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Show GREEN RIVER, Utah - An Athena missile made good Wednesday, rising from its launching pad here.at 3:23 p.m. and streaking 450 miles to an impact point on White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The launching was the third try on the solid-fueled experi mental missile. The first firing sent an Athena crashing to earth far off course in southwest Colorado. The second Athena, fired in May, was blown up iin the air when it went hay- wire shortly after the second stage ^ignited. p, Wednesday's firing was delayed an hour and seven minutes from its scheduled blast off at 2:15 p.m. The hold was caused in part by a report of a jet airplane's contrail crossing the proposed flight path to White Sands. At 3:23 p.m. the dozen or so newsmen and Air Force representatives watched the 50-foot-long A|hena climb straight up past light cloud cover. The bird veered slightly to the right as the second stage ignited, then disappeared ahead of its own vapor trail. "It looks like a good one," the observers said. Later word from White Sands confirmed that it was. The Air Force said the" mis- > [sile carried a sub-scale experimental re-entry vehicle as part of a test program for space vehicles. Assembled at the Green River site by Atlantic Research Corp., the miniature ICBMs are scheduled for a 70-shot experimental program for study of reentry data. „. The four-stage solid fuel Athena rocket streaks skyward in the first successful firing in three attempts at Green River. AP Photofax. |
