NW028 1/144 Atlas SLV-3 Agena B Ranger
In 1955 Convair won the prime contract for Atlas ICBM.The
liquid oxygen and kerosene vehicle was designed to carry a
thermonuclear warhead over 7000 miles. The Atlas was unique in
its “stage and half” design in which two of its main engines
were shed to reduce weight after two minutes of flight, while the
central sustainer continued to burn. In order to minimize
sustainer tank weight (used also for booster engines), Convair
employeed balloon construction. Flights of Atlas began on June
11, 1957, with the launch of Atlas A powered by booster alone. In
November 1958, an Atlas B reached full design range, and the
operational Atlas D was deployed in 1960.
The Atlas-Agena began as a launcher for Air Force satellites. The
restartable Agena was first developed as an upper stage and
propulsion unit for spy satellites. Agena A was followed by
Agenas B and D, which boosted a lot of US lunar and
interplanetary probes.
The Ranger spacecrafts were designed to fly to the moon,
returning data enroute and up to their impact on surface. Ranger
6 was launched on January 30th, 1964, and achieved lunar impact
20 miles of its target.
Photo of NW028 kit parts. Detail photos of some parts can be found on special page.