Program: Thor.
Objective: Launch vehicle. Major Events: .
01 December 1955 Missile programs get highest priority. Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: President Eisenhower assigned highest priority to ICBM and Thor and Jupiter IRBM programs.
27 August 1956 Thor engine first static test. Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: First static firing of Thor rocket engine at AFFTC, Edwards AFB.
25 January 1957 Thor first launch attempt. Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: First attempted test flight of USAF Thor IRBM, only 13 months after first production contracts were signed, failed to launch.
19 April 1957 First Thor IRBM launch. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: Douglas Thor IRBM (XSM-75) was launched at Cape Canaveral, Fla., destroyed by range safety officer.
20 September 1957 First successful Thor IRBM launch. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: Complete USAF Thor IRBM first successfully launched from Cape Canaveral.
11 October 1957 Thor IRBM reaches design range. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: Thor missile launched at Cape Canaveral, the second tested, achieved its designed 1,500-mile range.
24 October 1957 Thor long range test. Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: Thor long-range flight test successful from AMR, impacting 2,645 miles downrange.
27 November 1957 Thor and Jupiter IRBM's ordered into production. Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: Thor and Jupiter IRBM's ordered into production for ultimate deployment by the USAF.
19 December 1957 Thor eighth test flight. Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: A Thor missile, the eighth tested and the fourth successfully, completed the first fully-guided Thor IRBM flight using an all-inertial guidance system.
01 January 1958 Thor put into operational service. Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: Strategic Air Command assigned responsibility for U.S. operational ICBM capability; while the 672nd Strategic Missile Squadron, first to be equipped with USAF Douglas Thor IRBM, was activated.
28 January 1958 Thor IRBM test. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: Thor IRBM successfully fired from Cape Canaveral, flew prescribed course, and impacted in preselected area.
23 April 1958 Thor Able first launch. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Thor Able . More detailsSummary: USAF Thor-Able missile was launched from Cape Canaveral in a reentry test; flew short of its goal and the nose cone was not recovered. The nose cone carried a mouse as a biomedical experiment.
04 June 1958 Thor first mobile launcher test. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: USAF Thor flight tested for the first time from a tactical-type launcher at Cape Canaveral.
16 December 1958 Thor IRBM dual tests. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: Two Thor shots, one from Cape Canaveral and one from Vandenberg AFB, were successful. Intermediate range ballistic missile portion of PMR was inaugurated with successful firing of USAF Thor from Vandenberg AFB.
16 April 1959 First British Thor launch. Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: First Thor IRBM launched by British crew at Vandenberg AFB.
23 April 1959 Thor IRBM test. Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: Fourth recovery of a data capsule at AMR, USAF Thor 1,500-mile accuracy test flight.
24 July 1959 Thor delivers film of nose cone separation. Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: USAF Thor data capsule recovered near Antigua which contained movie film showing nose cone separation.
13 October 1961 Thor 100th launch. Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: Discoverer XXXII was placed into polar orbit; its capsule contained components of USAF satellite systems. This marked the 100th successful firing of the Thor booster rocket.
08 June 1962 Last launch of a Thor IRBM from Vandenberg Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: Last launch of a Thor IRBM from Vandenberg. (First launch and first missile fired from Vandenberg AFB on 16 December 1958.).
30 March 1966 Final mission of the Thor/Altair from Vandenberg Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor . More detailsSummary: Final mission of the Thor/Altair from Vandenberg AFB (first launch on 18 January 1965).
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Last update 11 January 1999. Contact Mark Wade with any corrections, additions, or comments.