In article ,
Joseph Nebus wrote:
Has anyone ever put anything into orbit with a single stage? ...

Would you count the 1958 SCORE (Signal Communications Orbit
Relay Equipment), allowing that the Atlas B didn't shed a *whole*
stage on its ascent?

Alas, realistically, the classical Atlas -- which launched the orbital
Mercury flights and several other things, in addition to SCORE -- has to
be deemed a two-stage vehicle for this purpose.

It didn't drop a whole stage, no, but it dropped most of the heavy parts
of one. (And some parts of the "upper stage", too -- notably, the entire
tank-pressurization system departed with the booster engines! The gas
left in the mostly-empty tanks was sufficient to keep them pressurized
thereafter, aided by hydrostatic head from high acceleration.)
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