📊 Analysis
Statistics & insights on rockets and organizations — technology, history, numbers.
Atlas-Able
RetiredConvair
The Atlas-Able was an American expendable launch system derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile. It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets, and was used to launch several Pioneer spacecraft towards the Moon. Of the five Atlas-Able rockets built, two failed during static firings, and the other three failed to reach orbit.
Key figures
Total launches
3
Successes
0
Failures
3
Success rate
0.0 %
Success streak
0
Maiden flight
Nov 26, 1959
Reusable
No
Shortest launch interval ⓘ
80d 17h
Planned launches
0
Atlas family total
87 launches · 68 successes · 19 failures (11 variants)
🧐 Data check
Automatic plausibility checks — anomalies are surfaced transparently here:
- ℹ️The figures above apply only to the “Atlas-Able” variant. The Launch Library counts each variant separately — the Atlas family totals 87 launches across 11 variants.
Technology
Length
35 m
Diameter
3.05 m
Launch mass
120 t
Liftoff thrust
1,587 kN
Stages
3
GTO (geo transfer)
250 kg
Launches per year
of which in our database: 3
Successes Failures Other/planned
History & events
Sources
- Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs)
- Wikipedia