Titan IIIC

Titan IIIC

Launch of a Titan IIIC
Function	Medium/Heavy launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Martin
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	42 m (137 ft)
Diameter	3.05m (10 ft)
Mass	626,190 kg (1,380,510 lb)
Stages	2-3
Capacity
Payload to LEO	13,100kg (28,900 lb)
Payload to GTO	3,000 kg (6,600 lb)
Payload to Mars	1,200 kg (2,650 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Titan
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	LC-40 & 41, CCAFS SLC-6, Vandenberg AFB (unused)
Total launches	36
Successes	31
Failures	5
Maiden flight	18 June 1965
Last flight	6 March 1982
Boosters (Stage 0) - UA1205
No. boosters	2
Engines	1 solid
Thrust	5,849 kN (1,315,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	263 secs
Burn time	115 seconds
Fuel	Solid
First stage
Engines	2 x LR87-11
Thrust	2,339 kN (526,000 lbf)
Burn time	147 seconds
Fuel	Aerozine-50/N2O4
Second stage
Engines	1 x LR91-11
Thrust	453 kN (102,000 lbf)
Burn time	205 seconds
Fuel	Aerozine-50/N2O4
Third stage - Transtage
Engines	2 x AJ-10-138
Thrust	71.2 kN (16,000 lbf)
Burn time	440 seconds
Fuel	Aerozine 50/N2O4

The Titan IIIC was a space booster used by the United States Air Force. It was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL., and Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA. It was planned to be used as a launch vehicle in the cancelled Dyna-Soar and Manned Orbiting Laboratory programs. The Titan III was also used to launch multiple satellites during a single mission.

Features

MOL mockup launch by a Titan IIIC on Nov. 3, 1966 from LC-41 Cape Canaveral

The Titan IIIC was the largest unmanned space booster used by the Air Force until the Titan IV was developed in 1988. It provided assured capability for launch of large-class payloads. The vehicle was flexible in that it could be launched with no upper stage, or one of two optional upper stages for greater and varied carrying ability.

The Titan IIIC consisted of a hypergolic liquid-fueled core and two large solid rocket boosters. It was launched on the solid boosters – the liquid core ignited about two minutes into flight.

The Titan IIIC core consisted of two stages. The first, the Titan 3A-1, had two LR87 liquid propellant rocket engines that featured structurally independent tanks for its fuel (Aerozine 50) and oxidizer (Nitrogen Tetroxide). This minimized the hazard of the two mixing if a leak should have developed in either tank. Additionally the engine propellants were stored in a launch-ready state for extended periods. The second stage, the Titan 3A-2, consisted of an LR91 liquid propellant rocket engine attached to an airframe, much like stage 1. The third stage, the Titan Transtage, was a restartable upper stage used with the Titan IIC, Titan IIIA, and Titan 34D. The Transtage, like the two core stages, used liquid hypergolic fuels.

Background

The Titan rocket family was established in October 1955 when the Air Force awarded the Glenn L. Martin Company (later Martin Marietta and now Lockheed Martin) a contract to build an intercontinental ballistic missile (SM-68). It became known as the Titan I, the nation's first two-stage ICBM, and replaced the Atlas ICBM as the second underground, vertically stored, silo-based ICBM. Both stages of the Titan I used liquid oxygen and RP-1 (kerosene) as propellants. A subsequent version of the Titan family, the Titan II, was similar to the Titan I, but was much more powerful. Designated as LGM-25C, the Titan II was the largest missile at the time, to be developed by the USAF. The Titan II had newly developed engines which used Aerozine 50 and Nitrogen Tetroxide as fuel and oxidizer.

Titan III development began in 1961 with the Titan IIIA. Years later, the Titan IIIC evolved from the Titan III family. The first Titan IIIC flew on June 18, 1965. The last Titan IIIC was launched in March 1982. A later derivative was the Titan 34D.

General characteristics

• Primary Function: Space booster
• Builder: Martin Marietta
• Power Plant:
  • Stage 0 consists of two solid rocket motors.
  • Stage 1 uses two LR87 liquid propellant engines.
  • Stage 2 uses one LR91 liquid propellant engine.
  • Stage 3 uses two Aerojet AJ-10-138 liquid propellant engines.
• Length: 42 m
  • Stage 0: 25.91 m
  • Stage 1: 22.28 m
  • Stage 2: 7.9 m
  • Stage 3: 4.57 m
• Diameter:
  • Stage 0: 3.05 m
  • Stage 1: 3.05 m
  • Stage 2: 3.05 m
  • Stage 3: 3.05 m
• Mass:
  • Stage 0: Empty 33,798 kg/ea; Full 226,233 kg/ea
  • Stage 1: Empty 5,443 kg; Full 116,573 kg
  • Stage 2: Empty 2,653 kg; Full 29,188 kg
  • Stage 3: Empty 1,950 kg; Full 12,247 kg
• Lift capability:
  • Up to 28,900 lb (13,100 kg) into a low-earth orbit with 28 degrees inclination.
  • Up to 6,600 lb (3,000 kg) into a geosynchronous transfer orbit when launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.
• Maximum takeoff weight: 626,190 kg
• Cost:
• Date deployed: June 1965.
• Launch sites: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL., and Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA.

External links

• Titan3C
• Titan III & variations
• Future Space Booster Requirements - January-February 1969 Air University Review