When I was growing up in the late-1960s and 1970s, I loved color photographs of the Earth taken by the astronauts during NASA’s manned spaceflights. What I did not fully appreciate at the time was that these color images of the Earth were the exception rather than the rule. Going all the way back to 1946 when the first images of the Earth were taken from space (see “First Pictures: The View of Earth from Space – October 24, 1946“), most of the photographic and electronic imaging systems observing the Earth from above were monochromatic producing black and white images only. It was not until October 13, 1960 that among the first color photographs of the Earth from space were taken during a suborbital test flight of the USAF Atlas D ICBM.
The SM-65 Atlas was the first ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile) developed by the United States. With development started in January 1955 by the Convair division of General Dynamics (which today is part of Lockheed Martin), the first test flight of the Atlas was launched in June 1957 (see “The First Atlas Test Flights”). After a difficult development involving the mastery of many new technologies, the Atlas D ICBM became operational in October 1959 as test flights continued in order to refine the missile’s systems and its warhead-laden reentry vehicles. With a diameter of 3 meters and a total length of about 24 meters, the Atlas was the largest missile in the US at the time and was adapted early on as a satellite launch vehicle (see “Vintage Micro: The Talking Atlas”) as well as designated as the launch vehicle for NASA’s manned Mercury orbital missions (see “Giving Mercury Its Wings: The First Test Flights of NASA’s Mercury Program”).
Diagram illustrating the major components of an early production version of the SM-65 Atlas ICBM. Click on image to enlarge. (USAF)
As part of Atlas’ ongoing research and development program, the USAF contracted General Electric (GE) to develop and build the RVX-2 series of experimental reentry vehicles. The engineering objectives of the RVX-2 program included the evaluation of new ablative coatings developed by GE and Avco for use on future reentry vehicles. The RVX-2 was a long tapered cone capped by a rounded nose with a 0.25-meter radius of curvature. This reentry vheicle had a base diameter of 1.62 meters and a total length of 3.73 meters. With a launch mass in excess of a metric ton, the RVX-2 had provisions to carry instrumentation and a recovery system. Three launch attempts of the RVX-2 were made in 1959 but only the third, the launch of Atlas 8C on July 21, 1959, succeeded with the reentry vehicle recovered from the South Atlantic Ocean about 9,300 kilometers downrange.
Diagram showing the internal arrangement of systems in the RVX-2A experimental reentry vehicle. Click on image to enlarge. (General Dynamics)
The RVX-2A was similar to its predecessor but carried a payload geared more towards scientific investigations. The eighteen experiments included photography, biomedical investigations using live mice, study of radiation phenomena, investigation of reentry physics including transpirational cooling, electromagnetic propagation and evaluating fuel cell prototypes. Problems during the first two flights of the RVX-2A, the Atlas 66D and 76D launches on August 12 and September 16, 1960, respectively, prevented the recovery of the reentry vehicle. As it turned out, the flight of RVX-2A No. 423 on Atlas 71D would prove to be the only complete success of the series. This 1,268.5-kilogram vehicle tested various formulations of a plastic ablator that GE had developed. Its 270-kilogram instrument package included three black mice (named Sally, Amy and Moe) and a 70 mm camera with color film.
A closeup view of RVX-2A No. 423 atop of Atlas 71D at LC-11. (General Dynamics/SDASM)
Atlas 71D arrived at Cape Canaveral on August 19, 1960 and was erected on the pad at Launch Complex 11 (LC-11) on September 26 after post shipping checkout and correcting some minor issues. The first launch attempt on October 7 was scrubbed at the T-7 minute mark because of problems with the telemetry system on RVX-2A No. 423. After a series of unscheduled holds during the countdown for the second launch attempt which caused the 2:00 AM EST launch time to slip, the second attempt was successful with the 119.6 metric ton Atlas 71D lifting off the pad at 4:34:48.6 AM EST on October 13 with 1,627 of kilonewtons of thrust from its MA-3 propulsion system.
The launch of Atlas 71D from LC-11 on October 13, 1960. (General Dynamics/SDASM)
Although some minor deviations in the performance of one of the two booster engines were noted, booster engine cutoff took place on schedule at 139.6 seconds after launch at an altitude of 77.9 kilometers some 97 kilometers downrange with the missile traveling at a speed of 3,176 meters per second. Again, some minor anomalies were noted during the burn of the sustainer engine with shutdown occurring about seven seconds early 266.7 seconds after launch. With the the pair of vernier engines shutting down 14 seconds later, Atlas 71D was traveling at 6,190 meters per second at an altitude of 333.6 kilometers about 664 kilometers downrange.
A view of Atlas 71D at an altitude of about 400 kilometers after the separation of RVX-2A. (General Dynmaics/SDASM)
Shortly after the end of the Atlas’ powered flight, RVX-2A No. 423 separated from the spent rocket and started taking photographs. After capturing photos of the tumbling Atlas 71D, RVX-2A continued photographing its view from space reaching a peak altitude of about 1,050 kilometers during its journey over the Atlantic. These photographs would prove to be among the first color photographs of the Earth taken from space.
Successive color photographs of the Earth taken from RVX-2A No. 423 using a 70 mm camera showing dawn over the Atlantic Ocean. (General Dynamics/SDASM)
After reaching apogee, RVX-2A arc backed towards the Earth for reentry. Telemetry faded out during reentry (as expected) 30 minutes and 54 seconds after launch and the vehicle experienced peak braking loads of 20 g. The RVX-2A ejected its aft cover after reentry and deployed its parachute 31 minutes and 43 seconds after launch with splashdown taking place after a flight of 32 minutes and 39 seconds. RVX-2A No. 423 had come down at 8.11° S, 14.85° W in the South Atlantic Ocean 8,121 kilometers downrange missing its target point by only 6.5 kilometers. Shortly after splashdown, the Ocean Range Vessel, the USAFS Coastal Crusader (originally a US Navy Alamosa-class cargo ship acquired by the USAF in 1957) recovered the reentry vehicle. The three mice from the biomedical experiments were safe as was the film with its precious color photographs of the Earth.
The recovery of RVX-2A No. 423 after it splashed down 8,121 kilometers downrange. In the distance is the recovery ship, the USAFS Coastal Crusader. (General Dynamics/SDASM)
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Related Reading
“First Pictures: The View of Earth from Space – October 24, 1946”, Drew Ex Machina, October 24, 2021, [Post]
“First Pictures: Color View of the Earth & A Tropical Depression from Space – October 5, 1954”, Drew Ex Machina, October 5, 2024 [Post]
“The First Atlas Test Flights”, Drew Ex Machina, June 11, 2015 [Post]
“Vintage Micro: The Talking Atlas”, Drew Ex Machina, December 18, 2014 [Post]
“Giving Mercury Its Wings: The First Test Flights of NASA’s Mercury Program”, Drew Ex Machina, September 9, 2019 [Post]
General References
Chuck Walker with Joel Powell, Atlas: The Ultimate Weapon, Apogee Books, 2005
“USAF, Industry Study RVX-2A Results”, Aviation Week & Space Technology, Vol. 73, No. 17, p. 30, October 24, 1960
“GE RVX-2A Re-entry Vehicle Recovered from Atlantic”, Aviation Week & Space Technology, Vol. 73, No. 22, p. 63, November 28, 1960
Flight Test Report Atlas Missile 71D, Convair Astronautics Division AA60-0118, October 31, 1960
Flight Summary Report Series D Atlas Missile, General Dynamics – Astronautics Division Report AE60-0131-2, 1960
Good and interesting info. Thanks for posting.
Excellent report Drew, always enjoy your work, well done and thank you.