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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. [1] 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 ...
- 26 February 1960
- 109
- 2½
Length: 99 feet. Diameter: 10 feet. Date of First Cape Canaveral Launch: February 26, 1960. Date of Final Cape Canaveral Launch: May 24, 1960. Number of Cape Canaveral Launches: 2. 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.
It was used as an upper stage on the Atlas, Thor, Thorad and Titan IIIB rockets, and considered for others including the Space Shuttle [2] and Atlas V. A total of 365 Agena rockets were launched between February 28, 1959 [3] and February 1987.
- United States
- 248 inches (6.3 m)
- 60 inches (1.5 m)
- Lockheed Corporation
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 fly by another planet. Each of the Agena target vehicles used for the later space rendezvous practice missions of Gemini was launched on an Atlas rocket.
- December 17, 1957; 65 years ago
- 1957–2010s (decade)
Mar 3, 2016 · The Agena lifted off at 10 a.m. EST from Launch Pad 14 at the Cape atop an Atlas rocket. An hour and 41 minutes later, Gemini VIII was boosted by a Titan II from Pad 19 just north of the Atlas launch complex. The successful countdown brought high praise from Kennedy Director Kurt Debus.
Atlas was used to launch heavily modified Agena stages, known as Agena Target Vehicles (ATV), to serve as docking targets for orbiting Gemini spacecraft.
By Cliff Lethbridge. Atlas-Agena B Launch, Photo Courtesy NASA. Classification: Space Launch Vehicle. Length: 98 feet. Diameter: 10 feet. Date of First Cape Canaveral Launch: August 23, 1961. Date of Final Cape Canaveral Launch: June 6, 1966. Number of Cape Canaveral Launches: 12.
