A model from Erick's Models
The Convair RTV-A-2 Hiroc (High-Altitude Rocket) is the grandfather of the Atlas rocket in use today. In 1945, Convair was given funding to develop a system capable of delivering a payload 6000 miles or greater. Convair decided to go with a ballistic missile design and started development. The missile design would incorporate new technology that would eventually find its way into the Atlas missile. The gimbaled engine exhaust nozzles and separating nose cone were later used in the Atlas missile. The structurally incorporated fuel tanks that are in the Atlas missiles were considered, but not implemented for the test missiles.There were three test launches in the second half of 1948, and all three failed to complete their flight profile. The first and last had premature engine cutoffs, while the second broke up in flight. Nevertheless, the tests provided valuable data that went into Convair's design proposal for the MX-1593 contract. The MX-1593 program produced the Atlas ICBM, and the Atlas family of rockets were derived from there. While this rocket might not be a large or particularly well known, it was an important step in the development of space flight technology.
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