PGM-17 Thor
Thor was the first operational ballistic missile of the U.S. Air Force (USAF). Named after the Norse god of thunder, 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 (20 m) in height and 8 feet (2.4 m) in diameter. It was later augmented in the U.S. IRBM arsenal by the Jupiter.
A large family of space launch vehicles—the Delta rockets—were derived from the Thor design. A modified version was still in use in 2011 as the first stage of the Delta II.
Read more about PGM-17 Thor: Design and Development, Initial Development As An IRBM, First Launches, Deployment, Noteworthy Thor IRBM Flights, Launch Vehicle, Operators, Specifications (PGM-17A)
Famous quotes containing the word thor:
“Thaw with his gentle persuasion is more powerful than Thor with his hammer. The one melts, the other but breaks in pieces.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)