1960-12-02-sc-p9-atlas-delivery-soon

December 02, 1960 Spokane Daily Chronicle Page 9:

Atlas Delivery Foreseen Soon

Acceptance by the air force of the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile site in the Spokane area this week aroused speculation at Fairchild air force base today that arrival of the first Atlas missile is close at hand.

The military Atlas is designed to loft a thermonuclear warhead to an enemy target as far as 9000 miles away, the air force's ballistics missile division has announced. The power plant of the Atlas is also the nucleus of over 100 space and satellite projects.

It is put together in the San Diego plant of Convair Astronautics, although component parts are made at many plants throughout the United States, BMD officials say.

The Atlas has been proven in firings at Cape Canaveral, Fla., and Vandenberg air force base, Calif., earlier this year, the air force announced.

The missile is either ground or air transportable to air force locations such as those in the Spkaone area, BMD officials have reported.

Test Scheduled

Once the first missile arrives at Fairchild air force base it will go through extensive tests in a recently remodeled warehouse before being hauled to one of the nine missile sites, base officials have said.

Missiles scheduled for this area are reported to be of the series E design, having a long thin nose cone as opposed to the blunt nose of the earlier types.

Preparations for the arrival of the first missile have been in progress at Fairchild for more than a year.

Information released by the air force show these characteristics of the Atlas missile:

Weighs about 260,000 pounds when it is loaded with propellants and is about 85-feet long, 16-feet “across at the flared engine nacelles and 10-feet wide across the tank section.

The Atlas has a thrust of 389,000 pounds and has a range of 9000 miles. It attains a speed of 17,250 miles-an-hour in flight.

It is made by Convair Astronautics in San Diego. The guidance system is all-inertial and made by Arma corporation, The propulsion system is made by Rocketdyne and the re-entry vehicle is made by General Electric.

The Atlas engines are powered by a mixture of liquid oxygen and a petroleum fuel.

There are nine launch complexes for the Atlas in the Spokane area and a central "checkout" building for the Atlas missile at Fairchild air force base.

One Atlas is to be placed at each complex upon completion. The first was completed at Deer Park on Wednesday.

After the extensive checks are completed on the Atlas at Fairchild they will be transported to the missile sites and kept there to be used in the event of national emergency.

A small air force crew will be at each Atlas site although firing can be accomplished from Fairchild where the central control post is located.