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Thor DM-21 Ablestar | Transit-O 3
United States Air ForceLaunch Successful

Transit-O 3

Thor DM-21 Ablestar

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Historical mission record

This page records Thor DM-21 Ablestar | Transit-O 3 and its reported outcome: Launch Successful. The date above is a historical record.

Source record updated . This is a source update, not a confirmed launch time.

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Mission status
Launch Successful

Status reported by the mission data provider.

LAUNCH SITEVandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Mission

The Transit-O series of satellites that closely followed the design of Transit 5C-1 were also called “Oscars” (Oscar is the phonetic alphabet for “O”, i. e., operational). They were also called NNS (Navy Navigation Satellite) or shortened NavSat.

Launch vehicle
Thor DM-21 Ablestar
Mission type
Navigation
Destination orbit
Polar Orbit
Launch pad
Space Launch Complex 2E
Provider
United States Air Force

The vehicle

Published configuration and flight history.

Thor DM-21 Ablestar
Launch vehicle

Thor DM-21 Ablestar

The Thor-Ablestar, or Thor Able-Star, also known as Thor-Epsilon was an early American expendable launch system consisting of a PGM-17 Thor missile, with an Ablestar upper stage. It was a member of the Thor family of rockets, and was derived from the Thor-Able.

Height
29 m
Diameter
1.44 m
Stages
2
Recorded launches
19
First flight
1960-04-13

Recorded timing

This is a mission record, not an upcoming calendar appointment.

Instantaneous windowPublished target
SCHEDULED MOMENT

A single scheduled moment. The schedule may change before launch.

Launch site & orbit

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

The mission in perspective

Launch site & orbit

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NASA Blue Marble map of Earth's continents and oceans
Representative orbit · accelerated illustrationNo live tracking or simulated ascent. NASA Blue Marble.

Coverage & sources

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Mission coverage

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Further reading

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