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Thor Able II

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Status: Retired 1960. First Launch: 1959-01-23. Last Launch: 1960-04-01. Number: 9 . Thrust: 668.00 kN (150,172 lbf). Gross mass: 52,000 kg (114,000 lb). Height: 27.30 m (89.50 ft). Diameter: 2.44 m (8.00 ft). Apogee: 1,600 km (900 mi).

• RVX-1 Re-entry Vehicle test - . Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 0 km (0 mi).

• RVX-1 - . Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 100 km (60 mi).

• RVX-1 Re-entry Vehicle test - . Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 520 km (320 mi).

  In the first use of a Thor as a space booster, the world's first polar orbiting satellite, Discoverer I, was launched by a Thor/Agena (Thor 163) booster combination from Vandenberg AFB. The mission was also the first successful flight test of Lockheed's Agena A upper stage vehicle designed for orbiting U.S. satellite systems.

• RVX-1 Re-entry Vehicle test - . Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 520 km (320 mi).

• RVX-1 Reentry test / particles mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 1,230 km (760 mi).

  A Thor/Able reentry test vehicle launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, completed a successful flight down the Atlantic Missile Range. The reentry body of the Thor/Able was recovered at the far end of the range in the South Atlantic. This was the first recovery of an ablative nose cone following an ICBM-range flight.

• RVX-1 Re-entry Vehicle test - . Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 520 km (320 mi).

• RVX-1 Re-entry Vehicle test - . Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 520 km (320 mi).

• Transit 1A - . Payload: Transit 1A. Mass: 119 kg (262 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: DARPA. Program: Transit. Class: Navigation. Type: Navigation satellite. Spacecraft: Transit. Decay Date: 1959-09-17 . A Thor/Able II booster carrying the Navy's Transit IA navigation satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral. A third stage malfunction prevented the satellite from achieving orbit. First Transit test satellite; failed to reach orbit..

• Tiros 1 - . Payload: Tiros A (A-1). Mass: 120 kg (260 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NASA. Program: Tiros. Class: Earth. Type: Weather satellite. Spacecraft: Tiros. USAF Sat Cat: 29 . COSPAR: 1960-Beta-2. Apogee: 696 km (432 mi). Perigee: 656 km (407 mi). Inclination: 48.40 deg. Period: 98.30 min.

  A Thor/Able II booster placed NASA's Television and Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) weather satellite into the most accurate orbit yet achieved by any U.S. satellite. TIROS I opened a new era in meteorology by transmitting nearly 23,000 pictures of global cloud cover from 450 miles in space and providing the first glimpse of global cloud structure data. TIROS I completed 1,302 orbits before its operational life ceased on 29 June 1960. TV and Infrared Observation Satellite; returned 22952 cloud cover photos. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C).