Titan IV

Titan IV
	File:Titan IV rocket.jpg Launch of a Titan IVB launch vehicle. (USAF)
Function	Heavy expendable launch system
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Country of origin	United States
Cost per launch	$432 million (USD)
Cost per year	1999
Size
Height	44m (144ft)
Diameter	3.05m (10ft)
Mass	943,050kg (2,079,060lb)
Stages	3-5
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	21,680 kg(47,790lb)
Payload to Polar LEO
Mass	17,600 kg(38,800lb)
Payload to GSO
Mass	5,760 kg(12,690lb)
Payload to HCO
Mass	5,660 kg(12,470lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Titan
Comparable	Atlas V, Delta IV-H
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	SLC-40/41, Cape Canaveral; SLC-4E, Vandenberg AFB
Total launches	39; (IVA: 22, IVB: 17)
Success(es)	35; (IVA: 20, IVB: 15)
Failure(s)	4 (IVA: 2, IVB: 2)
First flight	IV-A: 14 June 1989; IV-B: 23 February 1997
Last flight	IV-A: 12 August 1998; IV-B: 19 October 2005
Type of passengers/cargo	Lacrosse; DSP; Milstar; Cassini-Huygens
Boosters (IV-A) – UA1207
No. boosters	2
Powered by	United Technologies UA1207
Maximum thrust	14.234 MN (3,200,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	272 secs (2667 N-s/kg)
Burn time	120 seconds
Propellant	Solid
Boosters (IV-B) – USRM
No. boosters	2
Powered by	Hercules USRM
Maximum thrust	15.12 MN (3,400,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	286 secs (2805 N-s/kg)
Burn time	140 seconds
Propellant	Solid
First stage
Powered by	2 LR87
Maximum thrust	2,440 kN (548,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	302 secs (2962 N-s/kg)
Burn time	164 seconds
Propellant	N2O4/A-50
Second stage
Powered by	1 LR91
Maximum thrust	467 kN (105,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	316 secs (3100 N-s/kg)
Burn time	223 seconds
Propellant	N2O4/A-50
Third stage (Optional) – Centaur-G
Powered by	2 RL10
Maximum thrust	147 kN (33,100 lbf)
Specific impulse	444 secs (4354 N-s/kg)
Burn time	625 seconds
Propellant	LH2/LOX
	[edit on Wikidata]

The Titan IV family (including the IVA and IVB) of space boosters were used by the U.S. Air Force.^[2] They were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida,^[3] and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.^[4] At the time of its introduction, the Titan IV was the "largest unmanned space booster used by the Air Force."^[5]

The Titan IV was the last of the Titan family of rockets. It was retired in 2005 due to its high cost of operation. The final launch (B-30) from Cape Canaveral AFS occurred on April 29, 2005, and the final launch from Vandenberg AFB occurred on October 19, 2005.^[6]

Lockheed Martin Space Systems built the Titan IVs near Denver, Colorado, under contract to the government.^[1]

Features

The Titan IV was developed to provide assured capability to launch Space Shuttle–class payloads for the Air Force. The Titan IV could be launched with no upper stage, or either of two upper stages, the IUS (Inertial Upper Stage), and the Centaur rocket upper stage.

The Titan IV was made up of two large solid-fuel rocket boosters and a two-stage liquid-fueled core. The rocket was launched using the solid-fuel boosters alone. The first liquid core stage ignited about two minutes into flight.^{[citation needed]}

The two storable liquid fuel core stages used Aerozine 50 fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer. These propellants are hypergolic (ignite on contact) and are liquids at room temperature, so no tank insulation is needed. This allows the launcher to be stored in a ready state for extended periods. However, both propellants are extremely toxic.

The Titan IV could be launched from either coast: SLC-40 or 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station near Cocoa Beach, FL and at SLC-4E, at Vandenberg Air Force Base launch sites sixty miles north of Santa Barbara in California. Choice of launch site depended on mission parameters and mission goals.

Background

The Titan rocket family was established in October 1955 when the Air Force awarded the Glenn L. Martin Company (now part of 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 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 developed for the USAF at that time. 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 IVB evolved from the Titan III family and is similar to the Titan 34D. The last Titan IVA was launched in August 1998. The first Titan IVB flew on February 23, 1997. The Titan IVB was an upgraded rocket having a new guidance system, flight termination system, ground checkout system, solid rocket motor upgrade and a 25 percent increase in thrust capability.

In the early 1980s, General Dynamics conceived of using a Space Shuttle to lift a Lunar Module into orbit and then launch a Titan IV rocket with an Apollo-type Service Module to rendezvous and dock – making a moonship for a lunar landing. The plan required the Space Shuttle and Titan IV to use aluminum-lithium fuel tanks instead of aluminum to make a greater payload weight for takeoff. The original plan never came to fruition, but in the 1990s both the Shuttle and the Titan IV were converted to aluminum-lithium tanks to rendezvous with the highly inclined orbit of the Russian Mir Space Station.^{[citation needed]} The Titan IVB became obsolete with the advent of the Atlas V rocket and the Delta IV heavy rocket booster launch vehicles in 2005.

A Titan IVB launched NASA's Cassini Saturn orbiter on October 15, 1997.

General characteristics

Primary Function: Space booster
Builder: Lockheed-Martin Astronautics
Power Plant:
- Stage 0 consisted of two solid-rocket motors.
- Stage 1 used an LR87 liquid-propellant rocket engine.
- Stage 2 used the LR91 liquid-propellant engine.
- Optional upper stages included the Centaur and Inertial Upper Stage.
Guidance System: A ring laser gyro guidance system manufactured by Honeywell.
Thrust: Solid rocket motors provide 1.7 million pounds force (7.56 MN) per motor at liftoff.
- First stage provides an average of 548,000 pounds force (2.44 MN)
- second stage provides an average of 105,000 pounds force (467 kN).
- Optional Centaur upper stage provides 33,100 pounds force (147 kN) and the Inertial Upper Stage provides up to 41,500 pounds force (185 kN).
Length: Up to 204 feet (62.17 m)
Lift Capability:
- Can carry up to 47,800 pounds (21,680 kg) into a low-earth orbit
- up to 12,700 pounds (5,760 kg) into a geosynchronous orbit when launched from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla.;
- and up to 38,800 pounds (17,600 kg) into a low-earth polar orbit when launched from Vandenberg AFB.
- into geosynchronous orbit:
  - with Centaur upper stage 12,700 lb (5,760 kg)
  - with Inertial Upper Stage 5,250 pounds (2,380 kg)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: Approximately 2.2 million pounds (1,000,000 kg)
Cost: Approximately $250–350 million, depending on launch configuration.
Date deployed: June 1989
Launch sites: Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., and Vandenberg AFB, Calif.

References

^ ^a ^b "LOCKHEED MARTIN'S LAST TITAN IV SUCCESSFULLY DELIVERS NATIONAL SECURITY PAYLOAD TO SPACE". October 19th, 2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ "SPACE AND MISSILE SYSTEM CENTER MISSION AND ORGANIZATION" (PDF). Space and Missile Systems Center's History Office. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
^ Titan 4B and Cape Canaveral
^ Titan 4B and Vandenberg Air Force Base
^ "TITAN IV". USAF Air University. 1996.
^ "Astronomy Picture of the Day: 2005 October 27 - The Last Titan". Antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2008-09-20.

External links

[lm-ll-1] "LOCKHEED MARTIN'S LAST TITAN IV SUCCESSFULLY DELIVERS NATIONAL SECURITY PAYLOAD TO SPACE". October 19th, 2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[2] "SPACE AND MISSILE SYSTEM CENTER MISSION AND ORGANIZATION" (PDF). Space and Missile Systems Center's History Office. Retrieved 2008-09-20.

[3] Titan 4B and Cape Canaveral

[4] Titan 4B and Vandenberg Air Force Base

[5] "TITAN IV". USAF Air University. 1996.

[6] "Astronomy Picture of the Day: 2005 October 27 - The Last Titan". Antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2008-09-20.

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v t e Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H-IIA H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica-1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 7 7A 8 11 11H LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased RS1^† Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega original C Vulcan Centaur Zenit 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 2
In development	Antares 330 Ariane 6 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Epsilon S Eris Gravity-2 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 12 Miura 5 MLV Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 NGLV OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zhuque 3 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able^† Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG Zhuque 1^†
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol ^† indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)

v t e Orbital launch systems developed in the United States
Active	Atlas V**^†† Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Minotaur I IV V C Pegasus XL RS1^† SLS Block 1 Starship Vulcan Centaur
In development	Antares 330 Daytona Firefly Beta New Glenn Neutron Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Terran R
Retired	Antares 110/120/130/230/230+^††† Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able Agena Centaur Conestoga Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" H-I* Juno I Juno II LauncherOne N-I* N-II* Pilot Rocket 3 Saturn I IB V Scout Space Shuttle SPARK Sparta Terran 1 Thor Able Ablestar Agena Burner Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Vanguard
* - Japanese projects using US rockets or stages ** - uses Russian engines ^† - never succeeded ^†† - no new orders accepted ^††† - used Ukrainian first stage

Features

Background

General characteristics

See also

References

External links