📊 Analysis
Statistics & insights on rockets and organizations — technology, history, numbers.
SM-65D Atlas
RetiredConvair
The SM-65D Atlas, or Atlas D, was the first operational version of the U.S. Atlas missile. Atlas D was first used as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to deliver a nuclear weapon payload on a suborbital trajectory. It was later developed as a launch vehicle to carry a payload to low Earth orbit on its own, and later to geosynchronous orbit, to the Moon, Venus, or Mars with the Agena or Centaur upper stage.
Key figures
Total launches
9
Successes
6
Failures
3
Success rate
66.7 %
Success streak
0
Maiden flight
Apr 14, 1959
Reusable
No
Shortest launch interval ⓘ
5d 4h
Planned launches
0
Atlas, Atlas D family total
133 launches · 118 successes · 15 failures (8 variants)
🧐 Data check
Automatic plausibility checks — anomalies are surfaced transparently here:
- ℹ️The figures above apply only to the “SM-65D Atlas” variant. The Launch Library counts each variant separately — the Atlas, Atlas D family totals 133 launches across 8 variants.
Technology
Length
25.15 m
Diameter
3 m
Launch mass
119 t
Liftoff thrust
1,880 kN
Stages
1
LEO (low Earth orbit)
1,400 kg
Launches per year
of which in our database: 9
Successes Failures Other/planned
History & events
Sources
- Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs)
- Wikipedia