The RM-81 Agena was an American rocket upper stage and satellite bus which was developed by Lockheed Corporation initially for the canceled WS-117L reconnaissance satellite program. Following the split-up of WS-117L into SAMOS and Corona for image intelligence,and MIDAS for early warning,the Agena was later used as an upper stage,and an integrated component,for several programs,including Corona reconnaissance satellites and the Agena Target Vehicle used to demonstrate rendezvous and docking during Project Gemini. It was used as an upper stage on the Atlas,Thor,Thorad and Titan IIIB rockets,and considered for others including the Space Shuttle and Atlas V. A total of 365 Agena rockets were launched between February 28,1959 and February 1987. Only 33 Agenas carried NASA payloads and the vast majority were for DoD programs.
Delta II was an expendable launch system,originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas,and sometimes known as the Thorad Delta 1. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000,and the two later Delta 7000 variants. The rocket flew its final mission ICESat-2 on 15 September 2018,earning the launch vehicle a streak of 100 successful missions in a row,with the last failure being GPS IIR-1 in 1997.
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 have stopped being manufactured in favor of Vulcan.
Delta IV is a group of five expendable launch systems in the Delta rocket family introduced in the early 2000s. Originally designed by Boeing's Defense,Space and Security division for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program,the Delta IV became a United Launch Alliance (ULA) product in 2006. The Delta IV is primarily a launch vehicle for United States Air Force (USAF) military payloads,but has also been used to launch a number of United States government non-military payloads and a single commercial satellite.
The Rocketdyne H-1 was a 205,000 lbf (910 kN) thrust liquid-propellant rocket engine burning LOX and RP-1. The H-1 was developed for use in the S-I and S-IB first stages of the Saturn I and Saturn IB rockets,respectively,where it was used in clusters of eight engines. After the Apollo program,surplus H-1 engines were rebranded and reworked as the Rocketdyne RS-27 engine with first usage on the Delta 2000 series in 1974. The RS-27 variant is also used on the Delta II and Delta III.
Atlas II was a member of the Atlas family of launch vehicles,which evolved from the successful Atlas missile program of the 1950s. The Atlas II was a direct evolution of the Atlas I,featuring longer first stage tanks,higher-performing engines,and the option for strap-on solid rocket boosters. It was designed to launch payloads into low earth orbit,geosynchronous transfer orbit or geosynchronous orbit. Sixty-three launches of the Atlas II,IIA and IIAS models were carried out between 1991 and 2004;all sixty-three launches were successes,making the Atlas II a highly reliable space launch system. The Atlas line was continued by the Atlas III,used between 2000 and 2005,and the Atlas V which is still in use.
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. 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 Atlas III was an American orbital launch vehicle,used in the years between 2000 and 2005. It was developed from the highly successful Atlas II rocket and shared many components. It was the first member of the Atlas family since the Atlas A to feature a "normal" staging method,compared to the previous Atlas family members,which were equipped with two jettisonable outboard engines on the first (booster) stage. The Atlas III was developed further to create the Atlas V,which still flies to this day.
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 AJ10 is a hypergolic rocket engine manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne. It has been used to propel the upper stages of several launch vehicles,including the Delta II and Titan III. Variants were and are used as the service propulsion engine for the Apollo command and service module,in the Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System,and on the European Service Module –part of NASA's Orion spacecraft.
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 Delta L,Thor-Delta L,or Thrust-Augmented Long Tank Thor-Delta was a US expendable launch system used to launch the Pioneer E and TETR satellites in 1969 (failed) and HEOS satellite in 1972. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets.
The Delta M or Thor-Delta M was an American expendable launch system used for thirteen orbital launches between 1968 and 1971. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets.
The Delta N or Thor-Delta N was an American expendable launch system used for nine orbital launches between 1968 and 1972. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets,and the last Delta to be given an alphabetical designation - subsequent rockets were designated using a four digit numerical code.
The Delta 0100 series,also Delta 100,0300 or 300 series,was an American expendable launch system which conducted orbital launches between 1968 and 1972. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets,and the first to be designated using a four digit numerical code. Two variants were flown,individually designated Delta 0300 and Delta 0900.
The Delta 1000 series was an American expendable launch system which was used to conduct eight orbital launches between 1972 and 1975. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets. Several variants existed,differentiated by a four digit numerical code. Delta 1000 was developed by McDonnell Douglas company in 1972.
The Delta 3000 series was an American expendable launch system which was used to conduct 38 orbital launches between 1975 and 1989. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets. Several variants existed,which were differentiated by a four digit numerical code.
The Delta 4000 series was an American expendable launch system which was used to conduct two orbital launches in 1989 and 1990. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets. Although several variants were put forward,only the Delta 4925 was launched. The designations used a four digit numerical code to store information on the configuration of the rocket. It was built from a combination of spare parts left over from earlier Delta rockets,which were being retired,and parts from the Delta II 6000-series,which was just entering service.
The Delta 5000 series was an American expendable launch system which was used to conduct an orbital launch in 1989. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets. Although several variants were put forward,only the Delta 5920 was launched. The designation used a four digit numerical code to store information on the configuration of the rocket. It was built from a combination of spare parts left over from earlier Delta rockets,which were being retired,and parts from the Delta II 6000-series,which was just entering service.
