List of Thor-Ablestar launches

The Thor-Ablestar, or Thor-Able-Star, also known as Thor-Epsilon^[1] was an early American expendable launch system consisting of a PGM-17 Thor missile, with an Ablestar upper stage. It was a member of the Thor family of rockets, and was derived from the Thor-Able.

Two versions were built; the Thor-Ablestar 1 (Thor-DM21 Able-Star), with a DM-21 Thor and an AJ-10-104 second stage engine, and the Thor-Ablestar 2 (Thor-DSV2A Able-Star), which had a DSV-2A Thor first stage, and an uprated AJ-10-104D engine on the second stage. Thor-Ablestar 1 launches occurred from LC-17 at Cape Canaveral, and Thor-Ablestar 2 rockets were launched from LC-75-1 at Vandenberg Space Force Base (now designated SLC-2).

Nineteen Thor-Ablestar were launched between 1960 and 1965, of which four failed, and a fifth resulted in a partial failure, as only one of two payloads separated from the upper stage.^[2]