The sign accompanying the Atlas. It reads
NASA Atlas
America's first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), the Air Force's
Atlas rocket (Series-A) was first launched successfully in December, 1955. In
August, 1958 a Series-B Atlas was launched, achieving a range of 4,022km (2,500
mi). Originally designed as an extremely powerful weapon transport, the Atlas
was selected by NASA for launching manned and unmanned spacecraft into Earth
orbit. In February, 1962 John Glenn was launched aboard a Mercury-Atlas vehicle (shown
in photo), becoming the American to orbit Earth. The rocket launched three
more Mercury astronauts: Carpenter (May, 1962), Schirra
(October, 1962), and Cooper (May, 1963). The Atlas could achieve Earth orbit
in part because of its lightweight, dime-thin aluminum airframe, which is
always kept pressurized. Beginning in 1962
and on through the early 1970s, Atlas-Agena vehicles (added Agena upper stage) launched Ranger and Lunar Orbiter
probes while Atlas-Centaur
launched Surveyor (moon)
and Mariner (Venus) probes.
Weight: 93.5ft (28.5m) |
Contractors: |
Weight: 260,000lbs (1,157,000N) |
Convair Corporation (first stage) |
Thrust: 367,000lbs (1,630,000N) |
Rocketdyne Div., North American Aviation (propulsion) |
Propellant: liquid oxygen and kerosene |
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation (Mercury spacecraft) |
|
Lockheed Missiles and Space Company (Agena upper stage) |
|
General Dynamics (Centaur upper stage) |
Of course, the "pound" is the Imperial measurement both for mass (lbm) and
force (lbf) while the kilogram (kg) is the metric unit of mass and the newton
(N) is the metric unit for force. So, while it's appropriate to convert
pounds-force to newtons for thrust, the appropriate conversion for 260,000
pounds-mass would be to 117,934 kg.
Strictly speaking, the same company manufactured both the Atlas first stage and
the Centaur upper stage; the two stages were designed by basically the same
design team.
Things can get confused due to Convair's history:
the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation (which manufactured, among other planes,
the PBY Catalina and the B-24 Liberator)
was eventually bought by Vultee Aircraft Corporation, becoming the Consolidated
Vultee Aircraft Corporation, later shortened to "Convair." Convair itself was
bought by General Dynamics.
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