Atlas I
Launch of the maiden flight of the Atlas I, with the CRRES satellite |
| Function |
Expendable launch system |
| Manufacturer |
Convair |
| Country of origin |
United States |
| Size |
| Height |
43.90m (144.00 ft) |
| Diameter |
3.05m (10 ft) |
| Mass |
164,300kg (362,200 lb) |
| Stages |
2.5 |
| Associated rockets |
| Family |
Atlas |
| Launch history |
| Status |
Retired |
| Launch sites |
LC-36B, Cape Canaveral |
| Total launches |
11 |
| Successes |
8 |
| Failures |
3 |
| First flight |
25 July 1990 |
| Last flight |
25 April 1997 |
The Atlas I was an American expendable launch system, used in the 1990s to launch a variety of different satellites. The "I" in "Atlas I" can cause confusion, as all previous Atlas rockets were designated using letters, ending with the Atlas H, however subsequent rockets were designated using roman numerals, starting with the Atlas II. Officially, the "I" is the roman numeral "1".
The first stage of the Atlas I was derived from Atlas G, and the second stage was a Centaur. The first stage had an improved MA-5A propulsion system, consisting of the LR-89 booster engine with dual thrust chambers and a more powerful RS-27 replacing the traditional LR-105 sustainer engine. With the new RS-27 sustainer engine, all three of the large Atlas thrust chambers produced equal thrust.[1] Booster engine jettison occurred prior to sustainer engine cut-off for stage-and-a-half staging of the Atlas. (Used in conjunction with the Centaur, this gave the Atlas I 2.5 stages).
Launch history [edit]
| Date/Time (GMT) |
Serial Number |
Payload |
Outcome |
Remarks |
| Atlas |
Centaur |
| 25 July 1990, 19:21 |
AC-69 |
5049 |
CRRES |
Successful |
Maiden flight of Atlas I, spacecraft later failed |
| 18 April 1991, 23:30 |
AC-70 |
5050 |
Yuri 3H |
Failure |
Centaur turbopump malfunction |
| 14 March 1992, 00:00 |
AC-72 |
5052 |
Galaxy 5 |
Successful |
|
| 22 August 1992, 22:40 |
AC-71 |
5051 |
Galaxy 1R |
Failure |
Centaur turbopump failed to start |
| 25 March 1993, 21:38 |
AC-74 |
5054 |
UHF F-1 |
Failure |
Atlas engine failure, satellite placed in unusable orbit |
| 3 September 1993, 11:17 |
AC-75 |
5055 |
UHF F-2 (USA-95) |
Successful |
|
| 13 April 1994, 06:04 |
AC-73 |
5053 |
GOES-8 (GOES-I) |
Successful |
|
| 24 June 1994, 13:50 |
AC-76 |
5056 |
UHF F-3 (USA-104) |
Successful |
|
| 23 May 1995, 05:52 |
AC-77 |
5057 |
GOES-9 (GOES-J) |
Successful |
|
| 30 April 1996, 04:31 |
AC-78 |
5058 |
BeppoSAX |
Successful |
|
| 25 April 1997, 05:49 |
AC-79 |
5059 |
GOES-10 (GOES-K) |
Successful |
Final flight of Atlas I[2] |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Dennis R. Jenkins, "Stage-and-a-Half, The Atlas Launch Vehicle", To Reach the High Frontier (University Press of Kentucky, 2002) p. 92
- ^ "Atlas I Successfully Launches GOES-K". International Launch Services. April 25, 1997. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
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- ‡ – Falcon 1 and 9 were designed for partial reuse, which was never achieved and has now been abandoned, however a fully-reusable Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy are under long-term development.
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