A clever, well-composed photo of Thor-Delta 144 on Launch Complex 17A. If the stamped date on the verso is accurate, four days later, on May 13, 1960, the vehicle was launched with its payload, the Echo 1 satellite.
“The mission, which was also the maiden voyage of the Thor-Delta launch vehicle, failed before deployment of the payload. The Thor stage performed properly, but during the coast phase, the attitude control jets on the unproven Delta stage failed to ignite, sending the payload into the Atlantic Ocean instead of into orbit.”
Above paraphrased from the following:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Echo
Credit: Wikipedia
The follow-up attempt, Echo 1A, was successfully launched on August 12, 1960.
Inexplicable mild waviness of the photo paper along the bottom edge does not detract.
www.thisdayinaviation.com/12-august-1960-2/
Credit: “This Day In Aviation” website
