![]() ![]() NASA contracted with the Air Force for the use of the Thor booster, while the Delta second stage vehicle was produced directly for NASA by McDonnell Douglas, which was awarded the initial contract for the vehicle in April of 1959. When larger payloads called for a more powerful vehicle, the Air Force and McDonnell Douglas introduced the Improved Thor-Delta and the Thrust Augmented Delta. Through this growth, averaging one major change each year, the vehicle was able to keep pace with the various US space efforts, with payload requirements that were constantly changing. The Thor-Delta launch vehicle experienced a consistent evolutionary growth since its initial launch in 1960. This evolutionary process was a continuing one. The Thor-Delta evolved through a large number of configuration changes. The vehicle's long use stemmed from this tradition of adaptability through its "building block" configuration. ![]() Through the years, as missions became more complex and launch vehicle requirements more exacting, the Thor-Delta possessed the flexibility to accommodate the variety of missions assigned to it. The first Delta, with an Echo I communications satellite on board, was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on. The Delta used components from the US Air Force's Thor Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile program as its first stage and the US Navy's Vanguard launch-vehicle program as its second. The Delta launch vehicle family began development in 1959 when NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center awarded a contract to Douglas Aircraft Company (subsequently the McDonnell Douglas Corporation, which merged with Boeing to form Boeing Launch Services in 1997) to produce and integrate 12 space-launch vehicles. Thor is a family of rocket motors that has included the Thrust Augmented Thor, or a Long Tank Thor, and a number of different booster configurations since May of 1960, which have provided the initial thrust for NASA and DOD space launch vehicle. ![]()
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