BTW- the Atlas verniers WERE gimbaled for pitch/yaw/roll control. They had to be, because after the main engine shut down before final velocity, and the verniers kept firing to achieve the desired velocity, they had to control all three axes.

Also, the Atlas' outer two "booster" motors, did gimbal. So they provided the primary steering control for the Atlas until later in the launch when the two outer booster engines and the tail section they were mounted to dropped away (by that point the Altas had used up enough fuel that it could fly the rest of the way using just the non-gimbaled center engine's thrust). It is interesting that in old footage of Atlas launches, you could often see the Verniers gimbal many degrees for a moment during launch.

Here's a link about the Atlas Verniers, there's more info out there for however much one wants to google.

http://heroicrelics.org/info/lr-101/lr-101.html

BTW - as for the red "buckets", I didn't say it outright, but now I will. I'm pretty sure those were removed before flight. I am curious as to what purpose they do serve , though not enough to go on a deep dive to google or go on a group on say NasaSpaceFlight Forum to ask....the OP could just as easily do that.

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Contest flying, Sport flying, it's all good.....
NAR# 18723 NAR.org
GeorgesRockets.com

George - nobody is saying a Vernier CAN'T gimbal - just that the ones on Soyuz and Long March do not, they are hinged.

We established the "remove before flight" status several posts ago. TBZEP pointed out the color (red = remove), and the handles are also a dead giveaway! JeffyJeep agreed too. Then TBZEP found the mounting right on the core nozzles. No way you fly with something mounted there!

As for what the heck they are - a desiccant is another possibility. If that were the case, however, you'd expect to see them in Kourou too.

Seems to be something for when the rocket is horizontal on the transporter/railway car. They may get detached before the rocket flies. (hey, sorry for being obvious, but I just got here)

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Roy
nar12605

Well, "start" is their word for launch. And the launch pad, for that matter.

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Roy
nar12605