Thor-Ablestar Launch Vehicle
Thor-Ablestar combined a Thor first stage with Aerojet's enlarged, restartable Ablestar upper stage. Developed from Able technology, the two-stage vehicle supported early U.S. navigation, electronic-reconnaissance, communications, and geodesy satellites beginning in 1960. Its restart capability enabled deployment of multiple payloads and more precise orbital insertion than the earlier Thor-Able configurations.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Thor AblestarThor-Able-StarThor EpsilonThor-Epsilon
- Family Name
- Thor-Ablestar
- Full Name
- Thor-Ablestar Launch Vehicle
- Status
- retired
- Type
- rocket
Details
- Description
- Thor-Ablestar combined a Thor first stage with Aerojet's enlarged, restartable Ablestar upper stage. Developed from Able technology, the two-stage vehicle supported early U.S. navigation, electronic-reconnaissance, communications, and geodesy satellites beginning in 1960. Its restart capability enabled deployment of multiple payloads and more precise orbital insertion than the earlier Thor-Able configurations.
- Dimensions
- Diameter M
- 2.44
- Height M
- 24.2
- First Flight Year
- 1,960
- Last Flight Year
- 1,965
- Operator
- Parent Vehicle Family
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Nested value
- Nested value
- Rocket Specs
- Liftoff Mass Kg
- 47,600
- Reusability
- expendable
- Stages Count
- 2
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 13, 2026 at 13:14:17 UTC
- Updated Time
- July 29, 2026 at 15:42:02 UTC
- Image
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Other
- Search Name
- Thor-Ablestar Launch Vehicle Thor Ablestar Thor-Able-Star Thor Epsilon Thor-Epsilon