THRUST OF ROCKET

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29754, 22 February 1962, Page 7

THRUST OF ROCKET

Enough For i 75,000 Cars (U.S. Information Service] CAPE CANAVERAL '■’Hc-k a). The Atlas r»- that thrust Lieutenant - Colonel j John Glenn into orbit con-l sumed more fuel in the first I minute of flight than a commercial jet airliner burns on a New York to London flight Its enormous thrust equalled 7.5 million horsepower, enough to drive 75,000 cars. The Atlas used was a strengthened version of the military missiles that has undergone more than 4000 test firings on the ground and had 66 successful flights, including four in the Project Mercury programme. The five-engined vehicle, tall as a six-storey building and 10 feet in diameter, developed 360.000 pounds of thrust at lift-off. It reached peak power about three minutes after launch. Five minutes after launching it hurled Colonel Glenn and his oneton Mercury spacecraft into orbit at 17,500 miles an hour. All five engines ignited before take-off. These were the two main "booster” engines of 80,000 pounds thrust for high-altitude flight, and two smaller “vernier" engines outboard to correct minor deviations in the planned trajectory.

The Atlas was strengthened at the “neck" with a band of metal at the point where the Mercury capsule was attached.