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Show Atlantic Research VOL. 1 NO. 11 DUARTE, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 1964 ATHENA: Two Stages Up And Two Stages Down MISSION ACCOMPLISHED - Jack Reed, ATHENA Program Manager, scrawls historic words "Mission Accomplished" on blackboard in the Data Control Center at MSD Duarteheadquarters. E. H. Bradley looks on. Historic Event Climaxed by Long Hours of Preparation and Planning Launch of the first full scale four stage ATHENA re-entry vehicle climaxed long hours of preparation and planning by MSD personnel, who were responsible for readying the vehicle that carried the first of a series of re-entry payloads at velocities up to 22, 000 feet per second - over 14, 000 miles per hour. "Teamwork and pride in accomplishment are trademarks of the ATHENA launch crew," said A. J. Goehle, Green River Base Manager for Atlantic Research. He said that "this spirit stems from the inumerable countdowns which our MSD crew has lived through on many other programs. " 5 In the blockhouse assisting Gelo during the entire countdown of the vehicle were: Tom Baggette, Senior Engineer, (delegated by Gelo to push the button), Floyd Stevens, range coordinator; Ken Howard, telemetry ground station; John Middlestead, telemetry control operator; Bob Farnsworth. pyro console operator; Jim Gore, pad supervisor; Erv Law, pad engineer on pad number one (from where the vehicle was launched), and pad technicians Belton Gregory, Ralph Washburn and Dwight Shuman. "Many others deserve credit," said Gelo, "for the fine performance that we needed to put fire in the tail of that bird, but obviously we can't name them all." Beginning late Friday November 6, news outlets across the country carried this terse announcement: "An Air Force ATHENA test rocket was launched from Green River, Utah, at 8:20 p.m. and impacted at White Sands Missile Range in southeastern New Mexico. Army and Air Force monitors confirmed the flight's complete success." To the Missile Systems Divisionof Atlantic Research and all the people involved in the program, fruition of months of hard work, sweat and some tears, was contained in that simple two sentence statement. But the words, "complete success", were the most meaningful. Emmett H.Bradley, MSD Vice President, considered that the successful launch of the four stage ATHENA not only proved the feasibility of a relatively inexpensive system, but that it represented "the achievement of the most significant milestone in the history of the Missile Systems Division and, perhaps, even the Corporation". Friday's success came at 8:20 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. The path of the missile covered 470 miles from Green River to White Sands, New Mexico. The first two stages of the vehicle lofted it to over 500,000 feet, where it nosed over and the final two stages blasted the payload back to the earth's surface at 22, 000 feet per second - over 14,000 miles per hour. In the blockhouse attending the historic event were Jack Reed, ATHENA Program Manager, Earl Newton, Field Operations Manager, A. J. Goehle, MSD Green River facility Base Manager, Col. Richard Parker, Deputy Director for ATHENA, and Lt. Col. Richard Fernpaugh, ABRES Program Office, Air Force Headquarters, Washington D. C. |
