Information AboutAtlas V |
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, 7:43:00 AM EDT August 12, 2005 on the first Atlas V rocket used by NASA.]] Atlas V is a Launch Vehicle built by Lockheed Martin . Although it is the newest version of Atlas it contains little Atlas technology. It no longer uses balloon tanks nor 1.5 Staging , but incorporates a rigid framework for its First Stage booster much like the Titan Family of vehicles. Ironically, given Atlas's origin as a military Weapon , the Atlas III and Atlas V use Russian-designed engines. The Atlas V was developed by Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services as part of the US Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The term ''" Expendable Launch Vehicle "'' means it is only used once. Launches are from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station . In addition, Space Launch Complex 3 East at Vandenberg Air Force Base is being prepared for future Polar launches. All seven Atlas V launches to date have been successful. The Atlas V family uses a single-stage Atlas main engine, the Russian RD-180 and the newly developed Common Core Booster (CCB) with up to five strap-on Solid Rocket Booster s. The CCB is 12.5 ft (3.8 m) in diameter by 106.6 ft (32.5 m) long and uses 627,105 lb (284,453 kg) of liquid oxygen and RP-1 rocket fuel propellants. The booster operates for about four minutes, providing about 4 Meganewtons (900,000 lbf) of thrust at start. The Centaur upper stage uses a pressure stabilized propellant tank design and cryogenic propellants. The Centaur stage for Atlas V is stretched 5.5 ft (1.68 m) and is powered by either one or two Pratt & Whitney RL10A-4-2 engines, each engine developing a thrust of 99.2 kN (22,300 lbf). Operational and reliability upgrades are enabled with the RL10A-4-2 engine configuration. The Inertial Navigation Unit (INU) located on the Centaur provides guidance and navigation for both Atlas and Centaur, and controls both Atlas and Centaur tank pressures and propellant use. The Centaur engines are capable of multiple in-space starts, making possible insertion into low-earth parking orbit, followed by a coast period and then insertion into GTO. An upgrade to a Fault Tolerant INU is currently in development and will further enhance mission reliability for all Atlas vehicles. The Atlas V-Heavy configuration is available 30 months from order. It would use three CCB stages strapped together to provide the capability necessary to lift the heaviest spacecraft. On Atlas V, in addition to the classic 4-meter Payload Fairing used since the Atlas II , Lockheed Martin introduced a 5-meter (4.57 meters usable) Contraves payload fairing. The Contraves fairing is a composite design and is based on flight proven hardware. Three configurations will be manufactured to support Atlas V. The short and medium length configurations will be used on the Atlas V 500 series. The long configuration will be used on the Atlas V-Heavy. {Link without Title} The classic fairing covers only the payload, leaving the Centaur stage exposed to open air. With the Contraves fairing, the Centaur is enclosed within the fairing as well as the payload. VERSIONS Each Atlas booster has a three digit version designation that is determined by the features of the rocket. The first digit is the diameter (in Meters ) of the nosecone fairing, and is always either four or five. The second digit is the number of solid rocket boosters attached to the base of the rocket, and can number anywhere from zero through three with the 4-m fairing and zero through five with the 5-m fairing. The third digit is the number of engines on the Centaur stage, either one or two. Single-engine Centaurs are typically used for satellites going to Geostationary Transfer Orbit or reaching Escape Velocity . Dual engine Centaurs are typically used for satellites reaching Low Earth Orbit . Comparable rockets: Delta IV - Ariane 5 - Chang Zheng 5 - Angara - Falcon 9 VERSIONS LIST Spaceprobe lauches on August the 12. 2005 at 11:43 UTC to the Planet Mars onboard an Atlas V (Modell 401) Launch Vehicle.]] List Date: January 19 2006 LAUNCH HISTORY Deep Space Probe launches from Lauch Pad 41 in Cape Canaveral.]] List Date: January 19 2006 PLANNED LAUNCHES List Date: December 22 2005 EXTERNAL LINKS
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