The Delta C, or Thor-Delta C was an American expendable launch system used for thirteen orbital launches between 1963 and 1969. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets.
Configuration The first stage was a Thor missile in the DSV-2A (MB-3-II) configuration, and the second stage was the Delta D (AJ-10-118D), which was derived from the earlier Delta. The baseline Delta C used an Altair-2 (X-258) third stage, whilst the Delta C1 had an FW-4D third stage, which provided a higher payload capacity than the Altair. It is unclear whether two or three launches were made using the C1 configuration.
Launches The Delta C was launched from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 17. Most launches carried NASA research satellites into low Earth orbit. VariantS/NDateLaunch sitePayloadResultDelta C387/D-2127.11.1963CC LC-17B Explorer 18 (IMP A)SuccessDelta C392/D-2604.10.1964CC LC-17A Explorer 21 (IMP B)SuccessDelta C393/D-27 21.12.1964 CC LC-17A Explorer 26 (EPE D)SuccessDelta C374/D-28 22.01.1965CC LC-17A TIROS 9SuccessDelta C411/D-29 03.02.1965CC LC-17B OSO 2SuccessDelta C441/D-31 29.05.1965CC LC-17B Explorer 28 (IMP C)SuccessDelta C415/D-32 02.07.1965CC LC-17B TIROS 10SuccessDelta C434/D-33 25.08.1965CC LC-17B OSO CFailureDelta C445/D-3603.02.1966 CC LC-17A ESSA 1SuccessDelta C431/D-46 08.03.1967CC LC-17A OSO 3SuccessDelta C490/D-5318.10.1967CC LC-17B OSO 4SuccessDelta C1 436/D-3825.05.1966CC LC-17B Explorer 32 (AE B)SuccessDelta C1 487/D-6422.01.1969CC LC-17B OSO 5Success
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