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Atlas Missiles
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The Atlas family of launch vehicles was named after the mighty god of Greek mythology,
who supported the world on its shoulders. Unlike other US missiles, it was not developed by
Wernher von Braun and the German scientists. Rather it was independently developed by the US Air
Force as America's first ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile). It's cold war mission was to
deter a nuclear attack. It's first successful flight was in December of 1957. By 1965,
over 1,000 Atlas missiles were deployed in underground silos throughout the northern part
of the United States. Each carried a nuclear warhead aimed at a military target in
the Soviet Union. The original Atlas was 90 feet long and 12 feet in diameter. It used liquid-propellant. Its
first design was called a stage and a half because it had a single main engine with side by
side booster engines, all powered by liquid oxygen and kerosene. All three engines fired at
launch, but the two boosters dropped away during the first stage burn. This Atlas had a takeoff thrust of
350,000 pounds. Not long after it became operational, the well-proven design was brought into NASA service. It's most significant mission was part of Project Mercury. The mission goal was to put a human into orbit, study his or her physical and mental reaction to the environment, and return them safely. This was accomplished on Feb. 20, 1962, when the Atlas-launched Friendship 7 carried John Glenn into space, making him the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth. The Atlas Mercury was unique in that a special safety tower and rocket was mounted on top of the capsule to permit it break away from the main missile if a problem developed during launch. |
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| Although the Atlas played an important role in the manned-launch program, that role was
taken over by the Titan II in 1965. New, more powerful versions of the Atlas were soon
developed, including the E and F models. Soon, powerful second stages were added. First the
Agena and later the Centaur. All were used to launch satellites. The end of the cold war resulted in the US dismantling its nuclear deterrent force. The old Atlas worriers had never seen combat and were retired from military service. Today, equipped with Centaur IIAS second stages, they provide an inexpensive way to place communications and other satellites in orbit. The Atlas IIAs, can place 8,150 pounds in geosynchronous orbit and 19,050 pounds into low Earth orbit. |