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PRIME 3
Launch SuccessfulLaunch Details
Date: 20 Apr 1967, 01:35 am 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 3 mission was flown on 19 April 1967 and simulated reentry from low-earth orbit with a 1143 km cross-range. This time, all systems performed perfectly, and the X-23 was successfully recovered.