Atlas agena payload series#

Nineteen were launched, of which two failed. The Atlas E/F was used with a Trident upper stage, between 19, for suborbital tests of re-entry vehicles. Another launch failed due to stage separation occurring at the correct time despite the first stage burn being extended by fifty seconds to resolve an underperformance issue, the end result of which was the upper stage separating and igniting while the first stage was still firing. The RM-20 launch failed due to damage to the first stage, caused by the explosion of residual fuel in the flame trench during launch. With the Star-37 upper stage, the rocket could place 1,100 kg (2,400 lb) into a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). A Star-17A was used in the launch of the RM-20 spacecraft on 12 April 1975, giving the rocket a LEO payload of 725 kg (1,598 lb), while the Star-37S-ISS was used to launch nineteen Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Television Infrared Observation Satellite ( TIROS) weather satellites between 19. The Star was used to propel most of the other upper stages used on the Atlas E/F, however it was also used in its own right on several launches. The first eight used the SGS-1, which could place 455 kg (1,003 lb) of payload into a medium Earth transfer orbit, whereas the last four used the more powerful SGS-2. The SGS upper stage, which consisted of two series-burning solid rocket motors, was used on twelve Atlas E/F launches, with early GPS satellites. The upper stage gave the vehicle a payload capacity of 295 kg (650 lb) to a medium Earth transfer orbit.

The PTS upper stage was used to launch the NTS-1 satellite on 14 July 1974. In this configuration, the rocket could place 363 kg (800 lb) into LEO. Two of the launches also carried secondary payloads. Three of the launches carried two OV1 satellites, and one carried three. The Atlas E/F was used between 19 to launch four groups of OV1 satellites, using OV1 upper stages. The rocket could place 870 kilograms (1,920 lb) into low Earth orbit.

The OIS upper stage was used for two Atlas E/F launches in 19, with the Solwind and Geosat spacecraft respectively. This configuration had a maximum payload capacity of 800 kg (1,800 lb) to LEO. The fourth of these launches failed when one of the booster unit engines shut down early. Atlas E/F-MSD Ītlas E/F rockets with MSD upper stages were used for four launches, with NOSS naval reconnaissance satellites between 19. The rocket had a payload capacity of 950 kg (2,090 lb) to low Earth orbit. Atlas E/F-Burner Ī Burner-2 upper stage was used on an Atlas E/F to launch the Radsat and Radcat satellites on 2 October 1972. The rocket was capable of placing 210 kg (460 lb) of payload into low Earth orbit. Atlas E/F-Altair Īn Atlas E/F with an Altair-3A upper stage was used to launch three Stacksat spacecraft on 11 April 1990. Previous Atlas-Agena launches were launched on Atlas D or Atlas SLV-3 first stages, but the final Atlas-Agena used an Atlas E/F. This was the final flight of the Atlas-Agena. The infrared payload, nevertheless, operated successfully for 96 orbits and detected one American missile launched within its field of view, as well as Soviet missile launch activity, before a power failure terminated the mission.An RM-81 Agena upper stage was used on a former Atlas-F, to launch the Seasat satellite on 27 June 1978. MIDAS 9 achieved the desired 2000 nm orbit, but one of the two Agena solar arrays did not extend. Two deployable solar arrays were mounted on the aft equipment rack of the Agena-B to provide power.

The Agena-B upper stage of the Atlas-LV3 Agena-B launch vehicle was used as the spacecraft bus and provided power and attitude control to the MIDAS payload.

Atlas agena payload series#

The basic spacecraft remained unchanged from the Series II, except for reliability upgrades. The 2.7-micron system provided both spectral and spatial background rejection, and emphasized boost phase detection of missiles in the 'Atlas class.' The telescope rotated on its spin table at 6 rpm, like its Baird-Atomic predecessor. The detector array on the surface of the focal-plane assembly contained 184 lead sulfide detectors arranged in eight vertical columns of 23 detectors each which provided complete vertical coverage of a 24-degree 58-minute field of view. It featured a Bouwers concentric telescope with an 8-inch aperture. The Series III carried an improved Aerojet-General infrared payload. The last of those missions was launched on 6 April 1978. As noted earlier, the Test Group's SLV-III Division supported classified ATLAS/AGENA missions from Complex 13 during the 1970s. The MIDAS Series 3 (Military Defense Alarm System) satellites, MIDAS 6, 7, 8, and 9, were the third development models for the MIDAS early warning system. The combined weight of the ATLAS/AGENA (minus payload) was approximately 292,000 pounds.