Titan was a family of United States expendable rockets used between 1959 and 2005. The Titan I and Titan II were part of the US Air Force's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) fleet until 1987. The space launch vehicle versions contributed the majority of the 368 Titan launches,including all the Project Gemini crewed flights of the mid-1960s. Titan vehicles were also used to lift US military payloads as well as civilian agency reconnaissance satellites and to send interplanetary scientific probes throughout the Solar System.
The Centaur is a family of rocket propelled upper stages produced by U.S. launch service provider United Launch Alliance,with one main active version and one version under development. The 3.05 m (10.0 ft) diameter Common Centaur/Centaur III flies as the upper stage of the Atlas V launch vehicle,and the 5.4 m (18 ft) diameter Centaur V is being developed as the upper stage of ULA's new Vulcan rocket. Centaur was the first rocket stage to use liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants,a high-energy combination that is ideal for upper stages but has significant handling difficulties.
The RL10 is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine built in the United States by Aerojet Rocketdyne that burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. Modern versions produce up to 110 kN (24,729 lbf) of thrust per engine in vacuum. Three RL10 versions are in production for the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas V and the DCSS of the Delta IV. Three more versions are in development for the Exploration Upper Stage of the Space Launch System and the Centaur V of the Vulcan rocket.
Titan IV was a family of heavy-lift space launch vehicles developed by Martin Marietta and operated by the United States Air Force from 1989 to 2005. Launches were conducted from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base,California.
The Titan IIIC was an expendable launch system used by the United States Air Force from 1965 until 1982. It was the first Titan booster to feature large solid rocket motors and was planned to be used as a launcher for the Dyna-Soar,though the spaceplane was cancelled before it could fly. The majority of the launcher's payloads were DoD satellites,for military communications and early warning,though one flight (ATS-6) was performed by NASA. The Titan IIIC was launched exclusively from Cape Canaveral while its sibling,the Titan IIID,was launched only from Vandenberg AFB.
The Thor-Able was an American expendable launch system and sounding rocket used for a series of re-entry vehicle tests and satellite launches between 1958 and 1960. It was a two-stage rocket,consisting of a Thor IRBM as a first stage and a Vanguard-derived Able second stage. On some flights,an Altair solid rocket motor was added as a third stage. It was a member of the Thor family and an early predecessor of the Delta.
The Atlas-Centaur was a United States expendable launch vehicle derived from the SM-65 Atlas D missile. The vehicle featured a Centaur upper stage,the first such stage to use high-performance liquid hydrogen as fuel. Launches were conducted from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida. After a strenuous flight test program,Atlas-Centaur went on to launch several crucial spaceflight missions for the United States,including Surveyor 1,Mariner 4,and Pioneer 10/11. The vehicle would be continuously developed and improved into the 1990s,with the last direct descendant being the highly successful Atlas II.
Sphinx is the designation of an American test satellite. The Sphinx satellite was the payload for the first Titan IIIE Centaur rocket. It was launched on February 11,1974 from a Titan IIIE Centaur. However,the rocket did not reach Earth orbit because the second stage failed to ignite,at which point the range safety officer ordered the rocket destroyed. The satellite was destroyed along with its support,the launched with the Viking Dynamic Simulator.
Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41),previously Launch Complex 41 (LC-41),is an active launch site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. As of 2020,the site is used by United Launch Alliance (ULA) for Atlas V launches. Previously,it had been used by the USAF for Titan III and Titan IV launches.
The Atlas III was an American orbital launch vehicle,used in the years between 2000 and 2005. It was developed from the highly successful Atlas II rocket and shared many components. It was the first member of the Atlas family since the Atlas A to feature a "normal" staging method,compared to the previous Atlas family members,which were equipped with two jettisonable outboard engines on the first (booster) stage. The Atlas III was developed further to create the Atlas V,which still flies to this day.
The Inertial Upper Stage (IUS),originally designated the Interim Upper Stage,was a two-stage,solid-fueled space launch system developed by Boeing for the United States Air Force beginning in 1976 for raising payloads from low Earth orbit to higher orbits or interplanetary trajectories following launch aboard a Titan 34D or Titan IV rocket as its upper stage,or from the payload bay of the Space Shuttle as a space tug.
The Atlas-Agena was an American expendable launch system derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile. It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets,and was launched 109 times between 1960 and 1978. It was used to launch the first five Mariner uncrewed probes to the planets Venus and Mars,and the Ranger and Lunar Orbiter uncrewed probes to the Moon. The upper stage was also used as an uncrewed orbital target vehicle for the Gemini crewed spacecraft to practice rendezvous and docking. However,the launch vehicle family was originally developed for the Air Force and most of its launches were classified DoD payloads.
This comparison of orbital launch systems lists the attributes of all individual rocket configurations designed to reach orbit. A first list contains rockets that are operational or in development as of 2023;a second list includes all upcoming rockets and a third list includes all retired rockets For the simple list of all conventional launcher families,see:Comparison of orbital launchers families. For the list of predominantly solid-fueled orbital launch systems,see:Comparison of solid-fueled orbital launch systems.
The SM-68 Titan was the designation of two intercontinental ballistic missiles developed for the United States Air Force. The Titan I and Titan II missiles were operational between 1962 and 1987 during the Cold War. These missiles,particularly the Titan II,were the basis of the Titan family of space launch vehicles.
The Atlas G,also known as Atlas G Centaur-D1AR was an American expendable launch system derived from the Atlas-Centaur. It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets and was used to launch seven communication satellites during the mid to late 1980s. Atlas G consisted of an improved Atlas core with modernized avionics and stretched propellant tanks. The Centaur stage also had several updated components and other technical improvements. Atlas G flew 7 times,with all missions aiming to go to a geostationary transfer orbit. It was replaced by the near-identical Atlas I,which had an improved guidance system and offered a larger payload fairing.
The Atlas SLV-3,or SLV-3 Atlas was an American expendable launch system derived from the SM-65 Atlas / SM-65D Atlas missile. It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets.
The Delta 3000 series was an American expendable launch system which was used to conduct 38 orbital launches between 1975 and 1989. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets. Several variants existed,which were differentiated by a four digit numerical code.
The Atlas LV-3B,Atlas D Mercury Launch Vehicle or Mercury-Atlas Launch Vehicle,was a human-rated expendable launch system used as part of the United States Project Mercury to send astronauts into low Earth orbit. Manufactured by Convair,it was derived from the SM-65D Atlas missile,and was a member of the Atlas family of rockets. With the Atlas having been originally designed as a weapon system,testing and design changes were made to the missile to make it a safe and reliable launch vehicle. After the changes were made and approved,the US launched the LV-3B nine times,four of which had crewed Mercury spacecraft.
Shuttle-Centaur was a version of the Centaur upper stage rocket designed to be carried aloft inside the Space Shuttle and used to launch satellites into high Earth orbits or probes into deep space. Two variants were developed:Centaur G-Prime,which was planned to launch the Galileo and Ulysses robotic probes to Jupiter,and Centaur G,a shortened version planned for use with United States Department of Defense Milstar satellites and the Magellan Venus probe. The powerful Centaur upper stage allowed for heavier deep space probes,and for them to reach Jupiter sooner,prolonging the operational life of the spacecraft. However,neither variant ever flew on a Shuttle. Support for the project came from the United States Air Force (USAF) and the National Reconnaissance Office,which asserted that its classified satellites required the power of Centaur. The USAF agreed to pay half the design and development costs of Centaur G,and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) paid the other half.
Andrew John Stofan is an American engineer. He worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the Lewis Research Center. In the 1960s he played an important role in the development of the Centaur upper stage rocket,which pioneered the use of liquid hydrogen as a propellant. In the 1970s he managed the Atlas-Centaur and Titan-Centaur Project Offices,and oversaw the launch of the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 probes to Jupiter and Saturn,the Viking missions to Mars,Helios probes to the Sun,and the Voyager probes to Jupiter and the outer planets. He was director of the Lewis Research Center from 1982 to 1986.
