![]() ![]() Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Despite the Atlas' developmental problems, NASA had the benefit of conducting Project Mercury simultaneously with the Atlas R&D program which gave plenty of test flights to draw data from as well as test modified equipment for Mercury. Plans to human-rate Atlas were effectively still on the drawing board and Convair estimated that 75% reliability would be achieved by early 1961 and 85% reliability by the end of the year. This was the fifth straight complete or partial Atlas failure and the booster was at this point nowhere near reliable enough to carry a nuclear warhead or an uncrewed satellite, let alone a human passenger. Shortly after being chosen for the program in early 1959, the Mercury astronauts were taken to watch the second D-series Atlas test, which exploded a minute into launch. Atlas's stage-and-a-half configuration was seen as preferable to the two-stage Titan in that all engines were ignited at liftoff, making it easier to test for hardware problems during pre-launch checks. As such, significant steps had to be taken to human-rate the missile to make it safe and reliable, unless NASA wished to spend several years developing a dedicated launch vehicle for crewed programs or else wait for the next-generation Titan II ICBM to become operational. ![]() The Atlas had been originally designed as a weapon system, thus its design and reliability did not need to necessarily be 100% perfect, with Atlas launches too frequently ending in explosions. The Atlas D missile was the natural choice for Project Mercury, as it was the only launch vehicle in the US arsenal that could put the spacecraft into orbit and also had many flights from which to gather data. Manufactured by American aircraft manufacturing company Convair, it was derived from the SM-65D Atlas missile, and was a member of the Atlas family of rockets. The Atlas LV-3B was a human-rated expendable launch system used as part of the United States Project Mercury to send astronauts into low Earth orbit. After the changes were made and approved, the US launched the LV-3B nine times, four of which had crewed Mercury spacecraft. With the Atlas having been originally designed as a weapon system, testing and design changes were made to the missile to make it a safe and reliable launch vehicle. ![]() Manufactured by Convair, it was derived from the SM-65D Atlas missile, and was a member of the Atlas family of rockets. Its outstanding dry weight fraction, resulting in it being selected for use in preference to the heavier Transtage for many Titan missions.The Atlas LV-3B, Atlas D Mercury Launch Vehicle or Mercury-Atlas Launch Vehicle, was a human-rated expendable launch system used as part of the United States Project Mercury to send astronauts into low Earth orbit. The restartable Agena D could accept a range of payloads and be fitted to Atlas, Thor, or Titan boosters without modification. The Agena D was essentially a standardized version of the Agena B. Agena was used as an upper stage with the Thor, augmented Thor, Atlas and Titan boosters it played important roles in such military and NASA programs as Corona, Keyhole, Discoverer, Samos, Mariner, OGO, Lunar Orbiter, Ranger and Orbiting Astronomical Observatory. In the Gemini Agena, a control system could handle 96 commands from the astronauts or from ground stations. Agena had a main rocket engine capable of multiple re-starts in space in the modified target vehicle version it also had two secondary engines to provide small changes in velocity and position in orbit. Agena played a key role in manned space flight it was the target vehicle for rendezvous and docking maneuvers in NASA's Gemini project. space exploration, the Agena upper stage which was also employed as a spacecraft, the whole vehicle going into orbit. Launched by Atlas Agena D Thor Agena D Titan 3B Titan 34B. Often integrated with the functional payload. Nitric acid/UDMH propellant restartable rocket stage.
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