Fire 1Spacecraft:(no serial number) Launch Vehicle: Atlas D Launched: 14 Apr 1964 |
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Description: 1st Apollo Atlas unmanned suborbital lunar reentry simulation |
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An Atlas D launch vehicle lifted a Project Fire spacecraft in the first test of the heat that would be encountered by a spacecraft reentering the atmosphere at lunar-return velocity. During the spacecraft's fall toward earth, a solid-fuel Antares II rocket behind the payload fired for 30 seconds, increasing the descent speed to 40,501 kilometers (25,166 miles) per hour. Instruments in the spacecraft radioed temperature data to the ground. The spacecraft exterior reached an estimated temperature of 11,400 K (20,000 degrees F). About 32 minutes after launch, the spacecraft impacted into the Atlantic Ocean. The mission, sponsored by Langley Research Center, provided reentry heating measurements needed to evaluate heatshield materials and information on the communications blackout during reentry. References:
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