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Atlas E MSD
🇺🇸CGM-16E MSD
1:110 Scale
H:22.8 cmD:2.8 cm
~24 bricks tall~4 studs wide
Maiden Launch1980-12-09
2–3 Stages
Height / Length
25.1 m
Diameter
3.1 m
Launch Mass
118,000 kg
Takeoff Thrust
1,630 kN
Mission Profile
The Atlas E MSD (Meteorological Satellite Delivery) was a launch configuration derived from the Atlas E ICBM, adapted for delivering NOAA weather satellites to sun-synchronous orbit using a solid kick motor for final orbit insertion. Standing 25.1 m tall with a 3.1 m diameter and a liftoff mass of 118 tonnes, its stage-and-a-half plus kick motor configuration generated 1,630 kN of thrust and first flew in December 1980 under the Atlas ICBM Program. The Atlas E MSD was part of the Atlas E's extensive post-retirement career as a low-cost launch vehicle for U.S. government meteorological and Earth observation satellite missions.
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