 The launch took place on Thanksgiving, 26 November 1959 from LC-14 at Cape Canaveral Air Station using Atlas vehicle 20D, which had originally been the backup booster for the Mercury Big Joe test in September.Since that flight was successful, Atlas 20D was reused for the Able program, coupled to Thor-Able upper stages including an Able x 248 rocket third stage.Because 20D had been custom-built for the Mercury program, it had thicker-gauge skin than the standard Atlas ICBM and could support the additional weight of upper stages.