| Atlas H | |||||||||||||
| Manufacturer: | Convair General Dynamics | ||||||||||||
| Function: | Expendable launch system | ||||||||||||
| Country-Origin: | United States | ||||||||||||
| Status: | Retired | ||||||||||||
| Sites: | SLC-3E, Vandenberg | ||||||||||||
| Success: | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Launches: | 5 | ||||||||||||
| First: | 9 February 1983 | ||||||||||||
| Last: | 15 May 1987 | ||||||||||||
| Stagedata: |
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The Atlas H was an American expendable launch system derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile.[1] It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets, and was used to launch five clusters of NOSS satellites for the US National Reconnaissance Office. Two flights also carried LiPS satellites, as secondary payloads for the United States Naval Research Laboratory.
The Atlas H was a stage and a half rocket, using the enhanced Atlas rocket designed for use as the first stage of the Atlas G rocket,[2] which differed from the Atlas H in having a Centaur upper stage. This stage was later reused as the first stage of the Atlas I. In practice, an MSD upper stage was flown on all five launches.[3]
Atlas H could put a payload of 3,630 kg (8,000 lb) into low Earth orbit, or a payload of 2,255 kg (4,971 lb) into a geostationary transfer orbit.
The Atlas H was launched five times from Vandenberg SLC3E:
| Date | Mission | Mass (kg) | Apogee (km) | Perigee (km) | Inclination ยบ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 February 9 | NOSS 4 - PARCAE 5 / OPS 0252 | 700 | 1,186 | 1,063 | 63.40 |
| SSB - SSU | 700 | 1,489 | 733 | 63.40 | |
| SSD (NOSS 4) - NOSS-Subsat 4-4 | 1,419 | 796 | 63.40 | ||
| SSC - SSU | 1,173 | 1,043 | 63.50 | ||
| SSA - SSU | 1,166 | 1,051 | 63.40 | ||
| SSA (NOSS 4) - NOSS-Subsat 4-1 / OPS 0252 DEB | 1,164 | 1,051 | 63.50 | ||
| LIPS 2 | 1,399 | 822 | 63.30 | ||
| 1983 June 9 | NOSS 5 - PARCAE 6 / OPS 6432 | 700 | 1,167 | 1,049 | 63.40 |
| GB1 - SSU | 1,167 | 1,049 | 63.40 | ||
| GB3 - SSU | 1,166 | 1,049 | 63.40 | ||
| GB2 - SSU | 1,167 | 1,049 | 63.40 | ||
| 1984 February 5 | NOSS 6 - PARCAE 7 / OPS 8737 | 700 | 1,172 | 1,052 | 63.40 |
| JD1 - SSU | 1,172 | 1,052 | 63.40 | ||
| JD2 - SSU | 1,172 | 1,052 | 63.40 | ||
| JD3 - SSU | 1,172 | 1,052 | 63.40 | ||
| 1986 February 9 | USA 15 - PARCAE 8 | 700 | 1,166 | 1,049 | 63.00 |
| USA 18 - SSU | 1,407 | 817 | 63.41 | ||
| USA 16 - SSU | 1,161 | 1,055 | 63.00 | ||
| USA 17 - SSU | 1,165 | 1,055 | 63.00 | ||
| 1987 May 15 | USA 22 - PARCAE 9 | 700 | 1,179 | 1,045 | 62.90 |
| LIPS 3 | 1,316 | 899 | 63.40 | ||
| USA 25 - SSU | 1,178 | 1,035 | 62.60 | ||
| USA 24 - SSU | 1,184 | 1,046 | 63.20 | ||
| USA 23 - SSU | 1,170 | 1,039 | 63.40 |