Thor Missile Inertial Guidance System
New Mexico Museum of Space History
Thor was the first operational ballistic missile deployed by the USAF. It was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) with thermonuclear warheads. Thor was 65 feet (20m) height and 8 feet (2.4m) in diameter. A large family of space launch vehicles- the Delta rockets- were derived from the Thor design. A modified version is still in use as the first stage of the Delta II. AC Spark Plug built the primary inertial guidance system.
Thor-Agena was a series of orbital launch vehicles. The rockets used Thor first stages and Agena second stages. They are thus ancestors of the more famous Thor-Deltas, which founded the Delta rocket family. The first attempted launch of a Thor-Agena was in January 1959. The first successful launch was on February 28, 1959, launching the Discoverer-1 satellite.
Prior to launch, the vertical axis of the Thor missile would be powered up to rotate at the same rotation rate as the Earth - one complete rotation every 24 hours. The horizontal axis would rotate at the same rate as the equator. This would align the instruments to reference and allow for precise navigation across the globe. The rotation speed is increased here so you can see the various instruments that made up this incredibly complex, and highly accurate Inertial Navigation System.
Thor Missile Inertial Guidance System
New Mexico Museum of Space History
Thor was the first operational ballistic missile deployed by the USAF. It was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) with thermonuclear warheads. Thor was 65 feet (20m) height and 8 feet (2.4m) in diameter. A large family of space launch vehicles- the Delta rockets- were derived from the Thor design. A modified version is still in use as the first stage of the Delta II. AC Spark Plug built the primary inertial guidance system.
Thor-Agena was a series of orbital launch vehicles. The rockets used Thor first stages and Agena second stages. They are thus ancestors of the more famous Thor-Deltas, which founded the Delta rocket family. The first attempted launch of a Thor-Agena was in January 1959. The first successful launch was on February 28, 1959, launching the Discoverer-1 satellite.
Prior to launch, the vertical axis of the Thor missile would be powered up to rotate at the same rotation rate as the Earth - one complete rotation every 24 hours. The horizontal axis would rotate at the same rate as the equator. This would align the instruments to reference and allow for precise navigation across the globe. The rotation speed is increased here so you can see the various instruments that made up this incredibly complex, and highly accurate Inertial Navigation System.