![]() ![]() The total vehicle was capable of carrying a 5,000-pound payload to low-Earth orbit. The Model 8001 version burned JP-4 jet fuel while the Model 8048 version burned IRFNA/UDMH liquid fuel. The Bell engine was manufactured in two models for the Agena A. It employed a single-start Bell engine producing 15,200 pounds of thrust. The Agena A was 19 feet, 4 inches long and 4 feet, 11 inches wide. An example of such a launch pad failure was the Atlas-Agena B LV-3 launch of 9 September 1961, resulting in the destruction of the Samos 3 satellite payload. Since the Agena A was designed to be tailor manufactured for each flight, it proved impractical and was never used by NASA. ![]() The Agena family of second stages originated in the Atlas-Hustler concept proposed by the U.S. ![]() The Atlas-Agena A was a two-stage rocket using the Atlas D missile as a first stage and the Lockheed Agena A as a second stage. NASA History Program Office, 2018.Atlas-Agena A Launch, Photo Courtesy NASAĭate of First Cape Canaveral Launch: February 26, 1960ĭate of Final Cape Canaveral Launch: May 24, 1960 The Atlas Agena-B is being used by NASA to. Mariner 3 also utilized a new, larger fiberglass payload fairing. The Atlas Agena-B space vehicle is shown here with its Ranger spacecraft payload on the pad at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958-2016. Because of the greater mass, the new Agena D stage would be used instead of the Agena B. Spacecraft and Technology NationĪtlas Agena B (Atlas Agena B no. 14, 1962, returning valuable information about our celestial neighbor. Yes, found my Agena Payload users handbook dated March 1971. It completed the first remote encounter with another planet on Dec. It should be noted the omission was not a hyphen, as sometimes erroneously reported.Įngineers quickly fixed the problems and sent Mariner 2 on its way to Venus on Aug. Also, a software error, the omission of an overbar for the symbol R for radius (R instead of R̅) in an equation, caused the program to not respond as planned. The failure was traced to a guidance antenna on the Atlas. Including Atlas-Centaur-1, Seargent, Little John, Honest John, Nike, Atlas-Agena. Mariner 1 lifted off on July 22, 1962, but its rocket veered off course and the Range Safety Officer had to send a destruct command to the vehicle at T+294.5 seconds. However, the launch vehicle family was originally developed for the Air Force and most of its launches were classified DoD payloads. Titan III Commercial Launch Services - Payload Users Handbook, 1986-11. Overview Destination: Low Earth Orbit Mission: Government/Top Secret Low Earth Orbit Space Launch Complex 14 Cape Canaveral, FL, USA The MIDAS Series 1 (Military Defense Alarm System) satellites, MIDAS 1 and 2, were the first development models for the MIDAS early warning system. The spacecraft included 54,000 components and were designed to maintain contact with Earth for 2,500 hours – an ambitious goal given that the Ranger was designed for only 65 hours of contact. Each carried a modest suite (about 20 pounds or 9 kilograms) of scientific instrumentation but had no imaging capability. Mission Success: 100 Atlas II, IIA, IIAS, IIIA, IIIB, and V Families. The Atlas-Agena was an American expendable launch system derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile. ![]() The three spacecraft were based on the design of the Ranger probes to the Moon (therefore named Mariner R). Consecutive Successful Atlas Centaur Flights: 79. Family: Atlas Configuration: SLV-3A Agena D. The 56-day launch window extended from July 18 to Sept. In formulating a series of early scientific missions to Venus in early 1961, NASA originally planned two missions, P-37 and P-38, to be launched on Atlas Centaur rockets, with each spacecraft weighing about 1,246 pounds (565 kilograms).īy the time NASA formally approved the plan in September 1961, problems with the Atlas Centaur necessitated a switch to the Atlas Agena B with a reduced payload.īy late spring 1962, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), had built two flight-ready spacecraft and one spare, and had shipped the flight units to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station) in Florida to prepare them for launch. Launch vehicle: Atlas Agena B Payload: FTV 2405 Launch date: 1962 Nov 11 Launch site: PA LC1-1 Launch vehicle ID: 128D. The out-of-control spacecraft and booster were destroyed for safety. It should be noted the omission was not a hyphen, as sometimes is erroneously reported. The omission of an overbar for the symbol R for radius (R instead of R̅) in an equation caused the program to not respond as planned. America's first attempt to explore Venus up close was lost to a software glitch. A series of rockets based on Atlas first stages and Agena second stages. ![]()
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