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PRIME 2
Launch SuccessfulLaunch Details
Date: 5 Mar 1967, 11:05 pm UTC
Rocket: Atlas SLV-3 (Atlas)
Provider: United States Air Force
Mission
Type: Test Flight
Orbit: Suborbital
Pad: Space Launch Complex 3E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Mission Description
The Martin X-23 PRIME (Precision Recovery Including Maneuvering Entry) was a small uncrewed lifting body re-entry vehicle tested by the United States Air Force in the late 1960s. PRIME 2 was launched on 5 March 1967. This flight simulated a 1053 km cross range re-entry, and banking at hypersonic speeds. Several stringers on the main parachute failed to cut which lead to the loss of the vehicle.