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Home , Athena (rocket family), Athena (spacecraft), Athena I, Athena II, Atlas (rocket family), Atlas II

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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he Launch Services Program (LSP) manufacturing, launch operations and for launching - and Twas established at Kennedy Space countdown management, and providing interplanetary missions. Center for NASA’s acquisition and added quality and mission assurance in In September 2010, NASA’s Launch program management of expendable lieu of the requirement for the launch Services (NLS) contract was extended (ELV) missions. A skillful service provider to obtain a commercial by the agency for 10 years, through NASA/contractor team is in place to launch license. 2020, with the award of four indefinite meet the mission of the Launch Ser- Primary launch sites are Cape Canav- delivery/indefinite quantity contracts. The vices Program, which exists to provide eral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida, expendable launch vehicles that NASA leadership, expertise and cost-effective and Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) has available for its science, Earth-orbit services in the commercial arena to in California. and interplanetary missions are United satisfy agencywide space transporta- Other launch locations are NASA’s Launch Alliance’s (ULA) V and tion requirements and maximize the in Virginia, the II, Space X’s and 9, opportunity for mission success. Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific’s Orbital Sciences Corp.’s and facts The principal objectives of the LSP Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Taurus XL, and Space are to provide safe, reliable, cost-effec- Kodiak Island in Alaska. Systems Co.’s I and II. With its tive and on schedule launch services for Since 1990, NASA has purchased unique contractual feature that allows NASA and NASA-sponsored ELV launch services directly from com- new launch vehicles to be on-ramped seeking launch on ELVs. The Launch mercial providers, whenever possible, for annually, NLS II will continue to provide Services Program is responsible for its scientific and applications missions. the agency with competitive, commercial NASA oversight of the launch service ELVs can accommodate all types of orbit launch services to address customers’ including launch vehicle engineering and inclinations and altitudes and are ideal needs.

FEET Launch Vehicles METERS

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* shown for size (height) comparison only EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLES

All expendable launch vehicles use the same whereas a large expendable vehicle, the massive into Earth orbit and beyond. basic technology to get into space -- two or more V, was required to send a crewwed space- To date, Delta launch vehicles have car- -powered stages, which fall away when craft to the during NASA’s Program. ried more than 200 NASA scientific, wind and their engine burns are completed. Whatever a The powerful / combination carried communications payloads into orbit, or to other launch vehicle carries above the final discarded large and complex robotic scientific explorers, planets. NASA used the and II vehicles to stage is considered the . such as the Vikings and Voyagers, to examine launch scientific satellites from VAFB, CCAFS and A payload’s weight, orbital destination and other planets in the 1970s. Among other missions, Kodiak Island. The Pegasus is the only airborne purpose determine what size launch vehicle is the Atlas/Agena rockets sent several spacecraft launch vehicle in the ELV fleet. The Taurus XL required. A small ELV, such as Pegasus, can place to photograph and then impact the moon. The vehicle is scheduled to launch NASA’s Orbiting a low-weight spacecraft into near-Earth orbit, Atlas/Centaur helped send many of the larger Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) in 2013. U.S. EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE FLEET Atlas/Centaur Atlas/Centaurs include the Orbiting Astronomical Observatories; Applications Technology Satellites; The Atlas/Centaur vehicles first became opera- the IV, IV-A and V series of communica- tional in 1966. Lockheed Martin used the Atlas II tions satellites; Mariner orbiters; a Mariner and III rockets to launch military, commercial and spacecraft that made a flyby of and three scientific payloads into space from Space Launch flybys of ; Pioneers that accomplished Complex 36 at CCAFS and Space Launch flybys of and Saturn; and Pioneers that Complex 3E at VAFB. More than 580 Atlas flights have taken place, including more than 170 flights orbited Venus and sent probes plunging through with stage added to create the Atlas/ its atmosphere to the surface. The system, Centaur vehicle. the newest of ULA’s fleet, first launched Aug. 21, When launched by NASA through 1989, 2002, carrying a commercial communications the Atlas/Centaur was the standard rocket for satellite. The Atlas V can carry 8,700 pounds intermediate payloads that carried about 8,200 (3,946 kilograms) to 19,100 pounds (8,663 pounds (3,700 kilograms) to geosynchronous kilograms) to GTO from Space Launch Complex transfer orbit (GTO). The Centaur was the first 41 at CCAFS. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance high-energy, liquid-hydrogen/liquid-oxygen Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing launch vehicle stage, and it provided the most Satellite (LRO/LCROSS) were launched on an power for its weight of any proven stage then in Atlas V rocket, June 18, 2009, from Launch use. Complex 41 at CCAFS. Most recently, NASA The Atlas/Centaur was the launch vehicle for launched the spacecraft on Aug. 5, 2011, I, the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land aboard an Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex on the moon. Other spacecraft launched by 41 at CCAFS.

Delta first and second stages, and a solid- 37, formerly a , propellant third stage. was reconstructed by The From 1960 to 1989, NASA The Delta III launch vehicle was Company and turned over to ULA in was the responsible agency in the built as a transitional vehicle and 2006 to launch the Delta IV. A Delta launch of 170 scientific, weather launched only three times. The Delta IV rocket launched the GOES-O and communications spacecraft, IV system, the newest in Delta’s fleet, spacecraft on June 27, 2009, from along with some military satellites, launched the Geostationary Opera- Launch Complex 37 at CCAFS. aboard Delta launch vehicles from tional Environmental Satellite (GOES- NASA’s spacecraft CCAFS and VAFB. These spacecraft N, O and P) series of spacecraft for launched aboard a Delta II on Aug. 8, include NASA’s TIROS, Nimbus, ITOS, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center 2001, from Launch Complex 17-A LANDSAT and Westar series, and and NOAA as part of the delivery-on- at CCAFS. Genesis collected samples more than 30 scientific Explorers. orbit concept. The Delta IV can carry of solar wind -- invisible, charged Numerous international satellites also 9,285 pounds (4,211 kilograms) to particles that flow outward from the were launched by NASA. 28,950 pounds (13,132 kilograms) . The particles will be studied by The Delta family of vehicles to GTO and 17,900 pounds (8,119 scientists to search for answers to Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) launched has been upgraded several times kilograms) to 50,800 pounds fundamental questions about the on the last Delta II heavy rocket to throughout the years. The Delta II, (23,043 kilograms) into low Earth exact composition of Earth’s and be used by the agency, on Sept. 10, most recently produced by ULA, has orbit, depending on vehicle con- the birth of our . 2011, from Launch Complex 17-B solid strap-on motors, liquid-fueled figuration. Space Launch Complex NASA’s Gravity Recovery and at CCAFS. NASA’s Launch Services Program 2 NASA Facts Falcon 1 and 9 (10,450 kg) into , and up to 10,009 pounds (4,540 kg) into . Currently, the is being tested for NASA’s Space X’s Falcon 1 and 9 rockets will be available Commercial Orbital Transportation Systems (COTS) for future NASA expendable launch vehicle missions program to provide cargo transportation to and from under the NLS II contract. the International , and will eventually be These rockets will be used to launch a variety of used under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) spacecraft into low Earth orbit, geosynchronous orbit or contract. for interplanetary missions. A successful test flight of the rocket occurred in The Falcon 1 is designed to carry small satellites December 2010, from CCAFS’ Launch Complex-40. weighing up to 2,227 pounds (1010 kg) to low SpaceX and Orbital Sciences are two companies under Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 is designed to carry medium contract for COTS to develop the near-term capability to large satellites weighing up to 23,038 pounds to launch and return pressurized cargo from space.

Pegasus XL The Pegasus XL vehicle, world. There have been success- attached beneath an Orbital Sci- ful launches from VAFB, CCAFS, ences carrier aircraft, a converted Wallops Flight Facility, the Kwajalein Lockheed L-1011, is carried to Atoll, and the Canary Islands in an altitude of 39,000 feet, and the Atlantic. Pegasus launched the then released for launch. Pegasus Aeronomy of Ice (AIM) spacecraft, has successfully placed more than April 25, 2007, and NASA’s Space 70 satellites into orbit. Its three- Technology 5 (STS), on March 22, stage solid motors can deliver up 2006, both from VAFB. Pegasus to a 970-pound (440-kilogram) also launched NASA’s Interstel- payload into low Earth orbit. Be- lar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) cause of its unique launch platform, spacecraft, from the Reagan Test this rocket can be launched Site in the Kwajalein Atoll on Oct. from almost any location in the 19, 2008.

Taurus XL Titan The Taurus vehicle is The Titan launch vehicle was retired from a four-stage solid motor service in 2005. The Titan was used by rocket that can launch up NASA to launch interplanetary missions from to a 2,200-pound (1,000 CCAFS. An earlier version of the Titan rocket, kilogram) payload into low the Titan III-E/Centaur, built by Earth orbit. Corp. and Corp., was used The Taurus was to launch two missions to the sun, two designed to operate from missions to Mars, and two Voyager a wide range of launch missions to Jupiter and Saturn beginning in facilities and geographic the 1970s. One of the Voyagers also contin- locations. ued on to and Neptune. All of the mis- The Taurus launch ve- sions provided remarkable new scientific data hicle successfully sent six about our solar system and spectacular color satellites into orbit with six photographs of the planets they explored, as launches, all from VAFB. well as some of their . It was used to launch The Titan IV launched NASA’s Cassini NASA’s Active Cavity Radi- spacecraft to Saturn in 1997. The Titan III ometer Irradiance Monitor sent NASA’s on its journey (ACRIMSAT) spacecraft in 1992. The Titan II was used to launch Dec. 20, 1999. many National Oceanic and Atmospheric NASA is working with Administration (NOAA) weather satellites. Orbital Sciences Corp. to A Titan II also launched NASA’s NOAA-M understand recent launch satellite, June 24, 2002, from Space Launch anomalies of the Taurus XL. Complex-4 at VAFB.

NASA’s Launch Services Program 3 NASA Facts HISTORIC MISSIONS Mars Exploration Rovers Cassini (Titan IV) (MER-A & B) (Delta II) Cassini, with its attached probe, was NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers launched a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory spacecraft aboard Delta II vehicles from CCAFS. MER-A “Spirit” with international partners from the European and launched June 10, 2003, and MER-B “Opportu- Italian Space Agencies. Its seven-year journey nity” launched July 7 that same year. Both rovers to Saturn began Oct. 15, 1997, from Launch reached Mars in January 2004. Information sent Complex 40 on a Titan IV at CCAFS. The mission back to Earth from the rovers revealed the existence included two swingbys of Venus and one of Earth of water in the Red Planet’s past. Previous missions to gain additional velocity for its journey. to Mars include the 2001 Mars spacecraft Cassini arrived at Saturn in January 2004 that launched from Space Launch Complex 17A at and circled the planet for four years conducting CCAFS on April 7, 2001. closeup observations of the planet and its moons. The began its journey atop a Delta Huygens, with a separate suite of six science II that launched Dec. 4, 1996, from Launch Complex instruments, separated from Cassini and flew on a 17-B at CCAFS. trajectory toward Titan, the only celestial body be- NASA’s first return to Mars after the Viking mission sides Earth to have an atmosphere rich in nitrogen. began with the launch of the Mars Global Surveyor atop a Delta II on Nov. 7, 1996, from CCAFS’s Launch Complex 17-A. The Surveyor traveled to the Red Planet and spent about two years mapping the Martian surface to achieve a global portrait.

Kepler, , Messenger (Delta II) The Kepler mission, the 10th in NASA’s Discovery missions, launched on a Delta II rocket, March 6, 2009, from CCAFS. The Kepler Juno (Atlas V) telescope was specifically designed to survey a portion of the region of the Milky Way for NASA’s solar-powered Juno spacecraft about three-and-a-half years to discover dozens launched on an Atlas V rocket on Aug. 5, 2011, of Earth-size planets in or near the habitable zone from Launch Complex 41 at CCAFS, to begin and determine how many of the billions of stars in a five-year journey to Jupiter. Juno will orbit the galaxy have such planets. The mission could Jupiter’s poles 33 times to find out more about be extended to six years. the gas giant’s origins, structure, atmosphere and The Deep Impact mission launched Jan. 12, magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a 2005, from CCAFS and reached Tempel 1 solid planetary core. in July 2005. The “flyby” spacecraft collected im- ages of the comet before its “impactor” spacecraft reached the comet, and after the impact to study the pristine interior of one of its craters. NASA’s Mercury Surface, Space, Environ- ment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft launched aboard a Delta II rocket Aug. 3, 2004 from CCAFS. The spacecraft made the 4.9-billion-mile trek to Mercury, with 15 trips around the sun and flybys of the Earth and Venus along the way. The spacecraft reached Mercury in 2008, with flybys of that planet in January and October, and again in September 2009. MES- SENGER was only the second spacecraft sent to mercury.

NASA’s Launch Services Program 4 NASA Facts GOES and TDRS Fleet of Satellites (Atlas II) NASA used the Atlas II to launch the NOAA GOES weather satellites, left, and the TDRS communications series of satellites into orbit. GOES-M launched July 23, 2001, aboard an Atlas IIA from CCAFS. It was the fifth spacecraft to be launched in the current advanced series of environ- mental satellites for NOAA and the first to have a solar X-ray imager. The most recent TDRS launch was the TDRS-K on Jan. 31, 2013 from Launch Complex 41 at CCAFS.

Kodiak Star (Athena I) and (Atlas IIAS) Lunar (Athena II) The Terra satellite launched on an Atlas IIAS on Dec. 16, The Athena I vehicle carried NASA’s Kodiak Star mission 1999, from Space Launch Complex 3E at VAFB. Terra, into orbit Sept. 29, 2001, from the Kodiak Launch Complex which is for Earth, was the first Earth Observing System in Alaska. NASA’s Starshine 3 and three U.S. Department scientific research satellite. The five Terra instruments on the of Defense satellites were launched into different . satellite operated by measuring the sunlight reflected by the Starshine 3 provided data on satellite orbit decay. The first Earth and heat emitted by the Earth. At the end of its mission, successful launch of an Athena II carried NASA’s Lunar Terra will have spent 15 years orbiting Earth and collecting Prospector spacecraft on a mission to search for traces of data. water or ice on the moon.

NASA’s Launch Services Program 5 NASA Facts On Air Force Station in Florida, personnel in the Delta Operations Building prepare for the launch of NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission aboard a Delta II Heavy rocket, Sept. 10, 2011, from Space Launch Complex 17B.

To view the latest fact sheets, go to http://go.nasa.gov/11KROr6.

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