Thor-Delta

	Thor 320 Delta 9 rocket with UK first satellite Ariel 1, 26 April 1962
Function	Expendable launch system
Country of origin	United States
Capacity
Payload to LEO	270 kg
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Cape Canaveral, LC-17
Total launches	12
Success(es)	11
Failure(s)	1
First flight	13 May 1960
Last flight	18 September 1962
First stage - Thor DM-19
Engines	DM-18A / MB-3-I
Second stage Delta
Engines	AJ-10-142
Third stage
Engines	X-248A-7
	[edit on Wikidata]

The Thor-Delta, also known as Delta DM-19 or just Delta was an early American expendable launch system used for 12 orbital launches in the early 1960s. A derivative of the Thor-Able, it was a member of the Thor family of rockets, and the first member of the Delta family.^[1]

The first stage was a Thor missile in the DM-19 configuration (DM-18A / MB-3-I engine). The second stage was the Delta (AJ-10-142 engine), which had been derived from the earlier Able stage. An Altair solid rocket motor (X-248A-7) was used as a third stage.^[2]^[3]

The basic design of the original Vanguard upper stages, featuring a pressure-fed nitric acid/UDMH, regeneratively cooled engine, was kept in place, but with an improved AJ10-118 engine. More significantly, the Delta stage featured cold gas attitude control jets allowing it to be stabilized in orbit for restart and more precise burns.

The Thor-Delta was the first rocket to use the combination of a Thor missile and a Delta upper stage. This configuration was reused for many later rockets, and a derivative, the Delta II, remained in service until 2018.

Thor-Delta launches

The Thor-Delta launched a number of significant payloads, including the first communications satellite, Echo 1A; the first British satellite, Ariel 1; and the first active direct-relay communications satellite, Telstar 1. All 12 launches occurred from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17. The launch of Telstar 1 used pad B, while all other launches were from pad A. All launches were successful except the maiden flight, which failed to place Echo 1 into orbit due to a problem with the second stage.^[3]

Launch list

Date/time (UTC)	Rocket	S/N	Launch site	Payload	Function	Orbit	Outcome	Remarks
1960-05-13 09:16:05	Thor DM-19 Delta	Thor 144 Delta 1	CCAFS LC-17A	Echo 1	Communication	MEO	Failure	Maiden flight of Thor-Delta, upper-stage attitude control system malfunctioned
1960-08-12 09:39:43	Thor DM-19 Delta	Thor 270 Delta 2	CCAFS LC-17A	Echo 1A	Communications	MEO	Success
1960-11-23 11:13:03	Thor DM-19 Delta	Thor 245 Delta 3	CCAFS LC-17A	TIROS-2	Weather	SSO	Success
1961-03-25 15:17:04	Thor DM-19 Delta	Thor 295 Delta 4	CCAFS LC-17A	Explorer 10	Magnetospheric	HEO	Success
1961-07-12 10:25:06	Thor DM-19 Delta	Thor 286 Delta 5	CCAFS LC-17A	TIROS-3	Weather	SSO	Success
1961-08-16 03:21:05	Thor DM-19 Delta	Thor 312 Delta 6	CCAFS LC-17A	Explorer 12	Magnetospheric	HEO	Success
1962-02-08 12:43:45	Thor DM-19 Delta	Thor 317 Delta 7	CCAFS LC-17A	TIROS-4	Weather	SSO	Success
1962-03-07 16:06:18	Thor DM-19 Delta	Thor 301 Delta 8	CCAFS LC-17A	OSO-1	Solar	LEO	Success
1962-04-26 18:00:16	Thor DM-19 Delta	Thor 320 Delta 9	CCAFS LC-17A	Ariel 1	Ionospheric	LEO	Success
1962-06-19 12:19:01	Thor DM-19 Delta	Thor 321 Delta 10	CCAFS LC-17A	TIROS-5	Weather	SSO	Success
1962-07-10 08:35:05	Thor DM-19 Delta	Thor 316 Delta 11	CCAFS LC-17B	Telstar 1	Communication	MEO	Success
1962-09-18 08:53:08	Thor DM-19 Delta	Thor 318 Delta 12	CCAFS LC-17A	TIROS-6	Weather	SSO	Success	Final flight of Thor-Delta

Gallery

Thor 245 Delta 3 launching TIROS-2
Thor 286 Delta 5 launching TIROS-3
Thor 295 Delta 4 launching Explorer 10
Thor 316 Delta 11 launching Telstar 1
Thor 317 Delta 7 launching TIROS-4
Thor 320 Delta 9 launching Ariel 1

References

^ Wade, Mark. "Delta". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
^ "Thor family". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Delta". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 29 November 2024.

[1] Wade, Mark. "Delta". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2009.

[2] "Thor family". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 9 February 2009.

[:0-3] "Delta". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 29 November 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Ariane 6 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H-IIA H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 7 7A 8 11 11H 12 LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega C Vulcan Centaur Zhuque 2
In development	Antares 330 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Deca Epsilon S Eris Gravity-2 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 Miura 5 MLV Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 NGLV Nova OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zhuque 3 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able^† Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 RS1^† Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard Vega original VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 1^†
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
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)

v t e Orbital launch systems developed in the United States
Active	Atlas V**^†† Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Minotaur I IV V C Pegasus XL SLS Block 1 Vulcan Centaur
In development	Antares 330 Daytona I MLV New Glenn Neutron Nova Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Starship Terran R
Retired	Antares 110/120/130/230/230+^††† Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able Agena Centaur Conestoga Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" H-I* Juno I Juno II LauncherOne N-I* N-II* Pilot Rocket 3 RS1^† Saturn I IB V Scout Space Shuttle SPARK Sparta Terran 1 Thor Able Ablestar Agena Burner Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Vanguard
* - Japanese projects using US rockets or stages ** - uses Russian engines ^† - never succeeded ^†† - no new orders accepted ^††† - used Ukrainian first stage

Thor-Delta launches

Launch list

Gallery

See also

References