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Titan II GLV

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Titan II GLV
Launch of Gemini 11 on a Titan II GLV from LC-19
FunctionHuman-rated launch vehicle for Gemini spacecraft
ManufacturerMartin
Country of originUnited States
Size
Height109 feet (33.2 m)[1]
Diameter10 feet (3.05 m)
Mass340,000 pounds (154,200 kg)
Stages2
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass7,900 pounds (3,580 kg)
Associated rockets
FamilyTitan
Launch history
StatusRetired
Launch sitesCape Canaveral LC-19
Total launches12
Success(es)12
First flightApril 8, 1964
Last flightNovember 11, 1966
Type of passengers/cargoGemini
First stage
Powered by1 LR-87
Maximum thrust430,000 pounds-force (1,913 kN)
Specific impulse258 sec
Burn time156 seconds
PropellantAerozine 50/N2O4
Second stage
Powered by1 LR-91
Maximum thrust100,000 pounds-force (445 kN)
Specific impulse316 sec
Burn time180 seconds
PropellantAerozine 50/N2O4

The Titan II GLV (Gemini Launch Vehicle) or Gemini-Titan II was an American expendable launch system derived from the Titan II missile, which was used to launch twelve Gemini missions for NASA between 1964 and 1966. Two unmanned launches followed by ten manned ones were conducted from Launch Complex 19 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, starting with Gemini 1 on April 8, 1964.

The Titan II was a two-stage liquid-fuel rocket, using a hypergolic propellant combination of Aerozine 50 fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer. The first stage was powered by an LR87 engine (with two combustion chambers and nozzles, fed by a single set of turbomachinery), and the second stage was propelled by an LR-91 engine.

Modifications from the Titan II missile

In addition to greater payload capability, the Titan II promised greater reliability than the Atlas LV-3B which had been selected for Project Mercury, because Titan's hypergolic-fueled engines contained far fewer components.

Several modifications were made to the Titan missile to man-rate it for Project Gemini:

  • A Gemini Malfunction Detection System was installed to inform the crew of the rocket's status, and improve response in an emergency.
  • Redundant systems were fitted to reduce the chances of launch failures.
  • To help guard against the possibility of a guidance malfunction causing the engine nozzles to gimbal hard right or left, an extra backup guidance system was added.
  • The second stage propellant tanks were lengthened for longer burn time and unnecessary vernier engines and retro-rockets were removed. Because the second stage engine had had issues with combustion instability, it was equipped with baffled injectors.
  • A radio control system replaced the inertial guidance used on the missiles.
  • Modifications were made to the tracking, electrical and hydraulics systems in the interest of improved reliability.

Modifications were overseen by the Air Force Systems Command. Aerojet, the manufacturer of the Titan's engines, had released a revised model during mid-1963 due to deficiencies in the original design and also attempting to improve manufacturing procedures.

Assembly was done at Martin-Marietta's Baltimore plant so as not to interfere with missile work at the Denver facility, although it also saved the former from a planned shutdown.[2]

Flights

Titan II GLV launches
Mission LV Serial No Launch date Crew
GT-1 GLV-1 12556 April 8, 1964 Unmanned orbital test flight
GT-2 GLV-2 12557 January 19, 1965 Unmanned suborbital test of Gemini heat shield
GT-3 GLV-3 12558 March 23, 1965 Gus Grissom and John Young
GT-IV GLV-4 12559 June 3, 1965 James McDivitt and Edward H. White
GT-V GLV-5 12560 August 21, 1965 Gordon Cooper and Charles P. Conrad
GT-VII GLV-7 12562 December 4, 1965 Frank Borman and James Lovell
GT-VI A GLV-6 12561 December 15, 1965 Wally Schirra and Thomas P. Stafford
GT-VIII GLV-8 12563 March 16, 1966 Neil Armstrong and David Scott
GT-IX A GLV-9 12564 June 3, 1966 Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene Cernan
GT-X GLV-10 12565 July 18, 1966 John Young and Michael Collins
GT-XI GLV-11 12566 September 12, 1966 Charles P. Conrad and Richard F. Gordon
GT-XII GLV-12 12567 November 11, 1966 James Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Gatland, Kenneth (1976), Manned Spacecraft (2nd revision ed.), New York: MacMilan, p. 37, ISBN 0-02-542820-9
  2. ^ http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19780012208_1978012208.pdf

References

  • Krebs, Gunter. "Titan-2-GLV". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
  • Wade, Mark. "Titan". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved April 29, 2009.

Media related to Titan II Gemini at Wikimedia Commons