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The Atlas SLV-3, or SLV-3 Atlas was an American
/ref> Most space launcher variants of the Atlas up to 1965 were derived from the D-series Atlas ICBM with custom modifications for the needs of the particular mission. The SLV-3 would use a standardized configuration based on the Atlas D missile for all launches with the exception of different widths for the top of the rocket depending on the upper stage being flown. The SLV-3 had thicker gauge tank walls to support the weight of upper stages as well as upgraded engines and removal of unneeded ICBM hardware such as retrorockets. Although the main engines had greater thrust, the verniers were detuned slightly in the interest of improved ISP (vacuum specific impulse). Variants of the SLV-3 flew until 2005 when the legacy Atlas was retired from service and replaced by the
The standard Atlas-Agena vehicle is best known for launching the Augmented Target Docking Adapter (ATDA) in support of the Gemini 9A mission. This occurred on 1 June 1966, and was the first flight of the Atlas SLV-3 as an independent vehicle. The ATDA failed because the payload shroud did not detach.
The rocket was also used for three
SLV-3A was the baseline SLV-3 with extended propellant tanks for longer burn time. It was used to launch OGO-3 in 1968, all remaining launches being classified
SLV-3C was the standard Atlas-Centaur booster, without the tapered forward section to accommodate the smaller Agena stage. The Atlas Centaur effort started in 1958 at the Advanced Research Projects Agency. On establishment of NASA, the effort transferred to NASA and ultimately under the auspices of the NASA Lewis Research Center. General Dynamics Convair division was contracted to make modifications to the Atlas booster and design the cryogenic Centaur upper stage with the engines for the upper stage being furnished as Government Furnished Equipment via a separate contract between the U.S. Government and Pratt & Whitney.
Atlas Centaur (SLV-3C) was designed to deliver the Surveyor moon lander missions to soft landings on the lunar surface as part of the buildup for the Apollo program.
NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive
Gemini 9 Target B {{Use American English, date=January 2014 Rockets and missiles Atlas (rocket family)
expendable launch system
An expendable launch system (or expendable launch vehicle/ELV) is a launch vehicle that can be launched only once, after which its components are either destroyed during reentry or discarded in space. ELVs typically consist of several rocket sta ...
derived from the SM-65 Atlas
The SM-65 Atlas was the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the United States and the first member of the Atlas rocket family. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Convair Division of General Dyna ...
/ SM-65D Atlas
The SM-65D Atlas, or Atlas D, was the first operational version of the U.S. Atlas missile. Atlas D was first used as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to deliver a nuclear weapon payload on a suborbital trajectory. It was later dev ...
missile. It was a member of the Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
family of rockets.
The Atlas SLV-3 was a stage and a half
A single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle reaches orbit from the surface of a body using only propellants and fluids and without expending tanks, engines, or other major hardware. The term usually, but not exclusively, refers to reusable vehicles ...
rocket, built as a standardized replacement for earlier Atlas launch systems, which had been derived from the various Atlas missiles.Encyclopedia Astronautica - Atlas/ref> Most space launcher variants of the Atlas up to 1965 were derived from the D-series Atlas ICBM with custom modifications for the needs of the particular mission. The SLV-3 would use a standardized configuration based on the Atlas D missile for all launches with the exception of different widths for the top of the rocket depending on the upper stage being flown. The SLV-3 had thicker gauge tank walls to support the weight of upper stages as well as upgraded engines and removal of unneeded ICBM hardware such as retrorockets. Although the main engines had greater thrust, the verniers were detuned slightly in the interest of improved ISP (vacuum specific impulse). Variants of the SLV-3 flew until 2005 when the legacy Atlas was retired from service and replaced by the
Atlas V
Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas (rocket family), Atlas launch vehicle family. It was originally designed by Lockheed Martin, now being operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture be ...
, a completely new vehicle with conventional aircraft-style construction and different engines.
Versions
The following versions of the launch system were produced:Baseline
The standard Atlas-Agena vehicle is best known for launching the Augmented Target Docking Adapter (ATDA) in support of the Gemini 9A mission. This occurred on 1 June 1966, and was the first flight of the Atlas SLV-3 as an independent vehicle. The ATDA failed because the payload shroud did not detach.
The rocket was also used for three suborbital
A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the atmosphere or surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched, so that it will not complete one orbital r ...
tests of X-23 PRIME
The Martin X-23A PRIME (Precision Reentry Including Maneuvering reEntry) (SV-5D) was a small lifting-body re-entry vehicle tested by the United States Air Force in the mid-1960s. Unlike ASSET, primarily used for structural and heating research, ...
reentry vehicle
Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: ''uncontrolled entry'', such as the entr ...
s. A leftover SLV-3 from the PRIME program was used to launch a collection of small scientific satellites from VAFB's SLC-3E on August 16, 1968.
Most Atlas-Agena SLV-3s were used for classified DoD payloads, especially KH-7 GAMBIT
BYEMAN codenamed GAMBIT, the KH-7 (Air Force Program 206) was a reconnaissance satellite used by the United States from July 1963 to June 1967. Like the older CORONA system, it acquired imagery intelligence by taking photographs and returnin ...
.
A Burner II upper stage could be used to increase payload.
* Thrust (pounds): 389,000
* Booster ISP: 252.5
* Sustainer ISP: 214.2
* Vernier ISP: 190.9/237.7
* Main impulse propellants (pounds): 246,549
* Launch weight (pounds): 260,928
* Booster jettison weight (pounds): 7,368
* Sustainer jettison weight (pounds): 6,569
SLV-3A
SLV-3A was the baseline SLV-3 with extended propellant tanks for longer burn time. It was used to launch OGO-3 in 1968, all remaining launches being classified Aquacade (satellite)
Aquacade, previously designated Rhyolite, was a class of SIGINT spy satellites operated by the National Reconnaissance Office for the United States Central Intelligence Agency. The National Security Agency (NSA) was also reportedly involved. The pr ...
(Canyon/Rhyolite) SIGINT satellites. All launches took place from LC-13 at CCAS.
SLV-3B
SLV-3B was a one-off Atlas used to launch the first OAO satellite, which consisted of the SLV-3C Atlas with the Agena and payload enclosed in a full-width fairing.SLV-3C
SLV-3C was the standard Atlas-Centaur booster, without the tapered forward section to accommodate the smaller Agena stage. The Atlas Centaur effort started in 1958 at the Advanced Research Projects Agency. On establishment of NASA, the effort transferred to NASA and ultimately under the auspices of the NASA Lewis Research Center. General Dynamics Convair division was contracted to make modifications to the Atlas booster and design the cryogenic Centaur upper stage with the engines for the upper stage being furnished as Government Furnished Equipment via a separate contract between the U.S. Government and Pratt & Whitney.
Atlas Centaur (SLV-3C) was designed to deliver the Surveyor moon lander missions to soft landings on the lunar surface as part of the buildup for the Apollo program.
Atlas SLV-3D
SLV-3D had the same Atlas core as SLV-3C, with an enhanced Centaur stage.References
External links
NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive
Gemini 9 Target B {{Use American English, date=January 2014 Rockets and missiles Atlas (rocket family)