Titan IIIC

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First Titan IIIC rocket with technological stage Transtage 4, June 18 1965. Titan 3C with Transtage 4 (Jun. 18 1965) - ascending.png
First Titan IIIC rocket with technological stage Transtage 4, June 18 1965.

The first Titan IIIC (3C-7) flew on June 18, 1965, [2] and was the most powerful launcher used by the Air Force until it was replaced by the Titan 34D in 1982.

The second launch (3C-4) in October 1965 failed, [2] when the Transtage suffered an oxidizer leak and was unable to put its payload (several small satellites) into the correct orbit. The third launch (3C-8) in December experienced a similar failure.

Titan IIIC-11 launch 16 June 1966 carrying first seven Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program satellites and GGTS Titan IIIC-11 launch.jpg
Titan IIIC-11 launch 16 June 1966 carrying first seven Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program satellites and GGTS

The fourth IIIC launch (3C-11 on June 16, 1966) [2] was used to send the LES 4 (Lincoln Experimental Satellite 4) into orbit. It was a US Air Force experimental communications satellite launched along with OV2-3, LES 3, and Oscar 4 from Cape Canaveral aboard a single Titan 3C rocket. It transmitted in X-band.

The fifth Titan IIIC (3C-12 on August 26, 1966) [2] failed shortly after launch when pieces of the payload fairing started breaking off. Around 80 seconds, the remainder of the shroud disintegrated, causing loss of launch vehicle control as well as the payload (a group of IDCSP satellites intended to provide radio communication for the US Army in Vietnam). The ISDS activated automatically when one of the SRBs broke away from the stack and destroyed the entire launch vehicle. The exact reason for the shroud failure was not determined, but the fiberglass payload shrouds used on the Titan III up to this point were replaced with a metal shroud afterwards.

A Titan IIIC in November 1970 (3C-19) failed to place its missile early warning satellite (DSP 1) in the correct orbit due to a Transtage failure and a 1975 launch (3C-25) of two DSCS II (DSCS-2 5 and DSCS-2 6) military communication satellites left in LEO by another Transtage failure. [3]

On March 25, 1978, a launch of two DSCS II satellites (3C-35 with DSCS-2 9 and DSCS-2 10) ended up in the Atlantic Ocean when the Titan second stage hydraulic pump failed, resulting in engine shutdown approximately 470 seconds after launch. [3] The Range Safety destruct command was sent, but it was unclear if the stage received it or if it had already broken up by that point.

The last IIIC (3C-38 with DSP 10) was launched in March 1982. [3]

Design

MOL mockup launch by a Titan IIIC on Nov. 3, 1966 from LC-41 Cape Canaveral Titan-3C MOL-Gemini-B-Test 3.jpg
MOL mockup launch by a Titan IIIC on Nov. 3, 1966 from LC-41 Cape Canaveral

The Titan IIIC weighed about 1,380,000 lb (626,000 kg) at liftoff and consisted of a two-stage Titan core and upper stage called the Titan Transtage, both burning hypergolic liquid fuel, and two large UA1205 solid rocket motors.

The solid motors were ignited on the ground and were designated "stage 0". Each motor composed of five segments and was 10 ft (3.0 m) in diameter, 85 ft (26 m) long, and weighed nearly 500,000 lb (230,000 kg). They produced a combined 2,380,000 lbf (10,600 kN) thrust at sea level and burned for approximately 115 seconds. [4] Solid motor jettison occurred at approximately 116 seconds. [5]

The first core stage ignited about 5 seconds before SRM jettison. Designated the Titan 3A-1, this stage was powered by a twin nozzle Aerojet LR-87-AJ9 engine [6] that burned about 240,000 lb (110,000 kg) of Aerozine 50 and nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) and produced 1,941.7 kN (436,500 lbf) thrust over 147 seconds. [2] The Aerozine 50 and NTO were stored in structurally independent tanks to minimize the hazard of the two mixing if a leak should have developed in either tank.

The second core stage, the Titan 3A-2, contained about 55,000 lb (25,000 kg) of propellant and was powered by a single Aerojet LR-91-AJ9, [2] which produced 453.7 kN (102,000 lbf) for 145 seconds. [6]

The upper stage, the Titan Transtage, also burned Aerozine 50 and NTO. Its two Aerojet AJ-10-138 engines were restartable, [2] allowing flexible orbital operations including orbital trimming, geostationary transfer and insertion, and delivery of multiple payloads to different orbits. This required complex guidance and instrumentation. [5] Transtage contained about 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) of propellant and its engines delivered 16,000 lbf (71 kN).

General characteristics

List of launches

Titan IIIC
DF-SC-84-05192 cropped.jpeg
Launch of a Titan IIIC
Function Medium-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer Martin
Country of originUnited States
Size
Height137 ft (42 m)
Diameter10 ft (3.0 m)
Mass1,380,510 lb (626,190 kg)
Stages2-3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass28,900 lb (13,100 kg)
Date/Time (GMT)Launch SiteS/NPayloadOutcomeRemarks
18 June 1965
14:00
CCAFS LC-40 3C-7N/ASuccessTranstage test flight
14 October 1965
17:24
CCAFS LC-403C-4 LCS-2
OV2-1
FailureTranstage failed in low Earth orbit due to oxidizer tank leak
21 December 1965
14:00
CCAFS LC-41 3C-8 LES-3
LES-4
OV2-3
OSCAR 4
Partial failureTranstage failed during 3rd burn due to stuck oxidizer valve; left payloads in GTO
16 June 1966
14:00
CCAFS LC-413C-11OPS-9311 (IDCSP)
OPS-9312 (IDCSP)
OPS-9313 (IDCSP)
OPS-9314 (IDCSP)
OPS-9315 (IDCSP)
OPS-9316 (IDCSP)
OPS-9317 (IDCSP)
GGTS-1
Success
26 August 1966
14:00
CCAFS LC-413C-127X IDCSP
GGTS-2
FailurePayload fairing broke up at T+78 seconds. RSO T+83 seconds.
3 November 1966
13:50
CCAFS LC-403C-9 Gemini B
OV1-6
OV4-1R/T
OV4-3
Success Gemini B was launched on a sub-orbital trajectory
18 January 1967
14:19
CCAFS LC-413C-13OPS-9321 (IDCSP)
OPS-9322 (IDCSP)
OPS-9323 (IDCSP)
OPS-9324 (IDCSP)
OPS-9325 (IDCSP)
OPS-9326 (IDCSP)
OPS-9327 (IDCSP)
OPS-9328 (IDCSP)
Success
28 April 1967
10:01
CCAFS LC-413C-10OPS-6638 (Vela)
OPS-6679 (Vela)
ORS-4
OV5-1
OV5-3
Success
1 July 1967
13:15
CCAFS LC-413C-14OPS-9331 (IDCSP)
OPS-9332 (IDCSP)
OPS-9333 (IDCSP)
OPS-9334 (IDCSP)
LES-5
DODGE
Success
13 June 1968
14:03
CCAFS LC-413C-16OPS-9341 (IDCSP)
OPS-9342 (IDCSP)
OPS-9343 (IDCSP)
OPS-9344 (IDCSP)
OPS-9345 (IDCSP)
OPS-9346 (IDCSP)
OPS-9347 (IDCSP)
OPS-9348 (IDCSP)
Success
26 September 1968
07:37
CCAFS LC-413C-5 LES-6
OV2-5
OV5-2
OV5-4
Success
9 February 1969
21:09
CCAFS LC-413C-17 TACSAT 1 (OPS-0757)Success
23 May 1969
07:57
CCAFS LC-413C-15OPS-6909 (Vela)
OPS-6911 (Vela)
OV5-5
OV5-6
OV5-9
Success
8 April 1970
10:50
CCAFS LC-403C-18OPS-7033 (Vela)
OPS-7044 (Vela)
Success
6 November 1970
10:36
CCAFS LC-403C-19 DSP-1 (OPS-5960)Partial failureTranstage 3rd burn failure left satellite in unusable lower than planned orbit
5 May 1971
07:43
CCAFS LC-403C-20 DSP-2 (OPS-3811)Success
3 November 1971
03:09
CCAFS LC-403C-21 DSCS-II-1 (OPS-9431)
DSCS-II-2 (OPS-9432)
Success
1 March 1972
09:39
CCAFS LC-403C-22 DSP-3 (OPS-1570)Success
12 June 1973
07:14
CCAFS LC-403C-24 DSP-4 (OPS-6157)Success
13 December 1973
23:57
CCAFS LC-403C-26 DSCS-II-3 (OPS-9433)
DSCS-II-4 (OPS-9434)
Success
30 May 1974
13:00
CCAFS LC-403C-27 ATS-6 Success
20 May 1975
14:03
CCAFS LC-403C-25 DSCS-II-5 (OPS-9435)
DSCS-II-6 (OPS-9436)
FailureTranstage inertial measurement unit failure caused it to be stranded in low Earth orbit.
14 December 1975
05:15
CCAFS LC-403C-29 DSP-5 (OPS-3165)Success
15 March 1976
01:25
CCAFS LC-403C-30 LES-8
LES-9
Solrad-11A
Solrad-11B
Success
26 June 1976
03:00
CCAFS LC-403C-28 DSP-6 (OPS-2112)Success
6 February 1977
06:00
CCAFS LC-403C-23 DSP-7 (OPS-3151)Success
12 May 1977
14:27
CCAFS LC-403C-32 DSCS-II-7 (OPS-9437)
DSCS-II-8 (OPS-9438)
Success
25 March 1978
18:09
CCAFS LC-403C-35 DSCS-II-9 (OPS-9439)
DSCS-II-10 (OPS-9440)
FailureSecond stage hydraulics pump failure. RSO T+480 seconds.
10 June 1978
19:08
CCAFS LC-403C-33OPS-9454 (Vortex)Success
14 December 1978
00:40
CCAFS LC-403C-36 DSCS-II-11 (OPS-9441)
DSCS-II-12 (OPS-9442)
Success
10 June 1979
13:30
CCAFS LC-403C-31 DSP-8 (OPS-7484)Success
1 October 1979
11:22
CCAFS LC-403C-34OPS-1948 (Vortex)Success
21 November 1979
02:09
CCAFS LC-403C-37 DSCS-II-13 (OPS-9443)
DSCS-II-14 (OPS-9444)
Success
16 March 1981
13:30
CCAFS LC-403C-40 DSP-9 (OPS-7350)Success
31 October 1981
09:22
CCAFS LC-403C-39OPS-4029 (Vortex)Success
6 March 1982
19:25
CCAFS LC-403C-38 DSP-10 (OPS-8701)Success

References

  1. "Titan 3B". Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Titan-3C (Titan-IIIC)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  3. 1 2 3 "Titan-3(23)C". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  4. "Titan 3C". Astronautix. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Titan". braeunig.us. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Norbert, Bruge. "Titan III/IV Propulsion". B14643.de. Norbert Bruge. Retrieved 20 June 2017.