Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
SM-65D Atlas missile 58-220, F. E. Warren AFB. The SM-65D Atlas, or Atlas D, was the first operational version of the Atlas missile and the basis for all Atlas space launchers, debuting in 1959. [26] Atlas D weighed 255,950 lb (116,100 kg) (without payload) and had an empty weight of only 11,894 lb (5,395 kg); the other 95.35% was propellant.
The SM-65F Atlas, or Atlas-F, was the final operational variant of the Atlas missile, only differing from the Atlas E in the launch facility and guidance package used. It first flew on 8 August 1961, [ 1 ] and was deployed as an operational ICBM between 1961 and 1966.
Missile 14D launched from LC-13 on August 11, at which point the Air Force somewhat reluctantly declared the Atlas to be operational as a missile system. On September 9, Missile 12D launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, marking the first Atlas flight from the West Coast.
SM-65F Atlas, Operational Suitability Test Facility for Atlas F missiles. Seven Atlas research and development launches occurred August 1962 – January 1965 and the site was then inactivated. [7] [12] BOM1, BOM2 Used for CIM-10 Bomarc interceptors. Two Bomarc launchers with a third support building between the two shelters.
577th Atlas missile sites. The squadron was redesignated the 577th Strategic Missile Squadron and organized in June 1961 at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where it was assigned to the 11th Bombardment Wing. [d] [1] In August 1962, the squadron was the first to place an Atlas F missile on alert status.
The Atlas-Centaur was an expendable launch system derived from the SM-65D Atlas missile. [citation needed] Launches were conducted from two pads of the Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The Atlas' engines were upgraded and the structure reinforced for the large upper stage, along with elongated propellant tanks.
The first operational launch of an Atlas missile by the Strategic Air Command was conducted from 576-A-2 by the 576th Strategic Missile Squadron on September 9, 1959. It impacted 4,480 nautical miles (8,300 km) away, near Wake Island .
The Operational Silo Test Facility (OSTF) is a former United States Air Force intercontinental ballistic missile launch facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, United States. It was a developmental launch site for the silo-based Titan and Atlas missile series. [1] The site was originally constructed for Titan I tests. On 12 ...