer Lockheed Martin
Country of origin USA
Size
Height 47.54 m (156 ft)
Diameter 3.
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Atlas III

The maiden flight of the Atlas III
Fact sheet
Function Medium expendable Launch vehicle
Manufacturer Lockheed Martin
Country of origin USA
Size
Height 52.8 m (173.2 ft)
Diameter 3.
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Atlas V

Launch of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 11:43:00 AM GMT August 12, 2005 on the first Atlas V rocket used by NASA. The rocket is in the 401 configuration.
Fact sheet
Function EELV/Medium-heavy launch vehicle
Manufacturer
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SM-65 Atlas was a missile built by the Convair Division of General Dynamics. Originally designed as an ICBM in the late 1950s, Atlas was the foundation for a family of successful space launch vehicles now built by United Launch Alliance.
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December 17 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1920s  1930s  1940s  - 1950s -  1960s  1970s  1980s
1954 1955 1956 - 1957 - 1958 1959 1960

Year 1957 (MCMLVII
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December 18 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1920s  1930s  1940s  - 1950s -  1960s  1970s  1980s
1955 1956 1957 - 1958 - 1959 1960 1961

Year 1958 (MCMLVIII
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Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States. It ran from 1959 through 1963 with the goal of putting a man in orbit around the Earth. The Mercury-Atlas 6 flight on February 20, 1962 was the first Mercury flight to achieve this goal.
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February 20 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a dowry payment.

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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1930s  1940s  1950s  - 1960s -  1970s  1980s  1990s
1959 1960 1961 - 1962 - 1963 1964 1965

Year 1962 (MCMLXII
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In office
December 24, 1974–January 6, 1999
Preceded by
Succeeded by


Born July 18 1921 (1921--) (age 86)
Cambridge, Ohio
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astronaut or cosmonaut (Russian: космона́вт IPA: [kəsmʌˈnaft]
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Agena (designated RM-81 by the USAF) was a rocket upper stage developed by Lockheed for the ill-fated WS-117L US reconnaissance satellite program. It lived on to see extensive use as the upper stage/spacecraft for the Corona spy satellite program and as an upper stage on the Thor,
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A hypergolic propellant is either of the two rocket propellants used in a hypergolic rocket engine, which spontaneously ignite when they come into contact. The two propellants are usually termed the "fuel" and the "oxidizer".
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United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the United States armed forces and one of the seven uniformed services. Previously part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947.
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NRO may stand for:
  • National Reconnaissance Office, an United States intelligence agency whose primary purpose is the maintenance of that country's satellites.
  • National Review Online - web version of the magazine National Review

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Central Intelligence Agency

Seal of the Central Intelligence Agency
Agency overview
Formed 26 July, 1947
Preceding Agency Central Intelligence Group

Headquarters Langley, Virginia, United States

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For other uses, see Sigint (disambiguation).


SIGINT stands for SIGnals INTelligence, which is a intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether between people (i.e.
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The Ranger program was a series of unmanned space missions by the United States in the 1960s whose objective was to obtain the first close-up images of the surface of the Moon.
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Mariner 2 (Mariner-Venus 1962), a space probe to Venus, was the first successful spacecraft in the NASA Mariner program. The Mariner 1 and 2 spacecraft were simplified versions of the Block I spacecraft of the Ranger program.
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Agena target vehicle (ATV) was a spacecraft used by NASA to develop and practice orbital space rendezvous and docking techniques in preparation for the Apollo program lunar missions.
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space rendezvous between two spacecraft, often between a spacecraft and a space station, is an orbital maneuver where the two arrive at the same orbit, make the orbital velocities the same, and bring them together (an approach maneuver, taxiing maneuver); it may or may not include
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Centaur is a rocket stage designed for use as the upper stage of space launch vehicles. Centaur boosts its satellite payload to its final orbit or, in the case of an interplanetary space probe, to escape velocity.
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA logo
Motto: For the Benefit of All[1]

NASA seal
Agency overview
Formed 29 July 1958

Headquarters Washington D.C.

Annual Budget $16.
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