#The Atlas rocket in the picture is probably meant to be the prototype
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Convair SM-65A Atlas prototype rocket
US Naval Research Laboratory Vanguard 2 satellite
#Atlas was an interesting rocket#most rockets have multiple stages#a high-thrust stage to get off the ground#followed by a high-efficiency stage to go the rest of the way into orbit#Atlas instead went for a 'stage-and-a-half' design#with one fuel tank feeding three engines - two high-thrust and one high-efficiency - all of which lit together at launch#about 2 minutes into flight the high thrust engines would shut down and be jettisoned#leaving just the high-efficiency engine to take the rocket into orbit#The Atlas rocket in the picture is probably meant to be the prototype#judging by the shape of the nose cone and the fact only two engines appear to be lit#the prototype Atlas only had the two high-thrust engines because the high-efficiency engine wasn't ready yet at the time#I have more Atlas rocket facts but I'll save them for the next time one comes up#Vanguard 2 was not launched on an Atlas - it was launched on a Vanguard rocket by the US Navy#it is the second-oldest satellite still in space (after Vanguard 1) and is expected to remain in orbit for about 300 years#Atlas#Vanguard
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