In addition, Atlas 3B could not be cleared for flight until a successful firing run of Missile 2B was performed at the Sycamore Canyon test stand, which was also experiencing nonstop technical issues. The first flight article missile, 3B, was originally planned for launch in May 1958, but the date was set back by endless hardware difficulties, both with the missile itself and the newly opened LC-11.
#ATLAS AGENA ROCKET PAPER MODEL SERIES#
The B series test program took a considerable amount of delays and frustration, not in the least because the Atlas B was far more complicated than the prototype Atlas A, in fact the first launch would feature all hardware systems found on an operational Atlas, including the sustainer engine, separable booster section, guidance computer, Azusa tracking system, detachable nose cone, and more. The seventh flight, launched on 18 December 1958, was used to place the SCORE satellite into low Earth orbit, the first orbital launch conducted by an Atlas rocket. Nine of these were sub-orbital test flights of the Atlas as an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, with five successful missions and four failures.
Unlike later Atlas models, the Atlas B used explosive bolts to jettison the booster section. First flown on 19 July 1958, the Atlas B was the first version of the Atlas rocket to use the stage and a half design with an operational sustainer engine and jettisonable booster engine section. The Convair SM-65B Atlas, or Atlas B, also designated X-12 was a prototype of the Atlas missile.
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