Thor-Able
The Thor-Able was an American expendable launch system and sounding rocket used for a series of re-entry vehicle tests and satellite launches between 1958 and 1960.
Thor-Able on display at the Air Force Space & Missile Museum | |
| Function | Expendable launch system Sounding rocket |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Douglas/Aerojet |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Size | |
| Height | 26.9 metres (88 ft) – 27.8 metres (91 ft) |
| Diameter | 2.44 metres (8 ft 0 in) |
| Mass | 51,608 kilograms (113,776 lb) |
| Stages | 2–3 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to 640km LEO | |
| Mass | 120 kilograms (260 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Thor |
| Derivative work | Thor-Ablestar Delta |
| Comparable | Luna |
| Launch history | |
| Launch sites | LC-17A, Canaveral |
| Total launches | 9 suborbital 7 orbital |
| Success(es) | 7 suborbital 3 orbital |
| Failure(s) | 2 suborbital 4 orbital |
| First flight | 24 April 1958 |
| Last flight | 1 April 1960 |
| Type of passengers/cargo | Pioneer Transit Tiros |
| First stage – Thor | |
| Powered by | 1 LR79-7 |
| Maximum thrust | 758.71 kilonewtons (170,560 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 282 seconds (2.77 km/s) |
| Burn time | 165 seconds |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Second stage – Able | |
| Powered by | 1 AJ-10 |
| Maximum thrust | 34.69 kilonewtons (7,800 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 270 seconds (2.6 km/s) |
| Burn time | 115 seconds |
| Propellant | HNO3/UDMH |
| Third stage (optional) – Altair | |
| Powered by | 1 X-248 |
| Maximum thrust | 12.45 kilonewtons (2,800 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 256 seconds (2.51 km/s) |
| Burn time | 38 seconds |
| Propellant | Solid |
It was a two-stage rocket, consisting of a Thor IRBM as a first stage and a Vanguard-derived Able second stage. On some flights, an Altair solid rocket motor was added as a third stage. It was a member of the Thor family and an early predecessor of the Delta.
The Able upper stage name represents its place as the first in the series, from the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet.
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