Agena
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The Agena was an upper stage rocket developed in the United States. It was first used as part of the nation's reconnaissance satellite program. The Agena upper stage of a Thor-Agena launch vehicle propelled the Corona spacecraft into orbit and provided power and pointing for its operations. It utilized hypergolic propellant and was also combined with the Atlas and Titan first stages for various missions. Later versions of the Agena could restart their engines in orbit and were used for lunar and planetary missions, as well as serving as a target vehicle for Gemini spacecraft rendezvous. Its use extended into the mid-1980s.123
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AtlasThe combined Atlas-Agena rocket, featuring an Atlas booster coupled with an Agena upper stage, was used for launching lunar and planetary probes as well as Earth-orbiting satellites, such as Seasat, where the Agena stage was also the spacecraft. The Atlas-Centaur rocket combined an Atlas first stage, which…
Read MoreThe combined Atlas-Agena rocket, featuring an Atlas booster coupled with an Agena upper stage, was used for launching lunar and planetary probes as well as Earth-orbiting satellites, such as Seasat, where the Agena stage was also the spacecraft. The Atlas-Centaur rocket combined an Atlas first stage, which…
Read More- Thor rocket
Adding an Agena rocket as a second stage resulted in the two-stage Thor–Agena rocket, used to launch the Air Force’s Discoverer space satellites.
Read MoreAdding an Agena rocket as a second stage resulted in the two-stage Thor–Agena rocket, used to launch the Air Force’s Discoverer space satellites.
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