Athena
| Type: | Research vehicle |
| Warhead: | ICBM reentry vehicle simulator |
| Propellant: | 4-stage solid propellant engines |
| Range: | 425 miles (684km) |
| Length: | 50 feet (130m) |
| Diameter: | 31 inches (78cm) |
| Weight: | 16,000 pounds (7,260kg) |
| First Firing from Green River: | 10 February 1964 |
The Athena was a research missile used to test Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) reentry vehicles as a part of the Air Force’s Advanced Ballistic Re-entry System (ABRES) program. This program was intended to develop an understanding of reentry phenomena and the feasibility of advanced reentry concepts. The Athena program was conceived to reduce the costs of these repeated and systematic investigations through the use of a test vehicle specifically configured to reproduce ICBM trajectory parameters. In summary, the Athena was built to replicate ICBM warheads falling from upper atmospheric trajectories.
Launched from the Army’s Green River Launch Complex in Utah, the missile reached altitudes up to 200 miles before descending to impact on White Sands Missile Range, some 470 miles away. With a flight lasting only four minutes and going to a maximum distance of about 470 miles, Athena could realistically simulate a 25-minute ICBM mission across 5,000 miles.
In a typical mission, the first two stages provided the force required to put the final two stages and the reentry payload on a ballistic return course to Earth. But instead of following a simple ballistic reentry path, Athena was tipped over after the first two stages separated. The final two stages and the payload were aimed back toward Earth by a control system of gyro-sensors and reaction jets. The payload was driven back into the atmosphere at velocities of 22,500 feet per second. After burnout of the third and fourth stage motors, the payload was ejected and impacted on WSMR’s northern range.
The US Air Force launched more than 140 Athenas between 1964 and 1977. The first Athena test missile was launched on 10 February 1964. The first dual launch was conducted on 21 June 1965 and the first triple launch occurred on 10 November 1966. As a testing and research vehicle, Athena tested emerging reentry technology for the Titan, Minuteman, Polaris, and Poseidon missiles. Although all of the Athenas launched from Green River were intended to impact on WSMR, there was that one time when, “In 1970, an Athena Missile Went Deep Into Mexico.”
