What is Atlas V Rocket?

Atlas V

Launch of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 11:43:00 AM GMT August 12, 2005 on the first Atlas V rocket used by NASA. The rocket is in the 401 configuration. Launch of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 11:43:00 AM GMT August 12, 2005 on the first Atlas V rocket used by NASA. The rocket is in the 401 configuration.
Fact sheet
Function	EELV/Medium-heavy launch vehicle
Manufacturer	United Launch Alliance
Country of origin	USA
Size
Height	58.3 m (191.2 ft)
Diameter	3.81 m (12.49 ft)
Mass	546,700 kg (1,205,200 lb)
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload to LEO	10,300 - 20,050 kg
Payload to GTO	4,100 - 8,200 kg
Launch History
Status	Active
Launch sites	LC-41, CCAFS SLC-3W, Vandenberg AFB
Total launches	11 For breakdown by variant, see text
Successes	10
Partial failures	1 (401)[1]
Maiden flight	21 August 2002
Notable payloads	Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter New Horizons
Boosters (Not Heavy) - Aerojet
'''No boosters	1 to 5 (see text)
Engines	1 Solid
Thrust	1,270 kN (285,500 lbf)
Specific impulse	275 sec
Burn time	94 seconds
Fuel	Solid
Boosters (Atlas V Heavy (5HX)) - Atlas CCB
'''No boosters	2
Engines	1 RD-180
Thrust	4,152 kN (933,406 lbf)
Specific impulse	311 sec
Burn time	253 seconds
Fuel	RP-1/LOX
First Stage - Atlas CCB
Engines	1 RD-180
Thrust	4,152 kN (933,406 lbf)
Specific impulse	311 sec
Burn time	253 seconds
Fuel	RP-1/LOX
Second Stage (Atlas V XX1) - Centaur
Engines	1 RL-10A
Thrust	99.2 kN (22,290 lbf)
Specific impulse	451 sec
Burn time	842 seconds
Fuel	LH2/LOX
Second Stage (Atlas V XX2) - Centaur
Engines	2 RL-10A
Thrust	147 kN (41,592 lbf)
Specific impulse	449 sec
Burn time	421 seconds
Fuel	LH2/LOX

The Atlas V rocket is an expendable launch vehicle formerly built by Lockheed Martin and now built by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance. Aerojet develops and manufactures the Atlas V boosters. The rocket, built in Decatur, Alabama, consists of a first stage powered by kerosene and liquid oxygen, which uses a Russian made RD-180 engine, and a liquid hydrogen–liquid oxygen powered Centaur upper stage. Some configurations also use strap-on booster rockets. Together these components are referred to as the Atlas launch vehicle.

In its 11 launches, from its maiden launch in August 2002 to October 2007, the Atlas V had a success rate of 91%. The only failure occurred in June 15, 2007, when the engine in the Centaur upper stage of an Atlas V shut down early, leaving its payload -- a pair of NRO L-30 ocean surveillance satellites -- in a lower than intended orbit.^[2] The cause of the anomaly was traced to a leaky valve. Replacing the valve led to a delay in an upcoming Atlas V launch.^[3]

History

The Atlas V is the newest member of the Atlas family, and is a direct descendant of the previous Atlas II and especially the Atlas III vehicles. Most propulsion, avionic and structural elements are either identical to or straightforward derivations of those used on the previous vehicles.

The most obvious external change is to the first stage tanks, which no longer use 10 foot diameter, stainless steel monocoque, common intermediate bulkhead "balloon" construction nor the '1.5 staging' technique which jettisoned two engines in mid-flight but left a third burning all the way from the ground to orbit, but instead use a 12.5 foot diameter welded aluminum alloy construction first stage much like that of the Titan family of vehicles or the Space Shuttle external tank.

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.

The first Atlas V was launched on August 21, 2002. Nine Atlas V launches to date have been completely successful, one was rated partial failure. 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 Aerojet made strap-on solid rocket boosters. The CCB is 12.5 ft (3.8 m) in diameter by 106.6 ft (32.5 m) long and uses 627,105 lb (284,450 kg) of liquid oxygen and RP-1 rocket fuel propellants. The booster operates for about four minutes, providing about 4 meganewtons (860,000 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. A subsequent third burn following a multi-hour coast can permit direct injection of payloads into geostationary orbit. The Centaur vehicle has the highest proportion of burnable propellant relative to total mass of any modern upper stage and hence can deliver substantial payloads to a high energy state.

Many systems on the Atlas V have been the subject of upgrade and enhancement both prior to the first Atlas V flight and since that time. An upgrade to a Fault Tolerant INU (FTINU) was recently made to enhance mission reliability for Atlas vehicles.

Future developments

The Atlas V-Heavy or HLV 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. Approximately 95% of the hardware required for the Atlas HLV has already been flown on the Atlas V single core vehicles.

The Atlas V has two general payload fairing sizes. The classic 4-meter fairing, used since the Atlas II, comes in regular and slightly stretched versions (see AV-004/Inmarsat 4-F1 launch), and Lockheed Martin introduced a 5-meter (4.57 meters usable) payload fairing developed and built by Contraves Space (now Oerlikon Space[1]) in Switzerland. 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. 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.

For example, if the Atlas V version is 552, this means that the fairing is five meters, has five solid rocket boosters, and has two Centaur engines.

If the Atlas V version is 431, this means that the fairing is four meters, has three solid rocket boosters, and has a single Centaur engine.

Comparable rockets: Delta IV - Ariane 5 - Chang Zheng 5 - Angara - Proton - Falcon 9

An agreement between Lockheed and Bigelow Aerospace in September 2006 could lead to a human-rated version of the Atlas V to tap into the potential space tourism market.^[4]

Versions: List Date: June 16 2007

Version	Booster	Upper stage	Fairing	Payload to LEO	Payload to GTO	Launches to date
401	-	SEC	4 m	-	4951 kg	5
402	-	DEC	4 m	12500 kg	-	0
411	1	SEC	4 m	-	5951 kg	1
421	2	SEC	4 m	-	6832 kg	1
431	3	SEC	4 m	-	7642 kg	1
501	-	SEC	5 m	-	3971 kg	0
502	-	DEC	5 m	10300 kg	-	0
511	1	SEC	5 m	-	5271 kg	0
512	1	DEC	5 m	12050 kg	-	0
521	2	SEC	5 m	-	6287 kg	2
522	2	DEC	5 m	13950 kg	-	0
531	3	SEC	5 m	-	7202 kg	0
532	3	DEC	5 m	17250 kg	-	0
541	4	SEC	5 m	-	7982 kg	0
542	4	DEC	5 m	18750 kg	-	0
551	5	SEC	5 m	-	8672 kg	1
552	5	DEC	5 m	20050 kg	-	0
Heavy (HLV (5H1))	2 CCB	SEC	5 m	-	13605 kg	0
Heavy (HLV DEC (5H2))	2 CCB	DEC	5 m	25000 kg	-	0

Atlas V Launches

For more details on this topic, see Atlas V Launches.

Past launches

List Date: June 2007

Date	Type	Serial-no.	Startplace	Payload	Kind of payload	Orbit	Outcome	Remarks
August 21 2002	401	AV-001	CC LC41	Hot Bird 6	Commercial communications satellite	GSO	Success	First Atlas V launch
May 13 2003	401	AV-002	CC LC41	HellasSat 2	Commercial communications satellite	GSO	Success
July 17 2003	521	AV-003	CC LC41	Rainbow 1	Commercial communications satellite	GSO	Success	First Atlas V 500 launch
December 17 2004	521	AV-005	CC LC41	AMC 16	Commercial communications satellite	GSO	Success
March 11 2005	431	AV-004	CC LC41	Inmarsat 4-F1	Commercial communications satellite	GSO	Success
August 12 2005	401	AV-007	CC LC41	Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter	Mars orbiter	escape	Success	First Atlas V launch for NASA
January 19 2006	551	AV-010	CC LC41	New Horizons	Pluto and Kuiper Belt probe	escape	Success	Boeing Star 48B third stage used, first Atlas V launch with a third stage
April 20 2006	411	AV-008	CC LC41	ASTRA 1KR	Commercial communications satellite	GSO	Success	Final Atlas commercial launch for ILS
March 8 2007	401	AV-013	CC LC41	Space Test Program-1	6 military research satellites	LEO	Success	FalconSAT-3
June 15 2007	401	AV-009	CC LC41	NRO L-30R (NOSS-4-3A & B)	Two NRO Reconnaissance satellites	LEO	Partial failure (premature cutoff of Centaur upper stage)	First Atlas V flight for the National Reconnaissance Office
October 11 2007	421	AV-011	CC LC41	WGS SV-1	Military communications satellite	GTO	Success	valve replacement[4]

Planned launches

List Date: August 1 2007

Date	Type	Serial-no.	Launch site	Payload	Kind of payload	Remarks
2007	411	AV-006	VAFB SLC-3E	NROL-28	NRO Reconnaissance satellite	First Atlas V launch from Vandenberg
2008-01-07	421	AV-014	CC LC41	ICO G1	Commercial communications satellite
???	401	-	VAFB SLC-3E	DMSP-5D3 F18	Military weather satellite
October 2008	401	-	CC LC41	Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS)	Lunar orbit and Lunar impactor	Press release
Late 2009	541	-	CC LC41	Mars Science Laboratory	Mars rover	Press release
July 2011	401	-	VAFB SLC-3E	Landsat DCM	-	[5]
August 2011	551	-	CC LC41	JUNO	Jupiter mission	[6]

References

•  • [ e] List of expendable launch vehicles
Current:	Ariane 5 Atlas V Athena Cosmos-3M Delta II Delta IV Dnepr GSLV H-IIA Long March Minotaur Molniya Pegasus Proton PSLV Rockot Shavit Start-1 Strela Soyuz (U, FG, 2) Taurus Tsyklon Volna Zenit
Planned:	Angara Ariane M GSLV III GX H-IIB Long March 5 Vega
Historical:	Ariane (1, 2, 3, 4) Atlas (ICBM derived, II, III) Black Arrow Delta III Diamant Energia Europa H-II J-I Juno I M-V N1 R-7 Semyorka Saturn (I, IB ,V, INT-21) Scout Thor Titan (I, II, III, IIIB, IV) Vanguard Voskhod Vostok

•  • [ e] RD-170 rocket engine family
Main Article	RD-170
Derivatives	RD-171 RD-180 RD-191
Technologies	Bipropellant LOX RP-1 Staged combustion cycle
Historic rockets	Atlas III (RD-180) Energia (RD-170)
Current rockets	Atlas V (RD-180) Zenit (RD-171)
Future rockets	Angara (RD-171/RD-191) GX (RD-180)
Other LOX & RP-1 Engines	F-1 (Saturn V) Kestrel (Falcon 1)