“ATLAS/CENTAUR (@ 134 FEET TALL — 10 FEET IN DIAMETER (@ WITH PAYLOAD WEIGHS 328,000 POUNDS. AT LIFTOFF (@ ATLAS THRUST, 431,000 POUNDS AT LIFTOFF = -1Btle | « centaur Turusr, 20000 pouNDS : snail ren iaameertee FLEcTHONIC | The Atlas/Cantaur launch operations are the responsiblity of the Kennedy ‘Space Center Unmanned Launch Operations directorate. Atias/Cantaur vehicles are built by General Dynamics/Convair (GD/C), and launched by a combined NASA/GD/C team. Development and engineering responsibility for the Atias/ Centaur rests with the NASA Lawis Research Center in Cieveland, Ohio, ‘The two-stage, liquid-fueled Atlas/Cantaur combination has been used to launch~ a variety of scientific and technological spacecraft. These have included Sur- CENTAUR veyors to the moon, Mariners to Venus, Mercury, and Mars, and Pioneers to upd Jupiter. It has placed Applications Technology Satellites and INTELSAT ‘communications satellites into synchronous earth orbit, and Orbiting Astro- nomical Observatories weighing up to: 5,000 pounds (2,268 kilograms) into ‘orbits as high as 460 statute miles (740 kilometers) above the earth. The 7ooot (211 mete fist stage i an uprated verion ofthe fghcoroven [ei Whice used nthe national teca progam sneaTOS9, The Rocka nt tational Rocketayre MAS engine sytem ourns AP, a hghy refined Keroree, tnd lid oxveen. The MAS ville two, main eoginer, 4 370000 pounds {11846000 Nevers) of tase booster wily two trun enamber na asmaer fustner thw single chamber tet proveer 60/000 pounds 1286900" New. tons thurs, The suttsinr nocle located between the ro Igor ona of he Eeortar engine. Two mal versie engines which hap contol the vehi in hort tre alco turing at lot, for teal uit of 431000 aoungt (917.00 Newtons, Total vehicle Weight st Tai a moot 8.000 pounds AT a00 kilograms. ‘An unusual feature of the Atlas vehicle is its “stage-and-e-half” construction, All five thrust chambers are burning at liftoff. After 2 1/2 minutes of flight the booster engine cuts off and it and its supporting structures are jettisoned, dele ting a large portion of the structural weight of this stage. The sustainer and vernier engines continue to burn until the propellants are gone. Hence Atlas engines never need to ignite in flight. With most rocket vehicles, each stage must complete its burn and separate before the next stage can ignite. . The Atlas also has eight small retrorockets near the bottom of the fuel tank, above the main engines. These rockets pull the Atlas back away from the Centaur after stage separation. ‘The only radio frequency system on the Atlas is a range safety command system, consisting of two receivers, a power control unit, and a destruct unit. The Atlas ‘can be destroyed in flight if necessary, but otherwise receives all its control directions from the Centaur stage. bizes NESE KSC UNMANNED LAUNCH OPERATIONS: NASA‘The Centaur main propulsion system consists of two Pratt & Whrtnay engines burning liquid oxygen and hydro- ‘gan, producing 30,000 pounds (133,400 Newtons) of thrust in a vacuum. A Centaur is 46 feet (14 meters) in length, and weighs about 39,000 pounds (17,700 kilograms) wher loaded with propellants. The engines can be restarted in space and will burn for up to 7 1/2 minutes. The Centaur provides more total thrust for its size than any other stage. . ‘The Centaur has 14 small thrust engines powered by hydrogen peroxide, which respond to commands from the ‘Guidance system. These properly orient the vehicle, and hold it steady during both engine firing and periods of coasting. A Centaur stage requires a small constant thrust when the engines are not burning, to keep the propel-- lants settled:in the bottoms of their tanks. ‘The Centaur electronic packages are mounted in a circle around a'conical equipment module, located above the upper tank. An adapter on top of this module connects to the payload adapter on the bottom of the spacecraft, ‘These electronic packages provide an integrated flight control system which performs the navigation, guidance, autopilot, attitude control, sequence of events, and telemetry and data management functions for both the Atlas ‘and Centaur stages. The heart of this system is a Digital Computer Unit (OCU), built by Teledyne. The OCU ‘sends commands to control ail planned actions, including those shown in the table of major events following. The DCU receives guidance information from a combination of sensors called the Inertial Measurement Group, built ‘by Honeywell, and sends steering commands to all Atlas and Centaur engines. The Centaur also has @ graund- control destruct system similar to that on the Atlas, in case the vehicle must be destroyed in flight. ‘The following table provides a list of the major events that will occur during the flight, listed in English units only. Velocity Distance Time After Altitude (In Miles Downrange Event, Liftoff (In Miles) per Hour) (In Miles) Littatt #0 -- - Booster Engine Cutott 2min 198 35 5572 Jertison Booster Engine 2min 22% 37 564 Jettison Insulation Panels = Smindec” 61 6,390 4min7see 90 8,080 239 ‘Atias/Cantaur Separation 4 min 9 sec 8,081 244 First Cantaur Main Engines 4 min 19 see 8,047 264 Start Jettison Nose Fairing Amin 31 sec 8,178 290 Centaur Main Engines 10min 21 see 17,468 1.416 Cutoff ‘Second Centaur Main Engines 25 min 25 sec 16,422 5,482 Start Second Centaur Main Engines 26 min 47 sec 720,954 5,861 Cutoff ‘Centaur/Spacecraft 29min 2see 836 20,620 6,548 Separation ‘These numbers may vary depending on exact launch date and launch time, NOTE: The final velocity of 20,620 miles per hour places the spacecraft in a transfer ‘orbit, with an apogee of 22,256 miles (35,818 kilometers} and 2 perigee of 341 miles {849 kilometers), COMSAT then assumes control of the spacecraft. At an apogee chosen by COMSAT controllers, the on-board apogee kick motor will be fired to circularize the orbit at synchronous altitude, 22,300 miles (35,900 kilometers) above the equator. It will ‘then be ‘drifted’ to its assigned place in the INTELSAT global network. The spacecraft will have a final velocity of about 6,876 miles {11,066 kilometers) per hour. It will com- plete one orbit every 24 hours, and so remain above the same spot on the equator.