Atlas H

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Atlas H

Launch of the last Atlas H with NOSS-9.
Function	Expendable launch system
Manufacturer	Convair General Dynamics
Country of origin	United States
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	SLC-3E, Vandenberg
Total launches	5
Success(es)	5
First flight	9 February 1983
Last flight	15 May 1987
Boosters
No. boosters	1
Powered by	2 LR-89-7
Total thrust	1,901.6 kN (427,500 lbf)
Specific impulse	293.4 s
Burn time	155 seconds
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
First stage
Powered by	1 LR-105-7
Maximum thrust	386.4 kN (86,900 lbf) Atlas D
Specific impulse	316 s
Burn time	266 seconds
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

The Atlas H was an American expendable launch system derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile.^[1] It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets, and was used to launch five clusters of NOSS satellites for the US National Reconnaissance Office.^[1] Two flights also carried LiPS satellites, as secondary payloads for the United States Naval Research Laboratory.^[1]

The Atlas H was a stage and a half rocket, using the enhanced Atlas rocket designed for use as the first stage of the Atlas G rocket,^[2] which differed from the Atlas H in having a Centaur upper stage. This stage was later reused as the first stage of the Atlas I. In practice, an MSD upper stage was flown on all five launches.^[3]

Atlas H could put a payload of 3,630 kg (8,000 lb) into low Earth orbit, or a payload of 2,255 kg (4,971 lb) into a geostationary transfer orbit.^[1]