SM-65D Atlas
564th Strategic Missile Squadron Convair SM-65D Atlas missile 58-220, pad 564-A2, Warren I site, F. E. Warren AFB, Wyoming | |
| Function | ICBM Expendable launch system |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Convair |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Size | |
| Height | 25.15 metres (82.51 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.0 metres (10.0 ft) |
| Mass | 119,000 kilograms (262,000 lb) |
| Stages | 1½ |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass | 1,400 kg (3,100 lb) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | LC-11, 12, 13 & 14, CCAFS LC-576, VAFB |
| Total launches | 135 |
| Success(es) | 103 |
| Failure(s) | 32 |
| First flight | 14 April 1959 |
| Last flight | 7 November 1967 |
| Boosters | |
| No. boosters | 1 |
| Engines | 2 Rocketdyne XLR-89-5 |
| Thrust | 1,517.4 kilonewtons (341,130 lbf) |
| Burn time | 135 seconds |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| First stage | |
| Engines | 1 Rocketdyne XLR-105-5 |
| Thrust | 363.22 kilonewtons (81,655 lbf) |
| Burn time | 5 minutes |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
The SM-65D Atlas, or Atlas D, was the first operational version of the U.S. Atlas missile. Atlas D was first used as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to deliver a nuclear weapon payload on a suborbital trajectory. It was later developed as a launch vehicle to carry a payload to low Earth orbit on its own, and later to geosynchronous orbit, to the Moon, Venus, or Mars with the Agena or Centaur upper stage.
Atlas D was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, at Launch Complexes 11, 12, 13 and 14, and Vandenberg Air Force Base at Launch Complex 576.
The fully operational D-series Atlas was similar to the R&D model Atlas B and C, but incorporated a number of design changes implemented as a result of lessons learned during test flights. In addition, the D-series had the full-up Rocketdyne MA-2 propulsion system with 360,000 pounds-force (1,600 kN) of thrust versus the 250,000 pounds-force (1,100 kN) of thrust in the Atlas B/C's engines. Operational Atlas D missiles retained radio ground guidance aside from a few R&D launches which tested the inertial guidance system designed for the Atlas E/F, and the Atlas D would be the basis for most space launcher variants of Atlas.