Thor DM-21 Agena-B or just Thor-Agena was a series of orbital launch vehicles. The rockets used the Douglas-built Thor first stage and the Lockheed-built Agena second stages. They are thus cousins of the more-famous Thor-Deltas, which founded the Delta rocket family. The first attempted launch of a Thor DM-21 Agena-B was in January 1959. The first successful launch was on 28 February 1959, launching Discoverer 17 . [1]
Date/Time (UTC) | Rocket | S/N | Launch Site | Payload | Function | Orbit | Outcome | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1960-10-26 20:26 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 253 Agena 1061 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | Discoverer 16 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Failure | Maiden flight of Thor-Agena B. Agena staging failed. Vehicle fell into the Pacific Ocean. |
1960-11-12 20:43 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 297 Agena 1062 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | Discoverer 17 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1960-12-07 20:20:58 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 296 Agena 1103 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | Discoverer 18 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1960-12-20 20:32 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 258 Agena 1101 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | Discoverer 19 | Technology | LEO | Success | |
1961-02-17 20:25 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 298 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | Discoverer 20 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1961-02-18 22:58 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 261 Agena 1102 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | Discoverer 21 | Technology | LEO | Success | |
1961-03-30 20:34:43 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 300 Agena 1105 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | Discoverer 22 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Failure | Agena control failure. |
1961-04-08 19:21 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 307 Agena 1106 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | Discoverer 23 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1961-06-08 21:16 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 302 Agena 1108 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | Discoverer 24 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Failure | Agena power failure |
1961-06-16 23:02 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 303 Agena 1107 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | Discoverer 25 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1961-07-07 23:29:48 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 308 Agena 1109 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | Discoverer 26 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1961-07-21 22:35 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 322 Agena 1110 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | Discoverer 27 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Failure | Open circuit in guidance computer led to loss of control and vehicle breakup at T+60 seconds. |
1961-08-04 00:01 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 309 Agena 1111 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | Discoverer 28 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Failure | Agena control system malfunctioned |
1961-08-30 20:00 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 323 Agena 1112 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | Discoverer 29 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1961-09-12 19:59 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 310 Agena 1113 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | Discoverer 30 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1961-09-17 21:00 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 324 Agena 1114 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | Discoverer 31 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1961-10-13 19:22 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 328 Agena 1115 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | Discoverer 32 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | 100th Thor launch |
1961-10-23 19:23 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 329 Agena 1116 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | Discoverer 33 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Failure | Agena hydraulics failure |
1961-11-05 20:00 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 330 Agena 1117 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | Discoverer 34 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Failure | Incorrect guidance program left the satellite in a useless orbit. |
1961-11-15 21:23 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 326 Agena 1118 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | Discoverer 35 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1961-12-12 20:40 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 325 Agena 1119 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | Discoverer 36 Oscar 1 | Reconnaissance Amateur radio satellite | LEO | Success | |
1962-01-13 21:41 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 327 Agena 1120 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | Discoverer 37 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Failure | Agena restart burn failed. |
1962-02-21 18:44 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 332 Agena 2301 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | FTV 2301 | ELINT | LEO | Partial failure | Upper stage failed to restart for circularization burn |
1962-02-27 19:39 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 241 Agena 1123 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | Discoverer 38 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1962-04-18 00:54 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 331 Agena 1124 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | Discoverer 39 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1962-04-29 00:30:12 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 333 Agena 1125 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | FTV 1125 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1962-05-15 19:36 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 334 Agena 1126 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | FTV 1126 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1962-05-30 01:00:04 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 336 Agena 1128 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | FTV 1128 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1962-06-02 00:31 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 335 Agena 1127 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | FTV 1127 Oscar 2 | Reconnaissance Amateur radio | LEO | Success | |
1962-06-18 20:20 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 343 Agena 2312 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | FTV 2312 | ELINT | LEO | Success | |
1962-06-23 00:30 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 339 Agena 1129 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | FTV 1129 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1962-07-21 00:56 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 342 Agena 1130 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | FTV 1130 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1962-07-28 00:30 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 347 Agena 1131 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | FTV 1131 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1962-09-01 20:39 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 348 Agena 1132 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | FTV 1132 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1962-09-17 23:46 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 350 Agena 1133 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | FTV 1133 ERS-2 | Reconnaissance Technology | LEO | Success | |
1962-09-29 06:05 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 341 TA-1 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | Alouette 1 TAVE | Ionospheric Technology | LEO | Success | |
1962-10-09 18:35 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 352 Agena 1134 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | FTV 1134 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1962-11-05 22:04 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 356 Agena 1136 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | FTV 1136 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1962-11-24 22:01 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 367 Agena 1135 | VAFB LC-75-3-4 | FTV 1135 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
1963-01-16 21:59 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 363 Agena 2313 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | OPS 0180 | ELINT | LEO | Success | |
1965-11-29 04:48 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Thor 453 Agena 6102 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | Alouette 2 / Explorer 31 (DME) | Ionospheric research satellite / Ionospheric research satellite | MEO | Success | |
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.
The PGM-17A Thor was the first operational ballistic missile of the U.S. Air Force (USAF). Named after the Norse god of thunder, it was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with thermonuclear warheads. Thor was 65 feet (20 m) in height and 8 feet (2.4 m) in diameter. It was later augmented in the U.S. IRBM arsenal by the Jupiter.
Delta is an American versatile family of expendable launch systems that has provided space launch capability in the United States since 1960. Japan also launched license-built derivatives from 1975 to 1992. More than 300 Delta rockets have been launched with a 95% success rate. Only the Delta IV Heavy rocket remains in use as of November 2020. Delta rockets are currently manufactured and launched by the United Launch Alliance.
KH-5 ARGON was a series of reconnaissance satellites produced by the United States from February 1961 to August 1964. The KH-5 operated similarly to the Corona series of satellites, as it ejected a canister of photographic film. At least 12 missions were attempted, but at least 7 resulted in failure. The satellite was manufactured by Lockheed. Launches used Thor-Agena rockets flying from Vandenberg Air Force Base, with the payload being integrated into the Agena.
The Atlas-Agena 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 launched 109 times between 1960 and 1978. It was used to launch the first five Mariner uncrewed probes to the planets Venus and Mars, and the Ranger and Lunar Orbiter uncrewed probes to the Moon. The upper stage was also used as an uncrewed orbital target vehicle for the Gemini crewed spacecraft to practice rendezvous and docking. However, the launch vehicle family was originally developed for the Air Force and most of its launches were classified DoD payloads.
Thor-Agena was a series of orbital launch vehicles. The rockets used the Douglas-built Thor first stage and the Lockheed-built Agena second stages. They are thus cousins of the more-famous Thor-Deltas, which founded the Delta rocket family. The first attempted launch of a Thor-Agena was in January 1959. The first successful launch was on 28 February 1959, launching Discoverer 1. It was the first two-stage rocket to place a satellite into orbit.
Thor was a US space launch vehicle derived from the PGM-17 Thor intermediate-range ballistic missile. The Thor rocket was the first member of the Delta rocket family of space launch vehicles. The last launch of a direct derivative of the Thor missile occurred in 2018 as the first stage of the final Delta II.
The Thor-Ablestar, or Thor-Able-Star, also known as Thor-Epsilon was an early American expendable launch system consisting of a PGM-17 Thor missile, with an Ablestar upper stage. It was a member of the Thor family of rockets, and was derived from the Thor-Able.
The SM-65D Atlas, or Atlas D, was the first operational version of the U.S. Atlas missile. Atlas D was first used as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to deliver a nuclear weapon payload on a suborbital trajectory. It was later developed as a launch vehicle to carry a payload to low Earth orbit on its own, and later to geosynchronous orbit, to the Moon, Venus, or Mars with the Agena or Centaur upper stage.
The Thor DSV-2 was a series of sounding rockets, test vehicles, and anti-satellite weapons derived from the Thor Intermediate-range ballistic missile. It was also used as the first stage of several Thor-derived expendable launch systems
Launch Complex 12 (LC-12) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida was a launch pad used by Atlas rockets and missiles between 1958 and 1967. It was the second-most southern of the pads known as Missile Row, between LC-11 to the south and LC-13 to the north. Along with Complexes 11, 13 and 14, 12 featured a more robust design than many contemporary pads, due to the greater power of the Atlas compared to other rockets of the time. It was larger, and featured a concrete launch pedestal that was 6 metres (20 ft) tall and a reinforced blockhouse. The rockets were delivered to the launch pad by means of a ramp on the southwest side of the launch pedestal.
Launch Complex 13 (LC-13) was a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the third-most southerly of the original launch complexes known as Missile Row, lying between LC-12 and LC-14. In 2015, the LC-13 site was leased by SpaceX and was renovated for use as Landing Zone 1 and Landing Zone 2, the company's East Coast landing location for returning Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicle booster stages.
Discoverer 24, also known as Corona 9018A, was an American area survey optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1961 but failed to achieve orbit. It was a KH-5 Argon satellite, based on an Agena-B. It was the third KH-5 to be launched.
The 6555th Aerospace Test Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Eastern Space and Missile Center and stationed at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 October 1990.