Erste erfolgreiche Vorbereitung und Start einer Atlas-Rakete. Originalgeräusche der Missionskontr...
Video from the channel atomcentral about Atlas (familia), linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 13:38. Language: English. Video type: Archive footage.
What it shows
Period film about the preparation and launch of the Atlas 12A missile. It covers the countdown, the liquid oxygen loading, radar and telemetry tracking, and the team's work in the control bunker. Except for the narration, the sound was recorded live from the test conductor's console microphone and the phone lines with the operators and the range network. Voices of encouragement can be heard during the ascent, along with the tracking stations' calls as they lose and reacquire the missile's beacon.
When and where it was filmed
It was filmed at Launch Complex 14 of the Air Force Missile Test Center, at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on December 17, 1957. At T-35 minutes, the transfer of more than 13,000 gallons of liquid oxygen began. The flight was tracked by television, radar, and tracking links from a facility 9,000 feet from the complex.
Context
At engine cutoff, the missile was at an altitude of 36.5 miles and 57 miles downrange. The final tally shows 8 minutes and 38 seconds of flight, 490 nautical miles traveled, a maximum altitude of 102 nautical miles (617,760 feet), and a top speed of 5,220 nautical miles per hour. The film presents this flight as a milestone in the development of the Atlas as a weapons system.