Atlas V rocket
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
The newest version of Atlas launch vehicle, the Atlas V, built by Lockheed Martin, is an Atlas in name alone as 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.
All five Atlas V to date (21 Aug 2002, 13 May 2003, 17 July 2003, 17 Dec 2004 and 11 March 2005), were successfully launched. The Atlas V family uses a single-stage Atlas main engine, the Russian RD-180 and the newly developed Common Core Booster (CCB)Ô with up to five strap-on solid rocket boosters. The CCBÔ is 12.5 ft (3.8 m) in diameter by 106.6 ft (32.5 m) long and uses 627,105 lbs. (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 22,300 lbf (99.2 kN). 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 CCBÔ stages strapped together to provide the capability necessary to lift the heaviest spacecraft.
Additionally, on Atlas V, Lockheed Martin introduced a 4.57 meter usable diameter Contraves payload fairing in addition to retaining the option to use the heritage Atlas payload fairings. 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. [1] (http://www.losangeles.af.mil/SMC/PA/Fact_Sheets/eelv.htm)
Versions
| Version | Booster | Upper stage | Fairing | Payload to LEO | Payload to GTO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas V(401) | - | SEC | 4 m | - | 4951 kg |
| Atlas V(402) | - | DEC | 4 m | 12500 kg | - |
| Atlas V(411) | 1 | SEC | 4 m | - | 5951 kg |
| Atlas V(421) | 2 | SEC | 4 m | - | 6832 kg |
| Atlas V(431) | 3 | SEC | 4 m | - | 7642 kg |
| Atlas V(501) | - | SEC | 5 m | - | 3971 kg |
| Atlas V(502) | - | DEC | 5 m | 10300 kg | - |
| Atlas V(511) | 1 | SEC | 5 m | - | 5271 kg |
| Atlas V(512) | 1 | DEC | 5 m | 12050 kg | - |
| Atlas V(521) | 2 | SEC | 5 m | - | 6287 kg |
| Atlas V(522) | 2 | DEC | 5 m | 13950 kg | - |
| Atlas V(531) | 3 | SEC | 5 m | - | 7202 kg |
| Atlas V(532) | 3 | DEC | 5 m | 17250 kg | - |
| Atlas V(541) | 4 | SEC | 5 m | - | 7982 kg |
| Atlas V(542) | 4 | DEC | 5 m | 18750 kg | - |
| Atlas V(551) | 5 | SEC | 5 m | - | 8672 kg |
| Atlas V(552) | 5 | DEC | 5 m | 20050 kg | - |
| Atlas V(Heavy) | 2 CCB | SEC | 5 m | - | 13605 kg |
| Atlas V(Heavy) | 2 CCB | DEC | 5 m | 25000 kg | - |
Weblinks
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- Official page at ILS, the launch provider for Atlas V (http://ilslaunch.com/atlas/atlasv/) (engl.)
- http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/atlasv.htm (en.)
