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Show The Sun Advocate - March 23, 1972 First Athena launch this year held last Friday at Green River An airforce Athena Missile was successfully launched Friday morning from White Sands Missile Range's launch complex near Green River. The missile, according to Air Force officials, was launched at 8:31 a.m. It impacted as programmed on the National Missile Range in south-central New Mexico. It was ffie I32nd Athena to be fired in the program and the third Athena-H. The solid propellant multi-stage vehicle is used in studying re-entry phenomena of space vehicles. Data obtained is used by the Army, Navy, Air Force and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This missile traveled the 470 miles into Hew Mexico in albout six-and-a-half minutes after attaining an altitude of about 175 miles. The 200-pound payload impacted at 22,000 feet per second. The Athena-H missile required 241,000 pounds of thrust to send the 30,500-pound package to New Mexico. |
