Thor-Able I Lunar Launch Vehicle
Thor-Able I was the three-stage configuration used for the first three U.S. Air Force and NASA lunar-probe attempts in 1958. It paired a Thor first stage with an Able second stage and solid X-248 third stage. Pioneer 0 was the first deep-space launch attempt by any nation; Pioneer 1 and 2 returned useful data but none reached the Moon.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Thor Able IAble-1 launch vehicle
- Family Name
- Thor-Able I
- Full Name
- Thor-Able I Lunar Launch Vehicle
- Status
- retired
- Type
- rocket
Details
- Description
- Thor-Able I was the three-stage configuration used for the first three U.S. Air Force and NASA lunar-probe attempts in 1958. It paired a Thor first stage with an Able second stage and solid X-248 third stage. Pioneer 0 was the first deep-space launch attempt by any nation; Pioneer 1 and 2 returned useful data but none reached the Moon.
- Dimensions
- Diameter M
- 2.44
- First Flight Year
- 1,958
- Last Flight Year
- 1,958
- Operator
- Parent Vehicle Family
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Nested value
- Nested value
- Nested value
- Rocket Specs
- Reusability
- expendable
- Stages Count
- 3
Links
- Official Url
- https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19980230605
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 13, 2026 at 12:53:19 UTC
- Updated Time
- July 29, 2026 at 15:41:49 UTC
- Image
- Download
Other
- Search Name
- Thor-Able I Lunar Launch Vehicle Thor Able I Able-1 launch vehicle