| Atlas II | |
 Launch of an Atlas II rocket. (NASA) |
|
| Fact sheet | |
|---|---|
| Function | Medium expendable Launch vehicle |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Size | |
| Height | 47. In Spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a Rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into Outer space. Lockheed Martin ( is a large multinational Aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology Company formed in 1995 by the merger of The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 54 m (156 ft) |
| Diameter | 3. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit 04 m (10 ft) |
| Mass | 204,300 kg (414,000 lb) |
| Stages | 3. The pound or pound-mass (abbreviation lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States #) is a unit of Mass 5 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | 6,580 kg |
| Payload to GTO |
2,810 kg |
| Launch History | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | LC-36, CCAFS SLC-3 Vandenberg AFB |
| Total launches | 63 10 Atlas II 23 Atlas IIA 20 Atlas IIAS |
| Successes | 63 |
| Maiden flight | Atlas II: 7 December 1991 Atlas IIA: 10 June 1992 Atlas IIAS: 16 December 1993 |
| Last flight | Atlas II: 16 March 1998 Atlas IIA: 5 December 2002 Atlas IIAS 31 August 2004 |
| Notable payloads | SOHO (Atlas IIAS) TDRS (Atlas IIA) |
| Boosters (Atlas IIAS) - Castor 4A | |
| No boosters | 4 |
| Engines | 1 Solid |
| Thrust | 478. In military aircraft or space exploration the payload is the carrying capacity of an aircraft or space ship including as Cargo, Munitions scientific instruments A Low Earth Orbit (LEO is generally defined as an Orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2000 km A Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit or Geostationary Transfer Orbit ( GTO) is a Hohmann transfer orbit around the Earth between a Low Earth orbit Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 36 ( LC-36) was a launch complex at Cape Canaveral, Merritt Island, Florida. The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS is a detachment of the 45th Space Wing (45 SW Patrick AFB provides headquarters functions from the 45 SW a major airfield Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States military installation with a Spaceport, in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Events 43 BC - Marcus Tullius Cicero assassinated 1696 - Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Events 1190 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Sally River while leading an army to Jerusalem Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Events 755 - An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora becomes ill dying suddenly a few days later without children to succeed the Throne "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory ( SOHO) is a Spacecraft that was launched on a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS launch vehicle on December A Tracking and Data Relay Satellite ( TDRS) is one of a network of Communications satellites of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS used The Castor family of Solid-fuel rocket stages and boosters were built by Thiokol and used on a variety of Launch vehicles They were A solid rocket or a solid-fuel rocket is a Rocket with a motor that uses solid propellants ( Fuel / Oxidizer) 3 kN (107,530 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 266 sec |
| Burn time | 56 seconds |
| Fuel | Solid |
| Boosters (all) - MA-5 | |
| No boosters | 1 |
| Engines | 2 RS-58-OBA |
| Thrust | 2,093. The newton (symbol N) is the SI derived unit of Force, named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on Classical This article deals with the unit of force For the unit of mass see Pound (mass. Specific impulse (usually abbreviated I sp is a way to describe the efficiency of rocket and jet engines A solid rocket or a solid-fuel rocket is a Rocket with a motor that uses solid propellants ( Fuel / Oxidizer) 3 kN (470,680 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 299 sec |
| Burn time | 172 seconds |
| Fuel | LOX/RP-1 |
| First Stage | |
| Engines | 1 RS-58-OSA |
| Thrust | 386 kN (86,844 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 316 sec |
| Burn time | 283 seconds |
| Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
| Second Stage - Centaur | |
| Engines | 2 RL-10A |
| Thrust | 147 kN (41,592 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 449 sec |
| Burn time | 392 seconds |
| Fuel | LH2/LOX |
| Third Stage - IABS (optional) | |
| Engines | 1 R-4D |
| Thrust | 980N (220 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 312 sec |
| Burn time | 60 seconds |
| Fuel | N2O4/MMH |
Atlas II was a member of the Atlas family of launch vehicles, which evolved from the successful Atlas missile program of the 1950s. The newton (symbol N) is the SI derived unit of Force, named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on Classical This article deals with the unit of force For the unit of mass see Pound (mass. Specific impulse (usually abbreviated I sp is a way to describe the efficiency of rocket and jet engines Usage and history RP-1 is most commonly burned with LOX ( Liquid oxygen) as the oxidizer though other oxidizers have also been used The newton (symbol N) is the SI derived unit of Force, named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on Classical This article deals with the unit of force For the unit of mass see Pound (mass. Specific impulse (usually abbreviated I sp is a way to describe the efficiency of rocket and jet engines Usage and history RP-1 is most commonly burned with LOX ( Liquid oxygen) as the oxidizer though other oxidizers have also been used In Greek mythology, the centaurs (from Ancient Greek: Κένταυροι - Kéntauroi are a race of creatures composed of part Human The RL-10 was America's first liquid hydrogen fueled rocket engine and an updated version is used in several current Launch vehicles Six RL-10 engines were used in the Specific impulse (usually abbreviated I sp is a way to describe the efficiency of rocket and jet engines Liquid hydrogen (LH2 or LH2 is the Liquid state of the element Hydrogen. Specific impulse (usually abbreviated I sp is a way to describe the efficiency of rocket and jet engines Nitrogen tetroxide ( dinitrogen tetroxide or nitrogen peroxide) is the Chemical compound N2O4 Atlas is a family of US space Launch vehicles The original Atlas missile was designed in the late 1950s In Spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a Rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into Outer space. The SM-65 Atlas was a missile built by the Convair Division of General Dynamics. Atlas II was the last Atlas to use a three engine, "stage-and-a-half" design: two of its three engines were jettisoned during ascent, but its fuel tanks and other structural elements were retained. It was designed to launch payloads into low earth orbit, geosynchronous transfer orbit or geosynchronous orbit. Sixty-three launches of the Altas II, IIA and IIAS models were carried out between 1988 and 2004. (The larger Atlas III was used between 2000 and 2005, and the Atlas V is still in use. The Lockheed Martin Atlas III was an American Orbital Launch vehicle, used between 2000 and 2005. The Atlas V Rocket is an Expendable launch vehicle formerly built by Lockheed Martin and now built by the Lockheed Martin- Boeing joint venture )
Contents |
Features
Atlas II provides higher performance than the earlier Atlas I by using engines with greater thrust and longer fuel tanks for both stages. The total thrust capability of the Atlas II of 490,000 pounds force (2,200 kN) enables the booster to lift payloads of 6,100 pounds (2,767 kg) in geosynchronous orbit of 22,000 miles (35,000 km) or more. This series uses an improved Centaur upper stage – the world’s first high-energy propellant stage – to increase its payload capability. Centaur is a Rocket stage designed for use as the upper stage of space Launch vehicles Centaur boosts its Satellite payload to its final Orbit Atlas II also has lower-cost electronics, an improved flight computer and longer propellant tanks than its predecessor, Atlas I.
The most powerful derivative is the Atlas IIAS.
Background
Atlas IIs are launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS is a detachment of the 45th Space Wing (45 SW Patrick AFB provides headquarters functions from the 45 SW a major airfield , by the 45th Space Wing. The final West Coast Atlas II launch was accomplished December 2003 by the 30th Space Wing, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
The Atlas was originally fielded as an ICBM in the late 1950s. On Oct. 31, 1959, the first Atlas, a D model stored horizontally, was placed on alert at Vandenberg AFB by the 576th Strategic Missile Squadron. Atlas E and F models were the first ICBMs to be stored vertically in underground silos and raised by elevators to an above-ground position for launch. The Air Force replaced the Atlas ICBMs with Titan ICBMs and converted the E and F models into space launch vehicles in the late 1960s. The last refurbished Atlas vehicle was launched from Vandenberg AFB in 1995 carrying a satellite for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.
NASA used the Atlas as a space launch vehicle as early as 1958. Atlas served as the launch vehicle for Project SCORE, an instrumentation package developed by the U. Project SCORE (Signal Communications Orbit Relay Equipment was the world’s first Communications satellite. S. Army Signal Corps that became the world’s first communications satellite. A communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial Satellite stationed in space for the purposes of Telecommunications. The satellite broadcast President Eisenhower’s pre-recorded Christmas message around the world.
An Atlas booster carried astronaut John Glenn into orbit under Project Mercury, the first US manned space program. Atlas Centaur vehicles also launched Mariner and Pioneer planetary probes.
In May 1988, the Air Force chose General Dynamics (now Lockheed-Martin) to develop the Atlas II vehicle, primarily to launch Defense Satellite Communications System payloads and for commercial users as a result of Atlas I launch failures in the late 1980s. General Dynamics Corporation ( is a defense conglomerate formed by Mergers and Divestitures and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest Defense contractor Lockheed Martin ( is a large multinational Aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology Company formed in 1995 by the merger of The Defense Satellite Communications System ( DSCS) provides the United States with military communications to support globally distributed military users
- General Characteristics
- Primary function: Launch vehicle
- Primary contractor: Lockheed Martin - airframe, assembly, avionics, test and systems integration
- Principal subcontractors: Rocketdyne (Atlas engine, MA-5); Pratt & Whitney (Centaur engine, RL-10) and Honeywell & Teledyne (avionics)
- Power Plant: Three MA-5A Rocketdyne engines, two Pratt & Whitney RL10A-4 Centaur engines
- Thrust: 494,500 lbf (2,200 kN)
- Length: Up to 156 ft (47. 54 m); 16 ft (4. 87 m) high engine cluster
- Core Diameter: 10 feet (3. 04 m)
- Gross Liftoff Weight: 414,000 lb (204,300 kg)
- First Launch: February 10, 1992
- Models: II, IIA, and IIAS
- Launch Site: Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida
- Inventory: unavailable
References
External links
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic