SM-65C Atlas

The SM-65C Atlas, also called the Atlas C, was a prototype version of the American Atlas missile and the last development model before the operational Atlas D. It first flew on 24 December 1958 and was one of the research and development vehicles used to prove the Atlas as an intercontinental ballistic missile. Compared with the Atlas B it had a larger liquid oxygen tank and a smaller RP-1 fuel tank, lighter components from better materials and manufacturing, and a booster burn time of up to 151 seconds. Six sub-orbital test flights were made from Launch Complex 12 at Cape Canaveral, of which three succeeded and three failed. It was planned as the first stage of the Atlas-Able rocket, but a static test explosion on 24 September 1959 destroyed the pad and the plan was dropped in favor of the Atlas D.