Atlas-Able

Atlas-Able
	The Atlas-D Able rocket carrying Pioneer P-3, sitting on Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 14.
Manufacturer	Convair Division of General Dynamics
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	28 m (91 ft)
Diameter	3.05 m (10 ft)
Stages	3.5
Booster stage – Half Stage
Powered by	2
Maximum thrust	300,000 lbf (1,300 kN); Atlas D
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
First stage – Sustainer
Powered by	1
Maximum thrust	60,000 lbf (270 kN); Atlas D
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
Second stage – Able
Powered by	1 AJ10-37
Maximum thrust	7,800 lbf (35 kN)
Specific impulse	270
Burn time	115
Propellant	Nitric Acid / UDMH
Third stage – Altair
Powered by	1
Propellant	solid
Capacity
Payload to Trans-lunar injection
Mass	168 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] and was intended to carry Pioneer P-1, but exploded during a static fire test on 24 September 1959.^[4]

The remaining Pioneer 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^[2]^[3]
Date	Serial No.	Mission	Launch Site	Outcome
-	Atlas 9C	Pioneer P-1	LC-12	Failure. Explosion during a static fire test.^[5]
26 November 1959	Atlas 20D	Pioneer P-3	LC-14	Failure. The Payload fairing broke up at 45 seconds after liftoff, causing loss of the upper stage and payload.^[6]^: 24
25 September 1960	Atlas 80D	Pioneer P-30	LC-12	Failure.^[7] A propellant feed on the second stage had a malfunction.^[6]^: 26
15 December 1960	Atlas 91D	Pioneer P-31	LC-12	Failure.^[8] Vibration and/or debris from the Able adapter section ruptured the liquid oxygen tank of Atlas, causing an explosion.

References

^ ^a ^b Wade (2008-08-14). "Atlas". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2008-08-14. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
^ ^a ^b Krebs, Gunter D. "Atlas-D Able". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
^ ^a ^b Krebs, Gunter D. "Atlas-C Able". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
^ LePage, Andrew (December 13, 2010). "The Pioneer lunar orbiters: a forgotten failure". The Space Review. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
^ "U.S. Moon Rocket Blows Up in Static Test". Tulare Advance-Register. September 24, 1959. Retrieved July 6, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Siddiqi, A.A. (2002). Deep Space Chronicle (SP-2002-4524) (PDF) (Report). NASA. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
^ "U.S. Fails In Pioneer Shot". Standard-Speaker. September 26, 1960. p. 2. Retrieved July 6, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
^ Finney, John W. (December 17, 1960). "Reach of U.S. Scientists Into Space Still Exceeds Grasp Of Their Rockets". The Bangor Daily News. p. 7. Retrieved July 6, 2025 – via newspapers.com.

[EA-1] Wade (2008-08-14). "Atlas". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2008-08-14. Retrieved 2024-09-19.

[:0-2] Krebs, Gunter D. "Atlas-D Able". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved July 6, 2025.

[:1-3] Krebs, Gunter D. "Atlas-C Able". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved July 6, 2025.

[4] LePage, Andrew (December 13, 2010). "The Pioneer lunar orbiters: a forgotten failure". The Space Review. Retrieved 2024-09-19.

[5] "U.S. Moon Rocket Blows Up in Static Test". Tulare Advance-Register. September 24, 1959. Retrieved July 6, 2025 – via newspapers.com.

[siddiqi2002-6] Siddiqi, A.A. (2002). Deep Space Chronicle (SP-2002-4524) (PDF) (Report). NASA. Retrieved May 24, 2025.

[7] "U.S. Fails In Pioneer Shot". Standard-Speaker. September 26, 1960. p. 2. Retrieved July 6, 2025 – via newspapers.com.

[8] Finney, John W. (December 17, 1960). "Reach of U.S. Scientists Into Space Still Exceeds Grasp Of Their Rockets". The Bangor Daily News. p. 7. Retrieved July 6, 2025 – via newspapers.com.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Ariane 6 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Eris^† Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 6C 7 7A 8 11 11H 12 LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C New Glenn Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB Spectrum^† SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega C Vulcan Centaur Zhuque 2 2E
In development	Antares 330 Bloostar Blue Whale 1 Cyclone-4M Deca Eclipse Epsilon S Gravity-2 HANBIT-NANO Hyperbola-2 Irtysh KSLV-III Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 Miura 5 Neutron New Line 1 NGLV Nova OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf RFA One SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zhuque 3 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 ^† 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 IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIA H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne 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 2-1v Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 RS1^† Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard Vega original VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 1^†
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)

Orbital launch systems developed in the United States
Active	Atlas V**^†† Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Minotaur I IV V C New Glenn Pegasus XL SLS Block 1 Vulcan Centaur
In development	Antares 330 Daytona I Eclipse Neutron Nova Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Starship Terran R
Retired	Antares 110/120/130/230/230+^††† Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Agena Centaur Conestoga Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" H-I* Juno I Juno II LauncherOne N-I* N-II* Pilot Rocket 3 RS1^† Saturn I IB V Scout Space Shuttle SPARK Sparta Terran 1^† 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 ^† - never succeeded ^†† - no new orders accepted and production stopped ^††† - used Ukrainian first stage