How The Atlas Rocket Evolved Over 60 Years

[@mattcolver1]

They named it Atlas V to differentiate themselves from Delta IV during the EELV competition with Boeing in the late 90s. It was mainly a marketing ploy. I used to work for ULA. The EELV contract was initially a winner take all contract. So both Boeing and Lockheed-Martin were feverishly competing. Both companies were spending a lot of money to develop new launch vehicles and someone would end up losing a lot of money. Eventually the Air Force realized having two qualified EELV launchers was a good thing and decided to award 2/3ds of the launches to one contractor and a third to the other. Remember when Boeing got in hot water for stealing Atlas V cost and pricing data and using it to their advantage to win the lions share of the launch contracts. When that was found out the Air Force took launches away from Boeing. Some people went to jail. The Air Force gave the launches to LM. It was almost a relief to Boeing because they priced launches at such a low price that they were losing money on each Delta IV launch. When there were delays in spacecraft production in the early 2000s and there weren't enough launches for either team, both LM and Boeing were losing money keeping their standing armies. Both companies were looking for a way to get out of the launcher business. High risk, low return. Also LM was suing Boeing for over a $billion in the cheating scandal.That's when the customer community suggested a joint venture with a capability contract to make both launchers profitable. ULA was formed. Boeing had built a state of the art rocket factory in Decatur, Alabama and Atlas V was being built in a very old Martin Aviation factory. So LM loved the idea of moving Atlas production to the new factory that Boeing had spent billions on. However the creation of ULA made them a monopoly for government launches and SpaceX saw an opportunity. Now the government has probably too many launchers at it's disposal. There's 3 capable of EELV launches and you also have the Orbital ATK Antares being used for NASA launches. I understand Orbital is also competing for the next EELV block buy. So we could have 4 launchers competing for those contracts. However ULA is going to one launcher the Vulcan. We could end up where we were in the early 2000s where there's not enough launch vehicle production for anyone to be making any money. SpaceX being private their profit data isn't available. Some say they've never made a profit. ULA and Orbital have stockholders who need to see profits. So it will be interesting in the next few year. Sorry about the long reply, lots of background and info.

[@scottmanley]

Thanks, I really appreciate this.

[@nonyabeeznuss304]

mattcolver1 I can definiteley see market saturation becoming an issue in the near future. Seems like everybody and thier grandma are developing launch vehicles now.

[@scottk3034]

BREEKI BRO Can't be but for the better more companies in the game the more they have to innovate. Competition will also help bring down launch prices.

[@andret4403]

I had the pleasure to work on the Altas III and a little on Altas V. Mattcover1 is correct on the skipping Atlas IV. Back then LM was in competition with Boeing and Boeing beat LM to the punch with Delta III. Delta III managed to have several failures and one was with their upper stage using the upgraded version of the RL10. This failure caused the Atlas III to be delayed by a year mostly due to losing the payload. LM team actually worked the failure root cause. One because Boeing was dragging the investigation and two it had the Atlas III grounded until root cause was found. It was fun times for me. I got the honors to work on a rocket with so much history. I actually had to investigate one of the pressurization valves that dated back to 1959 and was still in use. It was cool finding the original certification testing dating back to that time. There was one point that was missing in mattcover1's posting on EELV. At the time telecommunication industry was booming and there was plans for satellite phones. This was back when cellular phones were in its infancy. I believe there were a couple companies with plans to launch 100s of satellites to support this satellite phone service. With this LM and Boeing were looking at forecasts of 100s of satellites and both companies were going to move forward with heir EELV whether or not they won the winner take all contract. Shortly after the winner take all was split, the telecommunication market bubble burst and the satellite phone plans evaporated. Now both LM and Boeing had put in half billion to a billion dollars of their own funding in the EELV program because of the split contract. Both were faced with never making back what they put in with the number of launches forecasted post telecommunication collapse. As result both LM and Boeing threaten to pull out and hence the sweetheart deal that mattcover1 mentioned. This is one of the reasons SpaceX was/is having trouble getting military contracts. At the time LM was bitterly sore about EELV contract split, about the cancellation of NASP, and the reduction of F22 orders. All three LM put in about half a billion dollars of their own development funding as part of a joint development deal with the government.

[@greghansen38]

@@andret4403 Thank you to mattcolver1 and Andre T for the little history lessons. I get curious about the business side of the launch business, and this is great stuff.

[@l00narcy]

Do this for all rockets!!! Soyuz, Ariane, etc....

[@Ludwig1625]

Ares...

[@nephilimcrt]

Yeah, I was going to suggest this, as well. This was very interesting.

[@joanalbertmirallespascual3606]

I support this idea!

[@Kanglar]

I always get Titan, Delta, and Atlas confused for some reason.

[@halliwedge]

+1

[@Tom5TomEntertainment]

Atlas IV was equipped with Windows 9 and both lost to deep space.

[@375GTB]

IBM 360 which failed So NASA went with DEC My cousin James Relihan was Range Safety 1959 - 1989 He worked with the ladies in Hidden Figures. Had the same FORTRAN Primer. Seen in the movie. Rode the same DC-3 to Langley As they rode to FLA.. History!

[@mattice5685]

it also launched zuma 2

[@hamburgerhamburger4064]

It also had a iPhone 9 on it

[@cadgecorp]

@@hamburgerhamburger4064 the blue prints

[@comicman3173]

Yes

[@carlring3127]

Thanks for the Atlas history. I was part of the launch crew for the C series on pad 12. The Atlas Able failure shown was a static firing of 9C on pad 12. It damaged the pad so severely it took about one year to rebuild. An atmospheric over pressure of 15 psi was recorded at the pad

[@thatoneguy99100]

My Grandfather was an engineer at Aerojet Rocketdyne from the 50s through the mid 70s. He worked on the Vanguard upper stage, but he says its hard to measure how good it actually was because whatever first stage it was placed on would usually blow up... He later went on to work on the first stage of the Titan II and eventually the Nerva Project.

[@doug9176]

I know the views have dipped a bit with these history type videos. But I love them :)

[@tezer2d]

more people would watch it if scott builds all versions in ksp

[@ronschlorff7089]

it was called film.

[@guimblon]

The first Atlas looks like a illustration from 1900, beautifully futuristic.

[@ZealothPL]

8:40 I love that people apparently needed HOT FIRE warning label at the business end of a rocket...

[@nerdcm355]

That engine is undergoing a hot fire, also known as a static fire presumably to test it before flight. It's not referring to the exhaust.

[@Jaccoob233]

Hey Scott, I got an internship at NASA Goddard, if you're ever in the let me know and I can take you on a tour! Thanks for inspiring me all these years.

[@harrymack3565]

Hey this comment is pretty old so how's it going.

[@tuttermuus6576]

Yeah how u doin?

[@harrymack3565]

@Din Djarin Wait what?

[@starleighpersonal]

@Din Djarin he died as he lived writing a response

[@thatgaming1940]

@Din Djarin no he didn't. don't say someone died for fun.

[@stefanlipkens6262]

This video just got me in the mood to play KSP

[@k1productions87]

Just saying Scott Manley's name is enough to get me into a mood to play KSP, lol

[@ERROR-ho1lz]

Please do this for the Titan family!!

[@zachbaird4717]

Totally agree ! I’d definitely stick around.

[@realzachfluke1]

Zach Baird lol okay, he says 3 years later. I’ve stuck around too, bro. hahahahaha

[@RCAvhstape]

For a great read on the history of the Atlas program from the 50s up to the early days of Atlas V, pick up a copy of the book "Atlas: The Ultimate Weapon". Goes into detail about how the program was started, the people involved in it, the early efforts to design and build launch facilities, command and control systems, guidance systems, propulsion, weaponizing it using coffin launchers and later vertical silos, later development as a space launch vehicle, etc.

[@EricIrl]

And Atlas will be used again for manned flights as a version of the rocket will launch the Boeing Starliner spacecraft into orbit.

[@pmsteamrailroading]

Imagine: If only we had continued development of the Saturn rockets. My bet is that it would have cost less than the shuttle.

[@johnbrown9181]

If you include R&D costs, then probably yes. Something being cheaper than the STS Shuttle isn't a very high bar to cross, though (Maybe worth noting that the entire Soviet space shuttle program - буран, Buran, or 'Snowstorm', cost less than a single Shuttle launch if you count R&D).

[@stardolphin2]

But we stopped building Saturns because we stopped doing the things that required them. Not the other way around.

[@robertsanchez8132]

stardolphin2 nope. We stopped using them so the shuttle program could exist

[@jamesricker3997]

@@johnbrown9181 stealing American shuttle data really cut down on the R&D cost

[@VyarkX]

James Ricker good point, but the soviets actually built a better shuttle than the americans (not considering safety records since the buran only flew once)

[@johnjuice5868]

You should do a video like this for the Soyuz too!

[@TLN-qu4rq]

Bet he'd have his hands full with all the versions of that that have flown. R7, to what? Soyuz 2.1? I don't even know how many came in between but your talking about a probably 20+ minute video. That I'd gladly watch. :)

[@pedrovicnt_]

its not soyus,for me its R7 OR R15

[@udontknowme7798]

Soyuz= Best, and therefor is has been the most used space rocket ever!

[@soyuzistrepublic9771]

@@pedrovicnt_ i like the name soyuz! It means union in Russian and it stands for he soviet union!

[@hansdrachenberg8557]

Scott, you taught me how to to play KSP back at .14 if I remember correctly. I've followed you ever since and this documentary was incredible. Thank you!

[@randallporter4835]

Thank Scott. My Dad's Army buddy, my Uncle Mitch worked on Agena's at the Cape from Gemini on.

[@TheSeppentoni]

Isn't the Soiuz the most reliable Rocket in terms of kaboom/not kaboom ratio?

[@dosmastrify]

TheSeppentoni yeah my dad built and helped to launch satellites for Lockheed Martin and he said that believe it or not the Russians have one of the best records as far as Kaboom versus not KaBoom

[@scottmanley]

But in the early days they had a lot of kaboom.

[@bluetoothpaste9168]

Scott Manley They didn't have KSP to simulate it back then.

[@jackbrennan7891]

TheSeppentoni Your statement is not politically sensitive.)

[@TheSeppentoni]

I hope I haven't hurt anybody too much ;)

[@Nightlurk]

Amazing how those guys managed to put multiple people in earth orbit, moon orbit, and on the actual moon surface AND bring them back alive, with a TOTAL computing power of ALL missions combined which was less than my phone's... Hell, if you were to take a laptop running KSP back to the 50s and show it off at NASA, they'd probably just all quit and go home.

[@vonneely1977]

NightLurk: MekJeb FTW.

[@jackvernian7779]

You could achive the same thing by giving a notebook and a timer to the person, the main differnce would be is that it would put unnecessary pressure on the person performing, and would have a higher failure rate as a result of being human and quite slow compared to a computer.

[@nickhowatson4745]

they would probably take the laptop and make it classified tech and hide it away in area 51 or the pentagon for intense study and reverse engineering. they would probably execute you once they get all the info they want from you to keep the word from spreading lol.

[@whatamihereforagain9317]

NightLurk we'd be at mars by now if that happened

[@Kaboom1212Gaming]

something like that. Or perhaps they would take the tech and ask you how it was built as well as manufacturing details. You would have to teach them how the interface worked as well as they would not be able to use a PC as intuitively as we do (though it would catch after about a day of use probably) Also if they did kill you they wouldn't know how to get into the thing because password encryption methods are certainly far beyond what they were back in the 50swhen the only encryption you have is a physical lock and key. However, they may use KSP with you around and be able to do numerous tests on rocket design and functionality so we would certainly be a few steps ahead development-wise.

[@ronschlorff7089]

Nice presentation of a venerable and historic rocket, now 61 years old. Since it is now to be called Vulcan, it seems appropriate to say: "Live Long and Prosper"

[@Electrodium]

Please, do more of these videos. They're great.

[@harborteacherprep]

Your videos are amazing! So interesting the way you layout and talk about the topic! So informative and appealing to watch! I have been a fan for years now!

[@alexlandherr]

Do a similar video on the Ariane rocket please!

[@BM-ku8fv]

Probably the best video. Very nice man . Thank you for happiness

[@Women_Rock]

I could watch videos about rocket history all day

[@planetaxolotl4398]

I need more! Do the Delta family next, seems like a logical step

[@giuseppedechiara802]

Hi Scott is a pleasure for me to see my artworks within one of your nice videos... Ciao Giuseppe

[@omermagen824]

Great video! looking forward for a video like this about the Soyuz and Falcon rockets!

[@peachtrees27]

Learned something, even after watching all the old Air Force Atlas vids from the 50's. Thanks!

[@helomedia767]

It would be good to interview the designers/engineers from back in the day before they're all gone.

[@nicholasmaude6906]

The Atlas's booster-engines were shutdown when the launch acceleration loads reached 5-5.5Gs, in regards to the Big Joe mission what happened is that the booster-engines (And their associated thrust-structure) failed to separate after they shut down.

[@ryuuhi11]

This is the kind of video I've been looking for and could not find! Thank you!! I'd love to see more videos describing the development of a single line of rocket or comparing different rocket families.

[@felixrowan3740]

Helpful for learning KSP RP-1, thanks Scott!

[@philadeos]

Thanks, Scott! An excellent overview of an excellent launch platform!

[@LabyrinthMike]

Good video. I saw a video about the first unmanned moon landing, and they said it used a Centaur upper stage. I was astounded that Centaur had been around that long. I would love to see a video about the Centaur program.

[@colinfield981]

Mike Schultz yep those RL-10s have been around nearly as long as I have, I was born in 1956

[@thedeadlinger6992]

Scott Manley Would you make a video about the French rocket 'Ariane'?

[@jimcole5359]

I used to live on Vandenberg and near it during different parts of my life. Used to love it when the Thor rockets would take off. On the rare occasions when a rocket would fail to launch correctly we would head to the beaches to see if we could find any pieces of the solid rocket fuel. Dangerous stuff we played with as kids lol.

[@tyrred]

Thank you so much for manleysplaining the Atlas family, I always wondered why there was no Atlas 4.

[@jackvernian7779]

manleysplaining, the best type of explaining.

[@Chris091560]

Scott! I really love your transition from mostly ksp videos to science/educational videos. Nice job!

[@TheTrueJedi01]

This was good. I can see this sort of thing becoming an excellent series.

[@conspiraciesarejustgreatst2059]

Such a great video Scott. I love how you went through the work to provide an amazing evolution of this wonderful piece of human technical art

[@scpguy1381]

Kind of nice to see the Atlas launching crew once again

[@WWeronko]

A bit of Atlas trivia. I have always wondered why ULA says BECO rather than MECO when they shut down the RD-180 engine at the end of its burn. Upon some investigation I found that it is a left over term from the old stage and a half Atlas where when the two booster engines have completed their burn and drop off, it was reported as BECO with the sustainer engine was the main engine.

[@Psycho-ty5sz]

Wow! Well done Scott, this video was both informative and entertaining. I especially liked how the background music seems to play into what's happening onscreen. For example, the way it gets really somber when the rocket explodes from around 1:07 to 1:25, the timing gave me chills! Kudos on the editing, it was very professional.

[@MendTheWorld]

The story of the Atlas reminds me of the paradox of the Ship of Theseus in metaphysics. Was there anything that made an Atlas an Atlas in all its iterations aside from the name?

[@topsecret1837]

Well you could argue an Atlas was an Atlas up to Atlas IIAS. The RS-56s were still derived from the same base design as the RS-27 and the H-1, which have their roots in the Navajo/Hermes program which predated the Redstone rocket and ultimately rooted from technologies learned from the V-2.

[@muriminyaga]

Awesome evolution of this vehicle..great video

[@frankieford7668]

You Make my Favorite Videos Scott...Very in depth and Informative....excellent..👍

[@garrettrieger7544]

This is a seriously awesome movie! Thanks for putting it together!

[@oturoscar9346]

Movie!!???

[@BenQuigley]

I enjoy these history videos. Cheers Scott.

[@braunblender]

reminds me of trigger form only fools and horses:- " ive had this broom for 20 years its had 4 new heads and new 12 handles"

[@jameskendig1506]

Scott! please do more videos like this!!!

[@dwilliams2068]

Minor correction. All the early Atlas models actually had 5 engines at launch. Jim Crooks, one of the inventors of the AZUSA tracking system, felt that, because the final velocity was key to impact accuracy, the ability to shut off the main engine and achieve the required velocity was questionable, he suggested adding two "vernier" engines. They were 1,000 # thrust engines mounted somewhat above the main propulsion bay, and swiveled during the main powered phase and then provided the final velocity adjustment at the end of main powered flight. As a second feature, they are used to help manage roll during powered flight.

[@dwilliams2068]

I have to say that the various versions of AZUSA transponders, one of my projects, achieved a sequence 500 non-failure flights on the Atlas and other missiles. Sam Ackerman was made VP at Astronautics around that tine and we all got gold pins celebrating that achievement. That was a significant accomplishment for space electronic systems in that day and age. (That doesn't include last minute repairs and exchanges just before some launches.)

[@gelatinous6915]

He mentions the verniers but doesn't count them as "main" engines.

[@Patchuchan]

One I'd like to see would be the Thor/Delta family of rockets. There was some repurposing of Apollo Saturn components on the 1970s through1980s variants such as the LMDE being developed into the TR-201 and the RS-27 derived from the H-1 from Saturn IB.

[@alphaadhito]

I'm impressed with you finding all of those footages. 👏 😀

[@peterhorah7884]

Great summary: clearl and excellently illustrated. Thank you.

[@MrAdrianSW]

Reading back thru the incident reports for the Atlas ICBM system its amazing to think how well it worked for Space.

[@martysdomain]

This is fantastic. Would love to see more of these!

[@pizdamatii5001]

great video! do the delta family next :)

[@Vincent_Quak]

Very interesting and awesome stuff, please make a video about Titan and/or other launch vehicles as well!

[@krozareq]

there's 3 Atlas ICBM silos within a mile of me. Been down into one of the launch sites which the town now owns. No rocket obviously but the bunker control room and the launch silos intact. Most of them are flooded though.

[@PsychoticSmith]

Man! It took some serious balls to climb into one of those early spacecraft back in the day.

[@bothellkenmore]

Looking forward to more of these! Well done :)

[@josephdelaurentis85]

I really love these educational videos.

[@casperhito]

This is an epic video! Please do more of these. Love the content

[@dosmastrify]

I'd have to say this might be one of your best non Kerbal videos so far

[@KopLamp]

I always wondered about that long antenna-like thing sticking out of the side of the fairing. I once thought to spot a launch failure early on that way, but it proved to be a feature instead of a bug...

[@Laiserball8]

This was really cool, would love to see more videos about rockets!

[@wartem]

I'm building my own rocket and I will take his advice to fly safe.

[@soleenzo893]

This would make for a great series :Ariane, Delta, PLSV, Long March etc .

[@HappyFlapps]

Such a great post Scott! Love your stuff (and your accent rocks!). By the way, I'm looking forward to the upcoming Delta-4 launch from Vandenberg on Tuesday, 12/18/2018. We've got a great view from our house here in Huntington Beach, CA. Saw that spectacular Space-X launch a few months back. IMHO, they should ONLY launch at dusk, as it provides the a spectacular light show.

[@ronschlorff7089]

yup, remember all those minute man ICBM launches from Vandenburg. Lit up the sky. better than the 4th.

[@MyeHaf]

Do history of Soyuz next!

[@ChrisSham]

Seconded. You've already missed the R-7 family's 50th anniversary, but they're both older and more numerous than the Atlases. Plus, the current Soyuz launcher really still has a great deal in common with the very first R-7, unlike launchers like Atlas and Delta that have evolved well beyond having anything in common with their original versions. R-7 was used for the first satellite (Sputnik, of course), the first lifeform in orbit (Laika), the first object to pass near the Moon and to impact the Moon (Luna 1 and 2), first human in space, first multicrew vessel, first crew deaths (unfortunately, though not related to the launcher), the only crewed use of a launch escape system, and piles more. The sale of Soyuz launchers to ESA is also interesting from a political and economic angle. I don't think I'm saying anything novel. Just noting that if there's interesting things to say about Atlas, then there's at least as much worth saying about R-7.

[@ronschlorff7089]

I'd like that; having made several scale rocket models of same (R-7) that fly fabulous, with almost no fins!!!

[@oturoscar9346]

This vid needs to be done for the delta/Thor rocket family

[@Visuwyg]

Great background music! Very epic. Reminds me of Sunshine.

[@cratersofthemoon]

Steve! Thank You Very Much!

[@TNTHammer]

I love seeing the atlas slowly metamorphing into the atlas it is now.

[@stsrwaan34]

Love it :D How about doing the Falcon 9 development over the years? :P

[@scottmanley]

+stsrwaan34 need a few more iterations, will cover Soyuz, Delta, Titan and Ariane first.

[@markcarey8426]

OH YOU HAVE GIVEN ME INFO AND HOPE.

[@edstirling]

i find it so interesting how the film quality for recording the 60's projects was so good compared to what was more common to see of news recordings of the time. then you can tell the distinctive 80's-era film in the clip of atlas-II at 7:50 following which everything else is digital.

[@wierdalien1]

edstirling because TV has been digital since its inception, kinda, where as the recording is exactly that a recording on to film stock so its more comparable to actual films than TV.

[@dwilliams2068]

I note the SCORE project. That was highly classified and only a few individuals knew about it in advance. George Tweed, head of the Antenna and Microwave group at Astronautics, designed the tape recorder configuration. The missile itself was the satellite and I think it had a relatively short time in orbit. (In later years, Tweed, (incidentally a glider champion), became chief engineer at Otis Elevator.

[@mancubwwa]

One thing you missed - Atlas - centaur was the first Launch system that was used to launch a spacecraft capable of leaving solar system, when it launched Pioneer 10 in 1972...

[@MrBorceivanovski]

Atlas is a beautiful name

[@thestigsgermancousin4479]

"Hot Fire" made me chuckle :)

[@chriskelleher349]

You mentioned Surveyor. That soft landing was big news.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

10:34 “Klb”? Way to keep resisting those SI units, kicking and screaming until the last, eh?

[@Jimfoxyboy]

I was talking to a friend about rocket designs not long ago. I mentioned that the early Atlas was neat in that it used the half staging idea. And I was curious as to why no one else looked into using it as well. Friend then pointed me to an article about the Saturn S-1D, supposedly a future Saturn rocket design. It would have launched on 5 engines, dropping four of them away on a large fairing structure at the base.

[@LeonelEBD]

I think there was also a plan to put parachutes on the falling engines for reuse too

[@Jimfoxyboy]

@@LeonelEBD Ya, I think I seen that as well. Although, if the engines fell into ocean, it usually meant they couldn't reuse them anyways. Or refurbishment would have be pretty tough to do.

[@prosoto]

This is A+ content. Can we please have more?

[@------country-boy-------]

great video bro!

[@TrueFireMessiah]

really enjoyed this, and would love to see the story behind other rockets.

[@JettQuasar]

Wow! I didn't realize that the Vulcan had such a deep history. I guess all of the expertise from the early NASA exploration programs hasn't been lost after all.

[@milenent]

Thank you for your great vidoes.

[@Appolonius10]

Yes Scott! Please do more of these great history videos. Also feel free to go into more detail!! We like detail! Don't think that all your audience hasn't the attention span....what was I saying?

[@nukezap6528]

i bet nasa will be using this as ref material in a museam somewhere. good work scott o\

[@siyacer]

I would like to see Scott play with the Lego Saturn V and actually do the mission.

[@spockagain]

This video was fantastic, thank you! Are you planning on doing birthday history videos on other rockets?

[@robertfousch2703]

And so now that Starliner has gone on the Atlas V we can say it has once again put humans in space.

[@aarondsouza1842]

Hello from the future, tge Vulcan launched some time ago, and it still keeps the legendary centaur, atlas still has a few missions on it😂.

[@juanvaldez3352]

hey Scott! pretty please do a video on the wallops launch tonight. we'd all love it! thanks!!

[@juanvaldez3352]

or at least when it actually launches!

[@JayDeesWorldvideos]

Great video!

[@am69iop]

Time. It makes Atlas V become the best rocket nowadays.

[@javiervazquez2815]

I love the Atlas V. One of the most reliable and best rocket in the world