![]() These strap-on motors provided more than four times the thrust of the Atlas booster at liftoff.Ī N 2 H 4 -UDMH/N 2 O 4 = hydrazine-unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide. When the two five-segment solid-fueled rocket motors, together known as "stage 0", were jettisoned, the Titan first stage ignited. During Centaur's coast phase, 14 small hydrogen peroxide thrusters controlled attitude. In this configuration, the Centaur upper stage replaced the standard Titan third stage, called the transtage Centaur was capable of restarting its two engines, a desirable characteristic for planetary missions. LOX/LH 2 = Liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.ġ5 000 to Earth orbit 3 000 to synchronous orbit 3 400 to MarsĪir Force Titan IIID modified to NASA requirementsĬhemical Systems Div., United Technologies One of the serious problems with the stage's development was hydrogen loss heat transfer between the oxygen and hydrogen fuel tanks caused the liquid hydrogen to evaporate.Ī LOX/RP-1 = liquid oxygen and modified kerosene. Because of delays in the vehicle's development, however, it was not ready until 1966. launch vehicle to use liquid hydrogen as a propellant, was originally scheduled for operations in the early 1960s for Mars and Venus probes. Surveyor, ATS, OAO, Mariner, Intelsat, Pioneer.Ĭentaur, the first U.S. General Dynamics/Convair (formerly Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp.) (prime). General Dynamics studies for a high-energy second stage development supported by NASA N 2 O 4 /UDMH = nitrogen tetroxide and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine.ģ857/4536 to Earth Orbit 1225/1882 to synchronous orbit 815/907 to Mars or Venus The Agena D stage could accept a greater variety of payloads than could the Agena B model.Ī LOX/RP-1 = liquid oxygen and modified kerosene. IRFNA/UDMH = inhibited red-fuming nitric acid and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine.īell XLR-81-Ba-9 (model 8247 upgraded to 8533)Ģ718 to Earth Orbit 385 to escape trajectory 250 to Mars or Venus (prime) - Bell Aerospace (engine)Ī LOX/RP-1 = liquid oxygen and modified kerosene. Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp (prime). Atlas-Agena B Characteristicsīell XLR-81-Ba-9 (model 8081 upgraded to 8096)Ģ627 to Earth Orbit 340 to escape trajectory 204 to Mars or Venus The bulbous launch vehicle with its two powerful strap-on booster rockets performed equally well in 1975 for Viking. Helios 1, a German satellite, was successfully launched by NASA with Titan-Centaur the following December. NASA's first test launch of Titan IIIE-Centaur in February 1974 ended in failure, however, because of the malfunction of a Centaur component. The Titan IIIE, a modified version of the Titan IIID used by the Air Force since 1971 as a satellite launcher and made by Martin Marietta Corporation, was a powerful, versatile vehicle. NASA had used another model of the Air Force Titan, the Titan II, for the manned Gemini program, 1965-1966. Mated with a Titan IIIE two-stage vehicle, the improved Centaur could boost the 3500-kilogram, two-part Viking spacecraft to the Red Planet. ![]() Centaur also had a role in the Viking Mars landing project. In November 1973, Atlas-Centaur boosted Mariner 10 (500 kilograms) to an interplanetary (Venus and Mercury) trajectory. ![]() A second attempt weeks later saw Mariner 9 (990 kilograms) off on its journey to Mars. In May 1971, a Centaur failure led to the destruction of the next Mariner spacecraft. It was 1969 before Atlas-Centaur sent two 400-kilogram Mariners flying by Mars. Centaur, a liquid-hydrogen-fueled stage developed for NASA by General Dynamics/Convair, did not go into service until 1966, however. Advanced mission planners of the early 1960s had based their planetary exploration schedules on the early availability of the high-energy Centaur upper stage. Atlas-Agena D, with an improved upper stage that could accept a greater variety of payloads, launched the next three Mariners in 19. Paired with the Atlas booster, Agena B was used in 1962 for the first two Mariner flights (the Atlas stage malfunctioned during the Mariner 1 launch). for the Air Force, was capable of restarting its engines, thus permitting the spacecraft to be positioned more precisely. The Agena upper stage, developed by Lockheed Missiles and Space Co. Appendix E Launch Vehicles for Mars MissionsĪtlas-Agena launch vehicles-used by NASA during the 1960s to launch a variety of payloads to Earth orbit, the moon, and the near planets-sent Mariner spacecraft (200-260 kilograms) on their way to Venus or Mars. SP-4212 On Mars: Exploration of the Red Planet.
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