Atlas (missile) facts for kids
The Atlas was a powerful missile first built by a company called Convair in the United States. It was first designed in the late 1950s to be an ICBM. An ICBM is a very long-range missile that can travel across continents.
Later, the Atlas rocket became famous for launching space capsules for the NASA Mercury project. Today, the Atlas rocket family is still used to launch satellites and other spacecraft into space. These rockets are now built by United Launch Alliance.
The Story of Atlas Rockets
The Atlas rocket was first tested in 1957. It was the United States' first successful ICBM. This means it was the first missile that could travel very long distances, even across oceans.
The Atlas was named after Atlas from Greek mythology. He was a giant who held up the sky. The idea for the Atlas missile started way back in 1946. A company called Convair got a contract to study how to build a missile that could travel between 2,400 and 8,000 kilometers (about 1,500 to 5,000 miles). This missile was meant to carry a nuclear weapon.
Over time, the Atlas missile had different names given by the military. It was first called "XB-65," then "SM-65," and later "CGM-16." The "C" in "CGM-16" meant it was stored in a special container. To launch it, the rocket was lifted out of its container and filled with fuel. A later version, the Atlas-F (HGM-16), was stored underground and then lifted up to the surface for launch.
Images for kids
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Launch of an Atlas B ICBM
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SM-65 Atlas deployment sites: SM-65D (Red), SM-65E (Purple), SM-65F (Black)
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Atlas-D ICBM launching from semi-hardened "coffin" bunker at Vandenberg AFB, California.
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1965 graph of Atlas launches, cumulative by month with failures highlighted (pink) along with USAF Titan II and NASA use of ICBM boosters for Projects Mercury and Gemini (blue). Apollo–Saturn history and projections shown as well.
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