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Expendable Launch Vehicles Services NASA Facts National Aeronautics and Space Administration John F. Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899 AC 321-867-2468 FS-2001-10-016-KSC NASA’s Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV) Program Center In 1997, Kennedy Space Center excellence, expertise and leadership to ensure mission suc- was assigned lead center program cess for every customer.” responsibility for NASA’s acquisi- tion and management of Expend- able Launch Vehicle (ELV) launch Expendable Launch Vehicles services. All Expendable Launch Vehicles use the same basic tech- The ELV Program Office pro- nology to get into space – two or more rocket-powered stages, vides a single focal point for the which are discarded when their engine burns are completed. acquisition and management of Whatever a launch vehicle carries above the final discarded ELV launch services, while afford- stage is considered the payload. ing NASA the benefits of consoli- A payload’s weight, orbital destination and purpose de- dated and streamlined technical termine what size launch vehicle is required. A small ex- and administrative functions. The pendable launch vehicle like Pegasus can place a low-weight program, with its vision statement, spacecraft into near-Earth orbit, while an expendable vehicle “Global Leadership In Launch Ser- like the massive Saturn V was required to send manned vice Excellence,” provides launch Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. services for NASA, NASA-spon- The powerful Titan/Centaur combination carried large and sored payloads and other govern- complex robotic scientific explorers, such as the Vikings and ment payloads. Voyagers, to examine other planets in the 1970s. Among Primary launch sites are other missions, the Atlas/Agena vehicle sent several space- Cape Canaveral Air Force craft to photograph and then impact the Moon. And Atlas/ Station (CCAFS), Fla., and Centaur vehicles launched many of the larger spacecraft into Vandenberg Air Force Base Earth orbit and beyond. Atlas IIAS (VAFB), Calif. NASA’s Wallops To date, Delta launch vehicles have carried nearly 200 Island, Va., flight facility, Kwajalein NASA scientific, wind and communications payloads into Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall orbit, or to other planets. NASA has used the Athena I and II Islands in the North Pacific, and vehicles to launch scientific satellites from VAFB, CCAFS Kodiak Island, Alaska, are other launch locations. and most recently, from Kodiak Island, Alaska. Pegasus, an Since 1990, NASA has been purchasing ELV launch Orbital Sciences fleet vehicle, is the only airborne launch services directly from commercial providers, whenever pos- vehicle in the ELV fleet. Taurus is the newest vehicle in sible, for its scientific and applications missions that are not Orbital’s fleet. assigned to fly on the Space Shuttle. ELVs can accommo- date all types of orbit inclinations and altitudes and are ideal NASA ELV Fleet vehicles for launching Earth-orbit and interplanetary missions. Kennedy Space Center is responsible for NASA gov- Atlas/Centaur ernment oversight of launch operations and countdown man- The Atlas IIA, IIAS , IIIA and IIIB are the latest versions agement. A motivated and skillful team is in place to meet of the Atlas/Centaur vehicles that first became operational the mission of the ELV program, “To provide launch service in 1966. Lockheed Martin uses these three vehicles to launch military, commercial and scientific payloads into space from Space Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Space Launch Complex 3B at Vandenberg Air Force Base. More than 500 Atlas flights have taken place, including more than 100 flights with the Centaur stage added to create the Atlas/Centaur vehicle. When launched by NASA through 1989, the Atlas/Cen- taur was the standard vehicle for intermediate payloads that carried about 8,200 pounds (3700 kilograms) to geosynchro- nous transfer orbit. The Centaur was the first high-energy, liquid-hydrogen/liquid-oxygen launch vehicle stage, and pro- Pegasus is attached underneath the Lockheed L-1011, ready for release. vided the most power for its weight of any proven stage then in use. The Atlas/Centaur was the launch vehicle for Surveyor vehicle is carried to an altitude of 39,000 feet attached be- I, the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon. Other neath an Orbital Sciences carrier aircraft, a converted spacecraft launched by Atlas/Centaurs include the Orbiting Lockheed L-1011 (above), and then released for launch. Pe- Astronomical Observatories; Applications Technology Satel- gasus has successfully placed 70 satellites in orbit with 29 lites; the Intelsat IV, IV-A and V series of communications launches. Its three-stage solid motors can deliver up to a satellites; Mariner Mars orbiters; a Mariner spacecraft that 970-pound (440-kilogram) payload into low-Earth orbit. made a flyby of Venus and three flybys of Mercury; Pioneers, Because of its unique launch platform, this vehicle can which accomplished flybys of Jupiter and Saturn; and Pio- be launched from almost any location in the world. There neers that orbited Venus and sent probes plunging through have been successful launches from Vandenberg Air Force its atmosphere to the surface. Most recently, NASA launched Base, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, NASA’s Wallops the NOAA GOES-M weather satellite on an Atlas IIA. Island, Va., flight facility, Kwajelein Atoll in the Republic of Lockheed Martin developed the Atlas III launch system the Marshall Islands in the Pacific, and the Canary Islands that debuted in 2000. This vehicle can carry more than 8,819 in the Atlantic. On Oct. 9, 2000, Pegasus launched NASA’s pounds (4,000 kilograms) to geosynchronous transfer orbit. High Energy Transient Experiment (HETE-2) into an equa- The Atlas V system, expected to debut in early 2002, will be torial orbit from Kwajalein Atoll. able to carry up to 18,893 pounds (8,570 kilograms) to geo- synchronous transfer orbit, from Space Launch Complex 41 Taurus at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Taurus ve- hicle is a four-stage Delta solid motor vehicle. From 1960 to 1989, NASA was the responsible agency The Taurus was de- in the launch of 170 scientific, weather and communications signed to operate from spacecraft, along with some military satellites, from Cape a wide range of launch Canaveral Air Force Station and Vandenberg Air Force Base. facilities and geo- These spacecraft include NASA’s TIROS, Nimbus, ITOS, graphic locations. The LANDSAT and Westar series, and more than 30 scientific Taurus launch vehicle Explorers. Numerous international satellites were also has successfully sent launched by NASA. nine satellites into or- The Delta family of vehicles has been upgraded several bit with five launches, times over the years. The Delta, produced by Boeing, cur- all from Vandenberg rently has solid strap-on motors, liquid-fueled first and sec- Air Force Base. It was ond stages, and a solid-propellant third stage. used to launch The Delta III launch vehicle debuted in 1998. This NASA’s Active Cavity upgraded model carries 8,400 pounds (3,810 kilograms) to Radiometer Irradiance geosynchronous transfer orbit. The Delta IV system, ex- Monitor Satellite pected to debut in first quarter 2002, will be able to carry (ACRIMSAT) space- 8,818 pounds (4,000 kilograms) to 27,778 pounds (12,600 craft on Dec. 20, 1999. kilograms) up to geosynchronous transfer orbit, depending Taurus was privately Taurus 4 on vehicle configuration. Space Launch Complex 37 at developed by Orbital CCAFS, formerly a Saturn I launch pad, is being recon- Sciences to launch up to a 2,200-pound (1,000-kilogram) structed to launch the Delta IV. payload into low-Earth orbit. Pegasus Titan IV The Pegasus XL vehicle is the only airborne, commer- The Titan has been used by NASA to launch interplan- cially developed launch vehicle currently used. The Pegasus etary missions from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. An earlier version of the of small rocket engines, a parachute and airbags. Titan vehicle, the Titan III-E/Centaur, built by Mars Global Surveyor (Delta II) Martin Marietta and NASA’s first return to Mars since the Viking mission be- General Dynamics, gan with the launch of the Mars Global Surveyor atop a Delta was used to launch II on Nov. 7, 1996, from Launch Complex 17A at Cape two Helios missions to Canaveral Air Force Station. The Surveyor traveled to the the Sun, two Viking Red Planet and spent approximately two years mapping the missions to Mars, and Martian surface to achieve a global portrait. Using sophisti- two Voyager missions cated remote-sensing instruments, the Mars Global Surveyor to Jupiter and Saturn mapped the Red Planet’s topography, magnetism, mineral beginning in the composition and atmosphere. 1970s. One of the Voyagers also contin- ued on to Uranus and Titan IV Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Neptune. All of the (Delta II) missions provided re- NASA’s Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) space- markable new scien- craft was launched aboard a Delta II on Feb. 17, 1996, from tific data on our solar system and spectacular color photo- Space Launch Complex 17 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Sta- graphs of the planets they explored, as well as some of their tion. The NEAR mission was NASA’s first mission for its moons. Discovery Program for “faster, better, cheaper” planetary ex- The Titan IV most recently was used to launch NASA’s plorations, and is the first spacecraft powered by solar cells Cassini spacecraft to Saturn in 1997. And the Titan III sent to operate beyond the orbit of Mars. NEAR reached the NASA’s Mars Observer on its journey in 1992. asteroid Eros in December 1998 and sent back more than The Titan II is still used today to launch NOAA weather 1100 images, including color images, from as close as 2500 satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
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