The Titan 23G, Titan II(23)G, Titan 2(23)G or Titan II SLV was an American

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 multistage ...

derived from the

LGM-25C Titan II The Titan II was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company from the earlier Titan I missile. Titan II was originally designed and used as an ICBM, but was later adapted as a medium-lift space l ...

intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapo ...

. Retired Titan II missiles were converted by

Martin Marietta The Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. History Martin Mari ...

, into which the Glenn L. Martin Company, which built the original Titan II, had merged. It was used to carry payloads for the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

(USAF),

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

and

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...

(NOAA). Thirteen were launched from Space Launch Complex 4W (SLC-4W) at the

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg Sp ...

between 1988 and 2003. Titan 23G rockets consisted of two stages burning

liquid propellant A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, a ...

. The first stage was powered by one

Aerojet Aerojet was an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Rancho Cordova, California, with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange and Gainesville in Virginia, and Camden, Arkansas. Aerojet was owned by GenCorp. I ...

LR87 The LR87 was an American liquid-propellant rocket engine used on the first stages of Titan intercontinental ballistic missiles and launch vehicles. Composed of twin motors with separate combustion chambers and turbopump machinery, it is cons ...

engine with two combustion chambers and nozzles, and the second stage was propelled by an LR91. On some flights, the spacecraft included a kick motor, usually the Star-37XFP-ISS; however, the Star-37S was also used. A contract to refurbish fourteen Titan II missiles to the Titan 23G configuration was awarded to Martin Marietta in January 1986. The first launch occurred on 5 September 1988, carrying a classified payload for the U.S.

National Reconnaissance Office The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. fe ...

. Thirteen were launched, with the fourteenth going to the

Evergreen Aviation Museum The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is an aviation museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Its exhibits include the Hughes H-4 Hercules (''Spruce Goose'') and more than fifty military and civilian aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), and spacec ...

. The final flight occurred on 17 October 2003, carrying a Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellite. During refurbishment, the forward structure of the second stage was modified with the addition of a payload attachment fitting to attach the payload to the rocket, and installing a

payload fairing A payload fairing is a nose cone used to protect a spacecraft payload against the impact of dynamic pressure and aerodynamic heating during launch through an atmosphere. An additional function on some flights is to maintain the cleanroom envi ...

to protect it during launch. The engines were refurbished, and the rockets' guidance and control systems were upgraded by

Delco Electronics Delco Electronics Corporation was the automotive electronics design and manufacturing subsidiary of General Motors based in Kokomo, Indiana, that manufactured ''Delco'' Automobile radios and other electric products found in GM cars. In 1972, Gene ...

. The former Titan IIIB pad at Vandenberg, SLC-4W, was modified to accommodate the Titan 23G, and was used for all thirteen launches.

Launch history

All launches of Titan II(23)G rockets took place from Space Launch Complex 4W (SLC-4W) at

. A fourteenth rocket, G-10, based on Titan II B-108, but incorporating an oxygen tank from B-80, was not launched and is preserved at the

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is an aviation museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Its exhibits include the Hughes H-4 Hercules (''Spruce Goose'') and more than fifty military and civilian aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), and spacec ...

McMinnville, Oregon McMinnville is the county seat of and largest city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. The city is named after McMinnville, Tennessee. As of the 2019 census, the city had a population estimate of 34,743. McMinnville is at the confluence of ...

. The remaining 42 Titan II missiles were stored at Davis-Monthan AFB with most being broken up for salvage. Four were transferred to museums. File:T2 01 G1.jpg, 01 Titan-23G01 BERNIE-1 ELINT satellite File:T2 04 G5 Landsat-6.png, 04 Titan-23G05 LANDSAT-6 File:Titan 23G launches Clementine.jpg, 05 Titan-23G11 CLEMENTINE File:T2 06 G6 DMSP F14.jpg, 06 Titan-23G06 DMSP-F14 File:T2 07 G12 NOAA-K.jpg, 07 Titan-23G12 NOAA-K File:T2 08 G7 QuickSCAT.jpg, 08 Titan-23G07 QuickSCAT File:T2 09 G8 DMSP F15.jpg, 09 Titan-23G08 DMSP-F15 File:T2 10 G13 NOAA-L.jpg, 10 Titan-23G13 NOAA-L File:T2 11 G14 NOAA-M.jpg, 11 Titan-23G14 NOAA-M File:T2 12 G4 Coriolis.jpg, 12 Titan-23G04 CORIOLIS File:TG9181003d.jpg, 13 Titan-23G09 DMSP-F16 File:Titan-II B-108 became 23G10.jpg, Titan-II B-108 in 1988 became 23G10 program spare

References

{{US launch systems Titan (rocket family)

Launch history

See also

References