Atlas is a family of US missiles and space launch vehicles that originated with the SM-65 Atlas . The Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program was initiated in the late 1950s under the Convair Division of General Dynamics . Atlas was a liquid propellant rocket burning RP-1 kerosene fuel with liquid oxygen in three engines configured in an unusual "stage-and-a-half" or "parallel staging" design: two outboard booster engines were jettisoned along with supporting structures during ascent, while the center sustainer engine, propellant tanks and other structural elements remained connected through propellant depletion and engine shutdown.
86-633: Ark Angel is the sixth book in the Alex Rider series written by British author Anthony Horowitz . The novel is a spy thriller which follows the attempt by the title character, Alex Rider, to stop the space hotel Ark Angel from destroying The Pentagon . The book was released in the United Kingdom on 1 April 2005 and in the United States on 20 April 2006. Initial reviews of the book were positive. Former SAS member Max Webber gives
172-452: A TV series in 2020, 2021, and 2024, respectively, this time starring Otto Farrant . Walker Books published the first novels in the United Kingdom alongside Puffin in the United States. More recent entries in the series were published by Philomel Books , an imprint of Penguin Books . Stormbreaker was first published in the year 2000, in the United Kingdom, and then in the year 2001 in
258-435: A 3D printed plastic gun into the army facility holding Freddy. On Alex's suggestion Freddy holds him hostage and they escape to an airfield. There Alex watches Tom get shot by Freddy after which he leaves with Brother Mike. Alex tries to stop them from flying off, but fails. Tom is revealed to be alive and they discover that Freddy only pretended to kill Tom to save his life and be able to infiltrate Nightshade again. He even left
344-497: A clue for Alex and MI6 to follow him. Still hoping to rescue Mrs Jones' son William from Nightshade, Alex and Ben Daniels travel to Nice. There they meet with Wilbur White, a rich art dealer whose son had an accident while playing 'Eden Fall' Real Time's popular AR game. He hired an investigator, revealed to be the man who was murdered by Nightshade at the start of the novel. White's villa is destroyed by Nightshade after which Alex and Ben travel to San Francisco following Freddy's clue and
430-479: A document about at the end of Never Say Die. After the assassination of an MI6 agent in Rio de Janeiro, one of the assassins is caught. It is a 15-year-old boy – Frederick Grey – who was presumed dead. The dead agent's final words tell about a terrorist attack by Nightshade. Mrs. Jones recognizes her daughter, Sofia, when she sees a picture of Grey's escaped partner. Alex is sent by Mrs. Jones to pretend to be Julius Grief at
516-545: A hotel in outer space called "Ark Angel." The hotel was ultimately left unfinished due to high expenses. After Alex's cover is blown, Drevin learns that the CIA is gathering evidence against him and plans to retaliate by attacking the Pentagon . Drevin is killed and Alex is sent into space, moving the bomb to prevent the wreckage from entering the atmosphere. Snakehead was published in 2007. Taking place directly after Ark Angel,
602-511: A hotel, Drevin holds a press conference about his space project, Ark Angel, which will be the first-ever space hotel . Alex is treated well by Drevin, but starts suspecting him after realizing that Paul had been given no protection before the Force Three attack, despite claims of always being "a target". Investigating, Alex discovers that Drevin owns the building where Alex was interrogated by Force Three. The following day, Alex participates in
688-470: A hundred miles off the coast of Australia . Philip Ardagh at The Guardian gave Ark Angel a positive review, stating "It's perfectly pitched at its readership. Ark Angel reads the way a children's thriller should read" and "This is a welcome new addition [to the series]." Alex Rider Alex Rider is a series of spy novels by the English author Anthony Horowitz . The novels revolve around
774-420: A joint British-Australian attack on Major Yu's oil rig, Ash and Alex find Royal Blue, but are apprehended by Yu, who later reveals his plan to destroy an island hosting an international summit. Ash is revealed to be an employee of Yu and is killed in the conflict over Royal Blue. Before death, Ash confesses to being ordered by Julia Rothman to murder Alex's parents. Yu tries to escape before the bomb detonates but
860-400: A journalist writing a book on the darkside of McCain, their 2007 Nissan X-Trail falls into the lagoon because of someone shooting into one of the car's wheels. Alex is rescued by a man whose identity is later revealed as Rahim, an Indian RAW agent sent to kill McCain. Indeed, McCain provokes industrial disasters to divert the humanitarian aid his association collects, and is responsible for
946-533: A mockup Western town owned by Nightshade's new client: Jon Lucas. He tells Alex he wants the Market Share and power of Real Time for himself and hacked their AG. Tomorrow when the newest update goes live, a bug in the system will lead thousands of players to their deaths. The public outcry of these accidents will bankrupt Real Time, giving Lucas the opportunity to buy it over and merge it with his own company. Freddy meanwhile has been trying to get Number seven, who
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#17327908552211032-533: A nuclear accident in India. Alex is recruited by MI6 to investigate McCain but is captured by him. He is taken to Kenya where he learns that McCain will poison Kenya, killing its inhabitants and animals and collecting 'charity money' that he will collect for personal benefit. Alex is nearly killed by McCain but saved by Rahim. Alex ultimately foils McCain's plan, but as they escape, McCain kills Rahim, who Alex then kills and then ventures back to England. Scorpia Rising
1118-421: A picture of him and his mother in the hope to trigger childhood memories. The next morning people all over the world start playing 'Eden Fall' unaware that the game is leading them to dangerous situations. Freddy and Alex each are given a pistol to shoot one another in a true Western duel; however, Freddy shoots Brother Mike in the head and Alex shoots Lucas's leg. At that moment William shoots the other teachers and
1204-407: A race on Drevin’s private go-kart track; Alex beats Drevin when the latter attempts to cheat, revealing his hatred of losing. Later, Alex watches a soccer match at Stamford Bridge with the home team, Chelsea , up against a team owned by Drevin, Stratford East, which loses. Alex encounters Force Three members giving a medal to the team captain who missed the final penalty. Alex is captured by one of
1290-635: A rocket which had originally been built as an Atlas-F was conducted on 23 June 1981. Atlas E/F was used to launch the Block I series of GPS satellites from 1978 to 1985. The last refurbished Atlas-F vehicle was launched from Vandenberg AFB in 1995 carrying a satellite for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. The first stage of the Atlas III discontinued the use of three engines and 1.5 staging in favor of
1376-586: A single Russian-built Energomash RD-180 engine, while retaining the stage's balloon tank construction. The Atlas III continued to use the Centaur upper stage, available with single or dual RL10 engines. The Atlas V, currently in service, was developed by Lockheed Martin as part of the US Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The first was launched on August 21, 2002. In 2006, operation
1462-435: A speech criticizing Force Three, an eco-terrorist organization. His phone later explodes, killing him. Meanwhile, Alex Rider is recovering in a hospital after being shot. He meets Paul Drevin, the son of Russian billionaire Nikolei Drevin. One night, four men break into the hospital and attempt to kidnap Paul, but Alex overpowers them. However, he is captured by Kaspar, the leader, and imprisoned in an abandoned building where
1548-448: A teenaged spy named Alex Rider and are primarily aimed towards young adults . The series currently comprises 14 novels, as well as seven graphic novels , seven short stories , and a supplementary book. The first novel, Stormbreaker , was released in the United Kingdom in the year 2000 and was adapted into a film in 2006, starring Alex Pettyfer as the titular protagonist. The second , fourth , and fifth books were adapted into
1634-435: A teenager, with most of its members being arrested and executed. Russian Roulette was published in 2013 and fills the role of a prequel to the series. It is told from the point of view of contract killer, Yassen Gregorovich. Gregorovich receives orders from Scorpia to kill Alex Rider, which sparks memories of his teenage years in a small, isolated Russian village where his parents work at a pesticide laboratory. The laboratory
1720-554: Is a double-agent. Instead of fleeing he heads to Sharkovsky's dacha. He breaks in, plays Russian Roulette again in front of Sharkovsky—this time with only one empty chamber—before killing Sharkovsky and his bully of a son. He returns to Scorpia, but never works with John Rider again. Back in the present he receives new orders and flies a helicopter to meet Sayle. He finds him threatening Alex Rider and kills Sayle instead of following his orders. He then chooses not to kill Alex Rider remembering how his father had saved his life. Never Say Die
1806-661: Is actually Mrs' Jones' son William, to join Alex and him to free the Numbers from the teachers. However the Teachers discover that Tom Harris is alive and that Freddy had lied to them. Forcing Alex and Freddy to have a Shootout at El Dorado the next morning. Ben Daniels got Alex' information and tries to have the CIA help Alex, instead their new boss wants to kill Nightshade in one fell stroke and destroy El Dorado. That Night Alex gives William
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#17327908552211892-538: Is already plotting revenge against Alex. Nightshade Revenge was published in September 2023. In New York an ex-CIA agent is murdered while investigating 'Real Time' a gaming company specialized in Augmented Reality. In London; Alex's best friend Tom Harris is abducted. Alex is blackmailed by Nightshade chief/agent 'Brother Mike' to help them free their agent Freddy Grey. Alex has no choice and smuggles
1978-479: Is also developing an anthrax strain for biological warfare. An accident in the laboratory contaminates the village, but the teen's parents manage to get a vaccine to him before dying. Gregorovich escapes with his best friend who dies on the way to the train station. He travels by train to Moscow, where he is betrayed by a friend of his parents. He escapes and ends up living with a small group of street thieves, learning their skills. He breaks into an apartment belonging to
2064-488: Is bribed to fake a problem with the helicopter and to bring in a fake mechanic to repair it. The mechanic is an assassin employed by Scorpia. He shoots Sharkovsky and one of the twin bodyguards. Gregorovich knocks out the other bodyguard and the two join the pilot and escape the compound. He is taken to Venice and meets Julia Rothman who tells him that Sharkovsky is still alive, kills the assassin, and sends him to Malagosto, Scorpia's school for assassins. By now 19 years of age he
2150-617: Is brought to Drevin, who intends to destroy Ark Angel with a bomb and send the wreckage crashing down on the Pentagon in Washington D.C . As the project has gone over budget and Drevin stands to lose money if he continues to finance it, he plans to recoup his losses with an insurance payout from the station's destruction, while at the same time destroying the CIA's evidence of his criminal activities. Force Three are actually hired hands, formed to act as scapegoats for Ark Angel's destruction. Payne kills them all, and reveals himself to be Kaspar,
2236-621: Is called the Common Core Booster (CCB), which continues to use the Energomash RD-180 introduced in the Atlas III, but employs a rigid framework instead of balloon tanks. The rigid fuselage is heavier, but easier to handle and transport, eliminating the need for constant internal pressure. Up to five Aerojet Rocketdyne strap-on solid rocket boosters can be used to augment first stage thrust. The upper stage remains
2322-503: Is captured by Scorpia, and manages to help his long-time friend and caregiver after his uncle's death, Jack, (who has also been captured) escape. Scorpia had anticipated this and had laid a trap for Jack. The news of her killing devastates Alex but he manages to stop Scorpia's plan and kills Julius. The book ends when Alex escapes and moves to San Francisco with Sabina's family, changing him forever and disallowing him to return to his spy life. Scorpia disbands after being beaten three times by
2408-409: Is in grave danger of assassination. Forced to leave the country, MI6 sends him on a mission to Cuba with two doubtful CIA agents, of whom he is the sole survivor. He encounters former Soviet general Alexei Sarov , who tries to adopt Alex and expresses ideas of a nuclear holocaust and world domination under communist rule. Alex then foils his plans, saving the world for a third time. Eagle Strike
2494-481: Is keeping the accidents secret. Especially with their newest game update Blue Devil coming up. Lucas helps Alex gain entry to the Arena where he and other players test the newest update of Eden Fall after meeting Klein and confronting him about the accidents. Alex escapes from the arena where Nightshade agents try to kill him. When he figures out what is really going on, he is captured by Brother Mike and taken to El Dorado,
2580-474: Is no way to stop the bomb on the ground, Alex travels to Ark Angel in a second Soyuz-Frigat rocket to deal with it manually. He encounters Kaspar aboard Ark Angel but overpowers him using the effects of zero-gravity and the sun, and Kaspar is stabbed to death by his own knife. Alex then moves the bomb away so that the wreckage from the detonation will simply break up and disintegrate during atmospheric reentry. Ark Angel explodes and Alex falls back to Earth, landing
2666-485: Is returned to Scorpia as a double agent and discovers the broadcasting dishes that Scorpia intends to use to kill their targets, including Alex, as he was injected at their training school in Malagosto, which are later lifted into the sky by a hot air balloon. Rothman's henchman, Nile, tries to stop Alex, but he is afraid of heights, causing him to slip and fall to his death after being taunted by Alex. Alex manages to stop
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2752-564: Is taught the skills of an assassin, and is given his first assignment in New York. He is unable to carry out the assignment and newly arrived John Rider is assigned to work with him. The pair travel to Peru to take out a drug lord and in the process Rider saves his life. On the way back to headquarters the pair stop in Paris to carry out another contract. Rider attempts to get Gregorovich to flee and he comes close to doing so but discovers that Rider
2838-467: Is ultimately the sole casualty of Royal Blue's shockwave. Crocodile Tears was published in 2009. It begins with Alex's girlfriend, Sabina, and her family visiting the UK from San Francisco . Alex goes to Scotland with them. They go to millionaire Desmond McCain's mansion for a New Year party, during which Alex offends McCain in a game of poker, McCain in order to stop the work of Sabina Pleasure's father,
2924-677: Is using twenty-three brainwashed children (originally 25 but 2 were killed in a "training accident") to work as mercenaries for a group of four Americans calling themselves the "Teachers". Alex's cover is blown by Nightshade's client, and he is used as a distraction while Frederick, Sofia, and 'Number Eleven' try to kill many at St Paul's Cathedral . Alex prevents that by disabling the Teacher's communication system with their child agents. Alex tries to help Fredrick after his capture and promises Mrs. Jones to help her find 'Nightshade', who still has her son, William, as an agent, not knowing that 'Nightshade'
3010-682: The Agena Target Vehicles used during the Gemini program . Beginning in 1960, the Agena upper stage , powered by hypergolic propellant , was used extensively on Atlas launch vehicles. The United States Air Force , NRO and CIA used them to launch SIGINT satellites. NASA used them in the Ranger program to obtain the first close-up images of the surface of the Moon and for Mariner 2 ,
3096-704: The BE-4 LOX / methane engine to replace the RD-180 on the new Vulcan rocket . The new stage and engine first flew in 2024. In December 2014, legislation to prevent the award of further military launch contracts to vehicles that use Russian-made engines was approved by the US Congress . The bill allows ULA to continue to use the 29 RD-180 engines already on order at the time. In September 2021, ULA announced that Atlas V will be retired after they fulfill their remaining launch contracts, and that all remaining RD-180s for
3182-442: The CIA's director . The CIA have investigated Drevin's wealth and found it to be attained through underworld contacts; they plan to arrest him for money laundering . Worried that Drevin will slip away, Byrne assigns Alex to report to him if he sees anything unusual at Flamingo Bay, Drevin's private island, from where Ark Angel rockets are launched. On Flamingo Bay, Alex intercepts a phone call from Drevin, who will be meeting someone
3268-674: The Centaur , powered by a single or dual Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engines. In 2014, US Congress passed legislation restricting the purchase and use of the Russian-supplied RD-180 engine used on the first stage booster of the Atlas V. Formal study contracts were issued in June 2014 to a number of US rocket engine suppliers. In September 2014, ULA announced that it had entered into a partnership with Blue Origin to develop
3354-652: The Surveyor program lunar lander spacecraft and most of the Mars-bound Mariner program spacecraft with Atlas-Centaur launch vehicles. Following retirement as an ICBM, the Atlas-E, along with the Atlas-F , was refurbished for orbital launches. The last Atlas E/F spacecraft launch was conducted on 24 March 1995, using a rocket which had originally been built as an Atlas-E. The last Atlas E/F launch to use
3440-463: The US government and the international community but is caught spying and forced into a real-life version of 'Feathered Serpent' which he manages to escape by cheating. He leaves Damian Cray's mansion after stealing a piece of equipment vital to Damian's plan but is forced to give it up because Damian kidnaps Alex's girlfriend, Sabina. The two enter Air Force One, where Damian Cray launches nuclear missiles at
3526-716: The Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office to "determine the necessity of an EELV heavy-lift variant, including development of an Atlas V Heavy", and to "resolve the RD-180 issue, including coproduction, stockpile , or U.S. development of an RD-180 replacement." The lifting capability of the Atlas V HLV was to be roughly equivalent to the Delta IV Heavy . The latter utilizes RS-68 engines developed and produced domestically by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne . After December 2006, with
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3612-590: The Alex Rider novels. The series is being produced by Eleventh Hour Films, with Tutankhamen screenwriter and novelist Guy Burt acting as showrunner. Eleventh Hour Films is run by Horowitz's wife Jill Green. In July 2018, it was reported that Sony Pictures Television had replaced ITV as Eleventh Hour Film's distribution and financial partner for a new Alex Rider television series. Sony Pictures Television's international and worldwide distribution divisions under Wayne Garvie and Keith Le Goy were attached to
3698-663: The Atlas-Centaur and some refurbished ICBMs. The launch rate of Atlases decreased in the 1980s due to the advent of the Space Shuttle , but Atlas launches continued until 2004, when the last "classic" Atlas with balloon tanks and the jettisonable booster section launched a comsat for the Air Force. Atlas boosters were also used for the last four crewed Project Mercury missions, the first United States crewed space program. On February 20, 1962, it launched Friendship 7 , which made three Earth orbits carrying John Glenn ,
3784-413: The Force Three men, but manages to get away. Alex tells Tamara Knight about Force Three, but the soccer player is killed when the medal, made of caesium , catches fire in the shower. Drevin, Tamara, Alex and Paul fly to New York City , but Alex is apprehended at the airport by an immigration official who claims that his passport has expired. This is actually a ruse by the CIA to bring Alex to Joe Byrne,
3870-537: The Gibraltar prison, where Julius was before escaping at the start of Scorpia Rising, and where Frederick is being held; the mission is to learn about the organization Frederick works for. Unable to get the right information, when Alex becomes friends with Frederick, he decides to escape with Frederick and then infiltrate Nightshade's base of operations, an abandoned military base in Crete . There, he learns that Nightshade
3956-447: The Numbers attack their captors. Ben Daniels arrives to warn them of the air strike that's coming. Alex holds Lucas at gunpoint and orders him to stop the bugs from killing people while the Numbers fight the remaining Nightshade employees. When the airstrike commences Alex, Ben and the numbers escape through an old mine while Lucas stays behind, choosing to die in the airstrike instead of going to jail. When they come up Alex sees that Freddy
4042-593: The Stormbreaker computers contain a lethal variation of smallpox and that Sayle plans to ruthlessly kill thousands of schoolchildren around the country with it. Alex foils the plan and succeeds on his first mission. He is also given the first of many sick notes by MI6 to avoid suspicion at his school in Chelsea. Point Blanc was published in the United Kingdom in 2001, and in North America in 2002 under
4128-407: The United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany, and released on 21 July 2006. Intended to be the first entry in a film franchise , Stormbreaker grossed between $ 20.7 and $ 23.9 million worldwide upon its theatrical release, failing to recoup its $ 40 million budget and making the film a box office bomb . In May 2017, it was announced that ITV was developing a television adaptation of
4214-459: The United States. Alex, the main character, is recruited by MI6 after discovering the truth about his uncle's life and death. He is sent to complete his uncle's latest mission: to investigate a Lebanese multimillionaire named Herod Sayle and his creation: the revolutionary and newly developed computer called Stormbreaker – which Sayle is donating to every school in England . Alex discovers that
4300-493: The alternate title Point Blank . After the deaths of two billionaires, MI6 discovers a connection: the two men who died each had a son attending Point Blanc, a school for rebellious sons of billionaires located in the French Alps , owned by Dr. Hugo Grief. MI6 sends Alex to investigate Point Blanc, where he discovers that Grief is replacing the students with clones of himself, who are altered through plastic surgery to resemble
4386-494: The children) so they could become millionaires. In the process, he finds Jack, who then helps him free the children. He then manages to derail a steam locomotive with an improvised bomb (Thermos with diesel in it), thus killing his foes who were chasing after him in it. This is book 11 of the Alex Rider Series. Secret Weapon was published in 2019. A collection of seven adventures that Alex Rider experienced outside of
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#17327908552214472-471: The death of the schoolchildren while Rothman herself is killed when the dish equipment falls on top of her. At the end of the novel, Mrs. Jones and Alan Blunt tell Alex the truth about his father; he was an MI6 agent working as a double agent in Scorpia attempting to take down the organization. They also explain his parents' death, ordered by Julia Rothman after she was noted of his father's treachery along with
4558-467: The drug-supplying countries. Cray kills Yassen Gregorovich, but soon after Alex pushes Cray to his death. He then stops the missiles before they can hit their targets. Just before dying, Gregorovich tells Alex to look for a criminal organization called Scorpia, a group he claims his father worked for. The book was adapted as the basis for the second season of the Alex Rider television series . Scorpia
4644-446: The film series. Burt had adapted Point Blanc , the second book in the Alex Rider novel series, for television. Horowitz will serve as executive producer for the series. The first season was released on Amazon Prime Video in the United Kingdom on 4 June 2020. In New Zealand, the television series is distributed by TVNZ+ . On 10 November 2020, the series was officially renewed for a second season. It adapted Eagle Strike and
4730-575: The first United States astronaut to orbit the Earth. Identical Atlas boosters successfully launched three more crewed Mercury orbital missions from 1962 to 1963. Atlas saw the beginnings of its "workhorse" status during the Mercury-Atlas missions, which resulted in Lt. Col. John H. Glenn Jr. becoming the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. Atlas was also used throughout the mid-1960s to launch
4816-552: The first spacecraft to fly by another planet. Each of the Agena target vehicles used for the later space rendezvous practice missions of Gemini was launched on an Atlas rocket. The Atlas-Centaur was an expendable launch system derived from the SM-65D Atlas missile. Launches were conducted from two pads of the Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station , Florida. The Atlas' engines were upgraded and
4902-460: The first voice relay satellite, and the first human-made object in space easily visible to the naked eye due to the large, mirror-polished stainless steel tank. This was the first flight in what would be a long career for the Atlas as a satellite launcher. Atlas D missile-derived SLV-3s were used for orbital launches with the RM-81 Agena and Centaur upper stages. The modified Atlas LV-3B
4988-490: The following night. Later, however, Drevin finds out about Alex's true identity from the security chief, Magnus Payne, and decides to have him killed by sending him to dive into a shipwreck, in which he is locked in. Right when Alex is about to run out of air, Tamara saves him, revealing that she has been Joe Byrne's inside man all along. The two go undercover to investigate Drevin, and see him meeting with Force Three, but are caught when Tamara accidentally sets off an alarm. Alex
5074-528: The leader of Force Three, with a tattoo of a globe on his head. Alex and Tamara are imprisoned, but Alex escapes and meets the CIA team stationed in Barbados , but the Atlas rocket with the bomb launches off to Ark Angel. The CIA team storm Flamingo Island and Drevin attempts to shoot Alex in the chaos, but Paul gets hit instead. Drevin leaves Paul and tries to escape, but his plane crashes, killing him. As there
5160-566: The location where White's son died. In California Alex and Ben discover that White's son died because the AR showed him a bridge that wasn't really there. Meeting the Pleasure family again; Edward tells Alex about Jon Lucas, a young philanthropist who used to work for Rudolph Klein, the CEO of Real Time. Lucas tells Alex and Edward that the accident involving White's son wasn't the only one and that Real Time
5246-406: The men reveal themselves as members of Force Three. The men set fire to the building after realizing that Alex deliberately foiled their plan. Alex escapes from the fire and returns to the hospital, where he is debriefed by John Crawley, MI6 Chief of Staff, and later discharged. Back home, Nikolei Drevin convinces Alex to stay with him for two weeks as thanks for preventing his son's kidnapping. At
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#17327908552215332-529: The merger of Boeing and Lockheed-Martin space operations into United Launch Alliance , the Atlas V program gained access to the tooling and processes for 5.4 m diameter stages used on Delta IV . A 5.4 m diameter stage could have conceivably accepted dual RD-180 engines. The resulting conceptual heavy-lift vehicle was called "Atlas Phase 2" or "PH2" in the 2009 Augustine Report . An Atlas V PH2-Heavy (three 5 m stages in parallel; six RD-180s) along with Shuttle-derived , Ares V and Ares V Lite, were considered as
5418-509: The missions assigned to him by MI6. These stories occur throughout the series. Four of these short stories were already previously released by author Anthony Horowitz, but "Alex in Afghanistan", "Tea with Smithers" and "Spy Trap" were all written exclusively for this collection. Nightshade was published in 2020. Alex is battling against a new criminal organization, Nightshade (after the downfall of Scorpia) which Mrs. Jones had been reading
5504-542: The novel sees Alex crash land in Australia. There, he is recruited by ASIS, Australia's secret service, to infiltrate a Snakehead organization by posing as an Afghan refugee . He meets his godfather, Ash , while preparing in Thailand, and they team up. The Snakehead organization and its leader, Major Winston Yu, a Scorpia board member, reportedly stole a powerful bomb called Royal Blue, which MI6 wants to intercept. During
5590-647: The original Atlas. The Atlas-Centaur was evolved into the Atlas II , various models of which were launched 63 times between 1991 and 2004. There were only six launches of the succeeding Atlas III , all between 2000 and 2005. The Atlas V is still in service, with launches planned into the mid 2020s. More than 300 Atlas launches have been conducted from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and 285 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The Atlas
5676-500: The parent company of Convair, the Atlas Corporation . The missiles saw only brief ICBM service, and the last squadron was taken off operational alert in 1965. However, from 1962 to 1963 Atlas boosters launched the first four US astronauts to orbit the Earth (in contrast to the preceding two Redstone suborbital launches). The Atlas-Agena and Atlas-Centaur satellite launch vehicles were also derived directly from
5762-585: The remaining rockets have been delivered. Prior to the April 2015 announcement of the Vulcan launch vehicle , during the first decade since ULA was formed from Lockheed Martin and Boeing, there were a number of proposals and concept studies of future launch vehicles. None were subsequently funded for full-up development. Two of those concepts were the Atlas V Heavy and the Atlas Phase 2 . The Atlas V Heavy
5848-494: The structure reinforced for the large upper stage, along with elongated propellant tanks. The first launch attempt of an Atlas-Centaur in May 1962 failed, the rocket exploding after take-off. Footage of this was shown in the penultimate shot of the 1982 art film Koyaanisqatsi , directed by Godfrey Reggio . Beginning in 1963, the liquid hydrogen -fueled Centaur upper stage was also used on dozens of Atlas launches. NASA launched
5934-426: The students, including Alex himself, so Grief can inherit the fortune and gain the power to control the whole world. However, Alex foils his plan and is given a second sick note by MI6 . The book was adapted as the basis for the first season of the Alex Rider television series . Skeleton Key was published in 2002. After foiling a Triad plot to fix the 2001 Wimbledon tennis tournament and befriending Sabina, Alex
6020-451: The tanks when devoid of propellants. The Atlas booster was unusual in its use of "balloon" tanks. The rockets were made from very thin stainless steel that offered minimal or no rigid support. It was pressure in the tanks that gave the rigidity required for space flight. In order to save weight they were not painted and needed a specially designed oil to prevent rust. This was the original use of WD-40 water displacement oil. The SM-65 Atlas
6106-415: The true details of the event that happened on Albert Bridge. As Alex leaves Liverpool Street, a Scorpia sniper shoots him. The book was adapted as the basis for the third season of the Alex Rider television series . Ark Angel , published in 2005, follows Alex's second mission for the CIA . After recovering from a Scorpia assassination attempt, he is sent to investigate businessman Nikolei Drevin, who built
6192-470: The wealthy Vladimir Sharkovsky who catches him and takes him to his dacha outside Moscow. Sharkovsky forces him to play Russian Roulette with a single bullet to demonstrate that the boy is a slave. Yassen is put to work as Sharkovsky's food taster and general dogsbody to the dacha with no indication that he will ever escape. After several years he discovers that Sharkovsky was responsible for the laboratory accident and swears revenge. Sharkovsky's helicopter pilot
6278-707: Was a ULA concept proposal that would have used three Common Core Booster (CCB) stages strapped together to provide the capability necessary to lift 25 tonne payload to low Earth orbit . ULA stated that approximately 95% of the hardware required for the Atlas HLV had already been flown on the Atlas V single-core vehicles. A 2006 report, prepared by RAND Corporation for the Office of the Secretary of Defense , stated that Lockheed Martin had decided not to develop an Atlas V heavy-lift vehicle (HLV). The report recommended for
6364-466: Was included in Secret Weapon , along with new material published on 4 April 2019, and which were made available on Anthony Horowitz's website. Resistance to Interrogation and Coda are available on the author's website and have all been included in certain editions of that book except Resistance to Interrogation , which was included in certain editions of Never Say Die . The White Carnation
6450-419: Was later included in the short story collection Alex Rider: Undercover, which was published exclusively for World Book Day 2020. A video game based on the film was released on 7 July 2006, which received negative reviews. Horowitz wrote the screenplay for the feature film Stormbreaker , directed by Geoffrey Sax . Stormbreaker was an international co-production between companies and financiers from
6536-403: Was published in 2003. Popstar Damian Cray hopes to destroy the drug-making countries of the world by hijacking the United States nuclear arsenal . Suspicious of him, Alex takes Cray on without the help of the sceptical MI6. Cray releases a state-of-the-art games console called the 'Gameslayer.' with its first game, 'Feathered Serpent', being much more than it seems. Alex uncovers a plot involving
6622-563: Was published in 2004. Following the advice of the assassin Yassen Gregorovich , Alex seeks the criminal organization Scorpia to find the truth about his father . He is soon recruited by Scorpia executive Julia Rothman , and he is trained as an assassin before being ordered to kill Mrs. Jones. He fails in this mission but realigns with MI6 after learning that thousands of schoolchildren in London would die if he did not help them. Alex
6708-718: Was published in 2011. A Greek trillionaire, Yannis Ariston Xenopolos hires Scorpia to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece . Scorpia's plan includes the laying of a false trail to Cairo, Egypt , and blackmailing MI6 into returning the Marbles. MI6 falls for the trap and Alex is sent to Cairo, where he is dismayed to find that Scorpia has been pulling the strings all along. He also meets Julius Grief, his clone from Point Blanc who escaped from an MI6 prison in Gibraltar . He aims to personally kill Alex to avenge Dr Grief's death. Alex
6794-625: Was published in June 2017 with a US release in October 2017. After the events of Scorpia Rising, Alex is left traumatized by the death of his caregiver and close friend, Jack Starbright. After being given a glimmer of hope about her survival, through an unknown email, Alex is thrust into the horrors of his past in a battle to recover his friend from the dead. Along the way, he encounters new foes (associated with Scorpia) who are nothing like anyone he has battled before. He foils their plans of making rich parents pay to get their children back (after kidnapping
6880-409: Was released on 3 December 2021. The third and final season adapted Scorpia and was released on 5 April 2024. Atlas rocket The Atlas name was originally proposed by Karel Bossart and his design team working at Convair on project MX-1593. Using the name of a mighty Titan from Greek mythology reflected the missile's place as the biggest and most powerful at the time. It also reflected
6966-465: Was shot during the fight. He tells them that he didn't believe that he would make it in the world after all that Nightshade made him do and is glad that Alex was his friend. He dies in Alex's arms. In the aftermath Mrs Jones decides to resign so she can be there for her children who are both being treated. Alex walks out hoping to never have to work for MI6 again. Christmas at Gunpoint was later published as part of The Mission Files , material from which
7052-587: Was transferred to United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing . Lockheed Martin continued to market the Atlas V to commercial customers until September 2021, when it announced that the rocket will be retired after fulfilling the remaining 29 launch contracts. Atlas V is built in Decatur, Alabama , and maintains two launch sites: Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Space Launch Complex 3-E at Vandenberg Space Force Base . The Atlas V's first stage
7138-399: Was used as a first stage for satellite launch vehicles for half a century. Many were eventually converted to orbital launch vehicles after they were removed from service as missiles. Missiles converted into Atlas E/F "space boosters" were used to launch the early "Block I" GPS satellites . Early Atlas rockets were also built specifically for non-military uses. On 18 December 1958, an Atlas
7224-642: Was used as an expendable launch system , with both the Agena and Centaur upper stages, for the Mariner space probes used to explore Mercury , Venus , and Mars (1962–1973); and to launch ten of the Mercury program missions (1962–1963). The first successful test launch of an SM-65 Atlas missile was on 17 December 1957. Approximately 350 Atlas missiles were built. The Atlas boosters would collapse under their own weight if not kept pressurized with nitrogen gas in
7310-451: Was used for the orbital element of Project Mercury , launching four crewed Mercury spacecraft into low Earth orbit . Atlas D launches were conducted from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, at Launch Complexes 11, 12, 13 and 14, and Vandenberg AFB Launch Complex 576 . Two suborbital stage and a half vehicles were used during Project FIRE as sounding rockets . By 1979, Atlas space launcher variants had been whittled down to just
7396-515: Was used to launch the Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment ( SCORE ) satellite, which was "the first prototype of a communications satellite , and the first test of any satellite for direct practical applications." The communications payload was placed into low Earth orbit on Atlas serial number 10B without an upper stage. Atlas 10B/SCORE, at 8,750 lb (3,970 kg) was the heaviest artificial object then in orbit,
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