Atlas-Able

Atlas-Able
	An Atlas-Able launching Pioneer P-30
Has use	launch vehicle ;
Manufacturer	Convair Divsion of General Dynamics
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	28 m (91 ft)
Diameter	3.05 m (10 ft)
Payload to; Trans-lunar injection	170 kg (370 lb)
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	LC-12, 13 & 14, Cape Canaveral
Total launches	3
Failure(s)	3
First flight	26 November 1959
Last flight	15 December 1960

The Atlas-Able 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 used to launch several Pioneer spacecraft towards the Moon. Of the five Atlas-Able rockets built, two failed during static firings, and the other three failed to reach orbit.^[1]

The Atlas-Able was a three-and-a-half-stage rocket, with a stage-and-a-half Atlas missile as the first stage, an Able second stage, and an Altair third stage.^[2] The first Atlas-Able used an Atlas C as the first stage,^[3] but this exploded during a static fire test on 24 September 1959.^[4]

The remaining launches used Atlas D missiles. Launches were conducted from Launch Complexes 12 and 14 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. One launch was planned from Launch Complex 13; this became the second Atlas-Able to be destroyed during a static firing, and hence never launched.^[1]

Launches[]

Launches of Atlas-Able^[5]
Number	Miission	Orbit	Launch Site	Outcome
1	Pioneer P-3	TLI	LC-14	Failure
1	The Payload fairing broke up at 45 seconds after liftoff, causing loss of the upper stage and payload.^[6]
2	Pioneer P-30	TLI	LC-12	Failure
2	A propellant feed on the second stage had a malfunction.^[7]
3	Pioneer P-31	TLI	LC-12	Failure
3	Vibration and/or debris from the Able adapter section ruptured the liquid oxygen tank of Atlas, causing an explosion.^[8]

References[]

^ ^a ^b Encyclopedia Astronautica - Atlas
^ Gunter's Space Page - Atlas-D Able
^ Gunter's Space Page - Atlas-C Able
^ Space Review, The Pioneer lunar orbiters: a forgotten failure, by Andrew J. LePage, Monday, December 13, 2010
^ "Atlas-Able". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
^ "Atlas-D Able | Pioneer P-3". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
^ "Atlas-D Able | Pioneer P-30". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
^ "Atlas-D Able | Pioneer P-31". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2022-02-18.

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[EA-1] Encyclopedia Astronautica - Atlas

[2] Gunter's Space Page - Atlas-D Able

[3] Gunter's Space Page - Atlas-C Able

[4] Space Review, The Pioneer lunar orbiters: a forgotten failure, by Andrew J. LePage, Monday, December 13, 2010

[5] "Atlas-Able". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2022-02-18.

[6] "Atlas-D Able | Pioneer P-3". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2022-02-18.

[7] "Atlas-D Able | Pioneer P-30". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2022-02-18.

[8] "Atlas-D Able | Pioneer P-31". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2022-02-18.

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v t Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara A5 Antares 230+ Ariane 5 Atlas V Ceres-1 Delta IV Heavy Electron Epsilon Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha^† GSLV Mk II Mk III H-IIA Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11^† Kaituozhe 2 LauncherOne Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 7 7A 8 11 Minotaur I IV V C Nuri^† OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qased Rocket 3 Shavit 2 Simorgh^† Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v Unha Vega Zenit 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque-1^†
In development	Amur Angara 1.2 Ariane 6 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Eris Firefly Beta H3 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 921 rocket 9 Miura 5 Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Red Dwarf SLS Block 1 Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 SSLV Starship Terran 1 R Vega C E Vulcan Zero Zhuque-2 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 Ariane 1 2 3 4 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV Diamant Dnepr Energia Europa^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos 1 2I 3 3M Lambda 4S Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout Shavit original Shavit 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Thor Able Ablestar Agena Burner Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol ^† indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)

v t Orbital launch systems developed in the United States
Active	Antares 230+ Atlas V Delta IV Heavy Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha LauncherOne Minotaur I IV V C Pegasus XL Astra Rocket 3
In development	Firefly Beta New Glenn Red Dwarf RS1 SLS Block 1 Block 1B Block 2 Starship Terran 1 R Vulcan
Retired	Antares 110/120/130/230 Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able Agena Centaur Conestoga Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" H-I* Juno I Juno II N-I* N-II* Pilot Saturn I IB V Scout Space Shuttle SPARK Sparta Thor Able Ablestar Agena Burner Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Vanguard
* - Japanese projects using US rockets or stages ** - uses Russian engines

Size
An Atlas-Able launching Pioneer P-30
Has use	launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Convair Divsion of General Dynamics
Country of origin	United States
Height	28 m (91 ft)
Diameter	3.05 m (10 ft)
Payload to Trans-lunar injection	170 kg (370 lb)
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	LC-12, 13 & 14, Cape Canaveral
Total launches	3
Failure(s)	3
First flight	26 November 1959
Last flight	15 December 1960