Thor family
Thor Agena A
Thor-Agena was a series of orbital launch vehicles. The rockets used Thor first stages and Agena second stages. They are thus cousins of the more-famous Thor-Deltas, which founded the Delta rocket family.
Flights flown15
Success rate60%9/15
Payload to LEO250kg
Cost per kg to LEO$42,800$10.7M per launch
Maiden flight1959-01-21
Peak year19598 flights
Thor Agena A is built by McDonnell Douglas of the United States. It first flew on 28 February 1959 and last flew on 13 September 1960.
Flight record
60% success rate9 of 15 flown · 6 failed
1959peak 1959 · 8 flights1960
First flight1959-02-28
Latest flight1960-09-13
Failures6
Consecutive successes3
Fastest turnaround6d 24m
Payload
| Low Earth orbit | 250kg |
|---|---|
| Launch cost | $10.7M |
| Cost per kg to LEO | $42,800 |
Vehicle
| Stages | 2 |
|---|---|
| Length | 28m |
| Diameter | 2.44m |
| Launch mass | 53t |
| Liftoff thrust | 667kN |
| Maiden flight | 1959-01-21 |
| Reusable | No |
Pads used
Orbits delivered
Low Earth Orbit9Polar Orbit6
Launch history
| Date | Mission | Pad | Orbit | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960-09-13 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 15 | Space Launch Complex 1E | Low Earth Orbit | Success |
| 1960-08-18 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 14 | Space Launch Complex 1W | Low Earth Orbit | Success |
| 1960-08-10 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 13 | Space Launch Complex 1E | Low Earth Orbit | Success |
| 1960-06-29 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 12 | Space Launch Complex 1W | Low Earth Orbit | Failure |
| 1960-04-15 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 11 | Space Launch Complex 1E | Low Earth Orbit | Success |
| 1960-02-19 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 10 | Space Launch Complex 1E | Low Earth Orbit | Failure |
| 1960-02-04 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 9 | Space Launch Complex 1W | Low Earth Orbit | Failure |
| 1959-11-20 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 8 | Space Launch Complex 1E | Low Earth Orbit | Success |
| 1959-11-07 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 7 | Space Launch Complex 1W | Low Earth Orbit | Success |
| 1959-08-19 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 6 | Space Launch Complex 1E | Polar Orbit | Success |
| 1959-08-13 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 5 | Space Launch Complex 1W | Polar Orbit | Success |
| 1959-06-25 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 4 | Space Launch Complex 1E | Polar Orbit | Failure |
| 1959-06-03 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 3 | Space Launch Complex 1W | Polar Orbit | Failure |
| 1959-04-13 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 2 | Space Launch Complex 1W | Polar Orbit | Success |
| 1959-02-28 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 1 | Space Launch Complex 1W | Polar Orbit | Failure |
Specifications from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs, launch records from Space Index. Derived figures are computed here; see sources and method.
Further reading: Wikipedia