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Retired American expendable rocket
Delta B prior to the launch of
TIROS-8 Function
Expendable launch system Country of origin United States Altitude 350 nautical miles (650 km; 400 mi) Mass 800 pounds (360 kg)
[1] Mass 130 pounds (59 kg)
[1]
Status Retired
[2] Launch sites
Cape Canaveral
LC-17
[3] Total launches 9 Success(es) 8 Failure(s) 1 First flight 13 December 1962 Last flight 19 March 1964
The Delta B , or Thor-Delta B was an American
expendable launch system used for nine
orbital launches between 1962 and 1964.
[3] A derivative of the
Thor-Delta , it was a member of the
Delta family of rockets.
[4]
The first stage was a
Thor missile in the DM-21 configuration, and the second stage was the
AJ10-118 ,
[1] which was derived from the earlier Delta-A.
[4] An
Altair
solid rocket motor was used as a third stage.
[1]
All nine launches occurred from
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Launch Complex 17 .
[3] Most of the launches carried
communications satellites , including
Syncom-1
[2] and
Syncom-2 .
[2] Syncom-1 was intended to be the first satellite to be placed into a
geosynchronous orbit , however the spacecraft malfunctioned prior to reaching this orbit.
[5] Syncom-2 subsequently became the first geosynchronous satellite,
[5] and was placed at
55° west of the
Greenwich Meridian . The final launch failed due to third stage underperformance,
[6] all other launches were successful.
[3]
References
^
a
b
c
d
Launch Vehicles of the National Launch Vehicle Program (PDF) (Technical report). Washington, D.C.:
NASA . November 1962. p. 7. N63-10712.
Archived (PDF) from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2023 .
^
a
b
c Wade, Mark.
"Thor Delta B" . Astronautix .
Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023 .
^
a
b
c
d Krebs, Gunter D.
"Delta B" . Gunter's Space Page .
Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023 .
^
a
b Graham, William (September 13, 2018).
"The evolution of Thor – Delta II prepares for swansong" . NASASpaceflight.com . p. 2.
Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023 .
^
a
b
NASA, The First 25 Years: 1958 - 1983 (PDF) (Technical report). Washington, D.C.:
NASA . 1983. p. 38.
Archived (PDF) from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023 .
^
"Satellite Rocket Failure Ends Winning Streak" .
Corpus Christi Times .
Cape Kennedy . Associated Press. March 19, 1964. p. 1.
Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
Current In development Retired Classes
This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future
Symbol † indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)
Active In development Retired
* - Japanese projects using US rockets or stages
** - uses Russian engines
† - never succeeded
†† - no new orders accepted
††† - used Ukrainian first stage
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