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The Last Atlas 2 Rocket Launch

Posted by timothy on from the it's-all-x-prize-from-here-on-out dept.

Fiz Ocelot writes "Reuters reports that the last Atlas 2 rocket was launched on Tuesday. The rocket was the last to launch the old-fashioned way. For this launch, the 120-member team was inside a blockhouse 1,400 feet from the launch pad. It was also the end of an era dating back to the 1950s, when most rockets, including early manned flights, were launched from concrete blockhouses adjacent to the pads."

23 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. eh hem.... by maxdamage · · Score: 5, Funny

    "The rocket's secret payload belonged to the National Reconnaissance Office, which operates the U.S. network of orbiting spy satellites."

    umm...

  2. Yes...but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does it run Linux?

  3. I love that... by Capt'n+Hector · · Score: 3, Funny

    "national security satellite." Here's hoping this is the replacement for the one(s) that were used to "discover" Saddam's WMD...

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    1. Re:I love that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Meh. Who needs a satellite when they have Photoshop?

    2. Re:I love that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      You know, rumor has it Canada has WMD. I also hear you have large oil reserves. Maybe we ought to liberate you.

    3. Re:I love that... by DAldredge · · Score: 2, Funny

      Or it could be that the 10 people, 1 biplane and one 2 oar boat that comprise the entire military of canada could not make the trip. ;->

    4. Re:I love that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      That's 12 people, 1 biplane AND A GYROCOPTER thank you very much. And as for Canada's navy, they have SEVERAL rowboats. Not just one. Trying to make Canada sound all pathetic. Shame on you. SHAME!

    5. Re:I love that... by An+Ominous+Cow+Aired · · Score: 2, Funny
      "national security satellite." Here's hoping this is the replacement for the one(s) that were used to "discover" Saddam's WMD...

      But the elections aren't for another couple months... Well, yeah, I guess the new Kerry.. errm... satellite... has to stabilize before it can replace the old, malfunctioning piece of crap that was in an orbit too high and too eccentric...

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    6. Re:I love that... by volkris · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'd say "Kerry" and "eccentric" are nearly synonymous...

  4. Re:Replacement? by Soko · · Score: 5, Funny

    From TFA:

    The Atlas 2 is giving way to the Atlas 5, a more versatile and less expensive rocket that is in contention with the new Boeing Co Delta 4 and other systems to become the primary launch vehicle for NASA's new moon program, which is scheduled to fly in the next decade.

    Slashdot - the only place you can look like a genius just by reading, and then understanding, the whole freaking article. :P

    Soko

    --
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  5. Re:Replacement? by britneys+9th+husband · · Score: 3, Funny

    What about the Atlas 3 and the Atlas 4? Did these guys take counting lessons from the RIAA?

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  6. Re:Replacement? by Vess+V. · · Score: 4, Funny

    You mean Llamasoft?

  7. Re:No way; this thing dates back to the 50s by Orange+Apple · · Score: 1, Funny

    If it's 50s, then I suppose it runs on vacummes...

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  8. Re:Replacement? by FlipmodePlaya · · Score: 5, Funny

    You mean Fibonacci?

  9. Re:Replacement? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ... 2+3=5...

  10. Re:No way; this thing dates back to the 50s by nsuccorso · · Score: 2, Funny

    Oh, so it runs the latest version of SCO, then?

  11. Re:What's old fashioned by tonyr60 · · Score: 2, Funny

    "he rocket was the last to launch the old-fashioned way. What, with boosters, and rockets and things?

    Maybe they mean the old fashioned way was "Light Touch Paper and retreat a safe distance" "Safe Distance" in the case of Atlas rockets was 1400 ft and behind a concrete bunker. Maybe they ran out of firing operators.

  12. Re:consider the jihad by maxdamage · · Score: 2, Funny

    yay, my first trolled post!

  13. Re:Replacement? by rf0 · · Score: 2, Funny

    A very big Catapult

    Rus

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  14. Knowing this administration... by Black+Art · · Score: 3, Funny

    They will replace the Atlas rocket with the Estes rocket.

    Looks about the same as long as you don't look close and lack depth perception.

    --
    "Trademarks are the heraldry of the new feudalism."
  15. Re:Missile house by mrchaotica · · Score: 3, Funny
    from the linked site:
    Very few of these first generation missile sites were built. All other sites decommissioned after 1965 are being destroyed to conform to international treaty agreements. No more structures of this size and strength are being built.
    Stupid G#&-D@#! F#*$!@& international treaties! Always foiling my plans!

    (Actually, I really would like to own a missle silo)
    --

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  16. Re:Replacement? by MoobY · · Score: 2, Funny

    Still amazing to see a design as old as I am still in use.

    Note that this article is all about the fact that the Atlas II is no longer used.

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  17. Re:It's as much an Atlas as... by bored_geek · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ya but no one seems to mind the latest Corvette being called a Corvette even though the main thing it has in common with the original is 4 wheels and a gas engine.