Thor DM-21 Agena-D or just Thor-Agena was an orbital launch vehicle. The launch vehicles used the Douglas-built Thor first stage and the Lockheed-built Agena second stages. They are thus cousins of the more-famous Thor-Deltans, which founded the Delta launch vehicle family. The first attempted launch of a Thor DM-21 Agena-D was on 28 June 1962. The first successful launch was also on 28 June 1962, launching FTV 1151. It was the first two-stage rocket to place a satellite into orbit. [1]
Launch outcome | Orbit |
| Date/Time (UTC) | Rocket | S/N | Launch Site | Payload | Function | Orbit | Outcome | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-06-28 01:09 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 340 Agena 1151 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | FTV 1151 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
| 1962-08-02 00:17 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 344 Agena 1152 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | FTV 1152 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
| 1962-08-29 01:00 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 349 Agena 1153 | VAFB LC-75-1-2 | FTV 1153 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
| 1962-09-29 23:34:50 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 351 Agena 1154 | VAFB LC-75-1-2 | FTV 1154 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
| 1962-10-26 16:14 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 353 Agena 1401 | VAFB LC-75-1-2 | STARAD | Radiation | MEO | Success | |
| 1962-12-04 21:30 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 361 Agena 1155 | VAFB LC-75-1-2 | FTV 1155 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
| 1962-12-13 04:07 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 365 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | NRL PL120 Injun 3 NRL PL121 SURCAL 2 Calsphere 1 | ELINT Ionospheric Calibration | MEO | Success | |
| 1962-12-14 21:26:07 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 368 Agena 1156 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | FTV 1156 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
| 1963-01-07 21:09:49 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 369 Agena 1157 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | OPS 0048 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
| 1963-04-01 23:01 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 376 Agena 1160 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | OPS 0720 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
| 1963-04-26 20:13 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 372 Agena 1411 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | OPS 1008 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Failure | Attitude sensor alignment error results in no Agena orbit. |
| 1963-06-15 14:29 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 378 Agena 2353 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | FTV 1292 Solrad 6A LOFTI 2B Surcal 3 Radose 112 | ELINT Radiation Ionospheric Calibration | LEO | Success | |
| 1963-07-19 00:00:10 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 388 Agena 1412 | VAFB LC-75-1-1 | OPS 1266 | Reconnaissance | LEO | Success | |
| 1965-03-09 18:29 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 419 Agena 2701 | VAFB SLC-2W | SECOR 3 / Dodecapole 1 / Poppy 4 / Solrad 7B / GGSE 2 / GGSE 3 / Surcal 4 / Oscar 3 | Geodesic research / Radar calibration / ELINT / ELINT / Technological test / Technological test / Technological test / Amateur radio satellite | LEO | Success | |
| 1965-09-02 20:00 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 401 Agena 1602 | VAFB LC-75-3-5 | MPRV | Upper atmosphere and space experiments | planned: MEO | Failure | High winds caused the vehicle to drift off course. RSO T+43 seconds. Debris fell on a trailer park. |
| 1967-05-31 09:30 | Thor DM-21 Agena-D | Thor 443 Agena 2704 | VAFB SLC-2W | Timation 1 / GGSE 4 / GGSE 5 / Poppy 5 / Calsphere 3 / Calsphere 4 / Surcal 152 / Surcal 153 / Surcal 150B | Experimental navigation satellite / Technological research satellite / ELINT / Technological research satellites (x5) | LEO | Success | Final flight of the original Thor-Agena series. |
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.
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.
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.
Discoverer 27, also known as Corona 9020A, was an American area survey optical reconnaissance satellite launched in 1961, but which failed to achieve orbit. It was a KH-5 Argon satellite, based on an Agena-B. It was the fourth KH-5 to be launched, the second consecutive KH-5 launch failure, and the fourth consecutive KH-5 mission failure.
FTV-1126, also known as Corona 9034A, was an American area survey optical reconnaissance satellite launched in 1962. It was a KH-5 Argon satellite, based on an Agena-B. It was also unofficially known as Discoverer 41, a continuation of the designation sequence used for previous US reconnaissance satellites, which had officially been discontinued after Discoverer 38. It was the first KH-5 satellite to complete its mission successfully.
FTV-1132, also known as the Corona 9042A, was an American area survey optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1962. It was a KH-5 Argon satellite, based on an Agena-B. The satellite operated successfully, but its film capsule was lost during recovery due to a parachute failure.
Discoverer 22, also known as Corona 9015, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1961. It was the fourth of ten Corona KH-2 satellites, based on the Agena-B.
Discoverer 28, also known as Corona 9021, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1961. It was the seventh of ten Corona KH-2 satellites, based on the Agena-B.
Discoverer 16, also known as Corona 9011, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure on 26 October 1960. It was the first of ten Corona KH-2 satellites, based on the Agena-B.
Discoverer 29, also known as Corona 9023, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1961. It was the first KH-3 Corona''' satellite, which was based on an Agena-B rocket.
Discoverer 34, also known as Corona 9027, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1961. It was the ninth of ten Corona KH-2 satellites, based on the Agena-B.
Discoverer 36, also known as Corona 9029, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1961. It was a KH-3 Corona satellite, based on an Agena-B rocket. It was the penultimate KH-3 satellite to be launched, the last successful mission, and the most successful of the program.
Discoverer 37, also known as Corona 9030, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 1962. It was the last KH-3 Corona‴ satellite, which was based on an Agena-B rocket.
OSCAR II is the second amateur radio satellite launched by Project OSCAR into Low Earth orbit. OSCAR II was launched June 2, 1962, by a Thor-DM21 Agena B launcher from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California. The satellite, a rectangular box weighing 10 kg (22 lb), was launched as a secondary payload (ballast) for Corona 43, the fifth launch of a KH-4 satellite.
Discoverer 10, also known as Corona 9007, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite launched on 19 Feb 1960 at 20:15:14 GMT, the seventh of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series,
