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Titan II SLV

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AKA: SLV-5;Titan 2G. Status: Retired 2003. First Launch: 1988-09-05. Last Launch: 2003-10-18. Number: 13 . Payload: 3,175 kg (6,999 lb). Thrust: 2,090.00 kN (469,850 lbf). Gross mass: 154,000 kg (339,000 lb). Height: 31.40 m (103.00 ft). Diameter: 3.05 m (10.00 ft). Apogee: 185 km (114 mi).

The decommissioned ICBM's received a new payload interfaces (a conical structure that provided 0.91 m, 1.42 m, and 3.05 m payload ring adapters), an attitude control system taken from the Titan 3, replacement of the second-stage verniers with retrorockets to improve payload separation, and a Titan 3 fairing, 3.05 m diameter and 6.1 to 9.2 m long. With solid propellant kick stages, the Titan 2G could put 3,028 kg into a 546 km sun synchronous orbit, of 1,043 kg into a geosynchronous transfer orbit.

The Titan 2 ICBM had been outfitted with a Delco Carousel- type guidance similar to that used in the Titan 3 while it was still deployed as a ballistic missile. That same guidance system, using the same equipment was used on the Titan 2 space booster, modified to handle telemetry. These guidance systems each had thousands of hours of operating time as a result of use on ICBM's and probably set an operating time record for such space launch hardware.

The Titan 2 vehicles were not completely dismantled as was done with the Atlas E and Atlas F space boosters. A new rate gyro package was added to the second stage (after testing proved that using just the output from the HIG gyros would not work - and by that time the first vehicle had already been delivered to Vandenberg AFB. The top of the second stage was modified for the 3.05-m-diameter fairing, destruct, tracking, and telemetry equipment were added, but that was about all. The engines were test fired but not overhauled.

Although 55 surplus ICBM's were available for use as space launchers, only the original 14 contracted in 1986-1987 were ever refurbished and launched, due to the inexplicably high cost of the minimal refurbishment.

LEO Payload: 3,175 kg (6,999 lb) to a 185 km orbit at 28.60 degrees. Payload: 2,177 kg (4,799 lb) to a 185 km polar orbit. Launch Price $: 34.000 million in 1987 dollars. Flyaway Unit Cost 1985$: 26.000 million in 1994 dollars. Total Number Built: 131.

• USA 32 - . Payload: SBWASS R1. Mass: 1,700 kg (3,700 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Class: Surveillance. Type: SIGINT. Spacecraft: Singleton. USAF Sat Cat: 19460 . COSPAR: 1988-078A. Apogee: 292 km (181 mi). Perigee: 185 km (114 mi). Inclination: 85.00 deg. Period: 89.30 min. New class of signals intelligence satellite; possibly some kind of imaging also done. On-board propulsion boosts spacecraft to 800 km operating orbit. First Titan 2 standard launch vehicle launch..

• USA 45 - . Payload: SBWASS R2. Mass: 1,700 kg (3,700 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Class: Surveillance. Type: SIGINT. Spacecraft: Singleton. USAF Sat Cat: 20220 . COSPAR: 1989-072A. Signals intelligence. Reentered from initial parking orbit of 200 km after failure of on-board boost motor..

• USA 81 - . Payload: SBWASS R3. Mass: 1,700 kg (3,700 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Class: Surveillance. Type: SIGINT. Spacecraft: Singleton. USAF Sat Cat: 21949 . COSPAR: 1992-023A. Apogee: 175 km (108 mi). Perigee: 145 km (90 mi). Inclination: 84.90 deg. Period: 89.30 min. Signals intelligence satellite; possibly some kind of imaging also done. On-board propulsion boosts spacecraft to 800 km operating orbit..

• Landsat 6 - . Nation: USA. Agency: USAF AFMC. Program: Landsat. Class: Earth. Type: Earth resources satellite. Spacecraft: Landsat 6. Decay Date: 1993-05-10 . Apogee: 724 km (449 mi).

• Clementine 1 - . Payload: Clementine 1 / DSPSE-ISA [Star-37FM]. Mass: 424 kg (934 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: BMDO. Class: Moon. Type: Lunar probe. Spacecraft: Clementine. USAF Sat Cat: 22973 . COSPAR: 1994-004A. Apogee: 409,890 km (254,690 mi). Perigee: 804 km (499 mi). Inclination: 63.80 deg. Period: 16,158.80 min.

  SDIO sensor technology demonstration; mapped lunar surface; planned asteroid flyby cancelled due to spacecraft failure. After two Earth flybys, lunar insertion was achieved on February 21. Lunar mapping took place over approximately two months, in two parts. The first part consisted of a 5 hour elliptical polar orbit with a perilune of about 400 km at 28 degrees S latitude. After one month of mapping the orbit was rotated to a perilune of 29 degrees N latitude, where it remained for one more month. This allowed global imaging as well as altimetry coverage from 60 degrees S to 60 degrees N. After leaving lunar orbit, a malfunction in one of the on-board computers on May 7 at 14:39 UTC (9:39 AM EST) caused a thruster to fire until it had used up all of its fuel, leaving the spacecraft spinning at about 80 RPM with no spin control. This made the planned continuation of the mission, a flyby of the near-Earth asteroid Geographos, impossible. The spacecraft remained in geocentric orbit and continued testing the spacecraft components until the end of mission. Additional Details: here....

• ISA - . Payload: ISA. Nation: USA. Agency: BMDO. Class: Technology. Type: Military technology satellite. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle Attached Payloads. Spacecraft: ISA Interstage Adapter. Decay Date: 1994-06-08 . USAF Sat Cat: 22987 . COSPAR: 1994-004C. Apogee: 126,958 km (78,887 mi). Perigee: 396 km (246 mi). Inclination: 65.80 deg. Period: 3,075.57 min. ISA (Interstage Adapter) satellite launched with Clementine placed in a highly eccentric Earth orbit. It carried a set of space environment experiments..

• USA 131 - . Payload: DMSP 5D-2 F-14. Mass: 770 kg (1,690 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Manufacturer: RCA. Program: DMSP. Class: Earth. Type: Weather satellite. Spacecraft Bus: TIROS N. Spacecraft: DMSP Block 5D-2. USAF Sat Cat: 24753 . COSPAR: 1997-012A. Apogee: 855 km (531 mi). Perigee: 842 km (523 mi). Inclination: 98.90 deg. Period: 101.90 min.

• NOAA 15 - . Payload: NOAA K. Mass: 3,775 kg (8,322 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NOAA. Manufacturer: RCA. Program: Tiros. Class: Earth. Type: Weather satellite. Spacecraft: Advanced Tiros N . USAF Sat Cat: 25338 . COSPAR: 1998-030A. Apogee: 824 km (512 mi). Perigee: 807 km (501 mi). Inclination: 98.70 deg. Period: 101.20 min.

  NOAA K carried a new microwave sensor in addition to the standard optical/near-infrared radiometers and imagers and the SARSAT search and rescue package. It was the first NOAA launch to use the Titan 23G launch vehicle, a refurbished ICBM. Titan 23G-12 placed NOAA K into a suborbital trajectory 6 minutes after launch. A Star 37XFP solid motor on the satellite fired at apogee to put NOAA K in orbit.

• QuikScat - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Greenbelt. Manufacturer: Ball. Class: Earth. Type: Sea satellite. Spacecraft: BCP-2000. USAF Sat Cat: 25789 . COSPAR: 1999-034A. Apogee: 802 km (498 mi). Perigee: 802 km (498 mi). Inclination: 98.60 deg. Period: 100.90 min.

  NASA's QuikScat carried the SeaWinds scatterometer for remote sensing of ocean winds. The Titan 2's second stage shut down at 02:20 GMT and then coasted to apogee still attached to the QuikScat. The Titan second stage vernier thrusters ignited at apogee to raise perigee, leaving QuikScat in a 280 km x 813 km x 98.7 degree parking orbit. The QuikScat's own hydrazine propulsion system then fired to raise the perigee over a period of weeks.

• USA 147 - . Payload: DMSP 5D-3 F-15. Mass: 1,154 kg (2,544 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Manufacturer: RCA. Class: Earth. Type: Weather satellite. Spacecraft Bus: TIROS N. Spacecraft: DMSP Block 5D-3. USAF Sat Cat: 25991 . COSPAR: 1999-067A. Apogee: 846 km (525 mi). Perigee: 830 km (510 mi). Inclination: 98.50 deg. Period: 101.70 min. First launch of the Block 5D-3 military weather satellite. Satellite F-15 was placed in an initial suborbital trajectory. The Star 37S kick motor on the satellite fired 13 minutes after launch for orbit insertion..

• NOAA 16 - . Payload: NOAA-L. Mass: 1,476 kg (3,254 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NOAA. Manufacturer: Lockheed. Program: Tiros. Class: Earth. Type: Weather satellite. Spacecraft: Advanced Tiros N. USAF Sat Cat: 26536 . COSPAR: 2000-055A. Apogee: 867 km (539 mi). Perigee: 853 km (530 mi). Inclination: 98.79 deg. Period: 102.06 min.

  Launch attempt on September 20 scrubbed. The NOAA polar orbit weather satellite, an Advanced Tiros N with a suite of imaging and sounding instruments. The two-stage Titan II launch vehicle, serial 23G-13, put NOAA-L into a suborbital -2500 x 800 km x 98.0 deg trajectory. The spacecraft's Thiokol Star 37XFP solid motor fired at apogee to circularize the sun-synchronous orbit at 800 km.

• NOAA 17 - . Payload: NOAA-M. Mass: 1,475 kg (3,251 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NOAA. Manufacturer: Lockheed. Program: Tiros. Class: Earth. Type: Weather satellite. Spacecraft: Tiros N. USAF Sat Cat: 27453 . COSPAR: 2002-032A. Apogee: 820 km (500 mi). Perigee: 802 km (498 mi). Inclination: 98.40 deg. Period: 101.10 min.

  Launch delayed from August 2001. The refurbished Titan 2 missile put the NOAA M satellite on a suborbital trajectory of about -2500 x 820 km x 98 deg. at 1829 UTC. At 1837 UTC the NOAA M propulsion module fired its ATK/Thiokol Star 37XFP solid motor for the orbit insertion burn, followed by a hydrazine trim burn to put the satellite in an 807 x 822 km x 98.8 deg operational orbit. NOAA M became NOAA 17 on entering service with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as the primary morning weather satellite, supplementing the NOAA 16 afternoon satellite. Built by Lockheed Martin, NOAA M carried weather imagers and microwave and infrared sounders, as well as a SARSAT search-and-rescue package. It had an on-orbit mass of 1475 kg.

• Coriolis - . Payload: SA-200HP, P98-2. Mass: 828 kg (1,825 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Manufacturer: Gilbert. Class: Technology. Type: Navigation technology satellite. Spacecraft Bus: SA-200. Spacecraft: Coriolis. USAF Sat Cat: 27640 . COSPAR: 2003-001A. Apogee: 936 km (582 mi). Perigee: 742 km (461 mi). Inclination: 98.74 deg. Period: 101.55 min.

  Coriolis was an Air Force Space Test Program three-year meteorological science mission to demonstrate the viability of using polarimetry to measure ocean surface wind speed and direction from space, and to demonstrate predictions of geomagnetic disturbances through continuous observation of Coronal Mass Ejections. Launch delayed from August 22, November 15, December 15, 16, 17 and 18, 2002 and January 5, 2003.

• USA 172 - . Payload: DMSP-16. Mass: 1,154 kg (2,544 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Class: Earth. Type: Weather satellite. Spacecraft Bus: TIROS N. Spacecraft: DMSP Block 5D-3. USAF Sat Cat: 28054 . COSPAR: 2003-048A. Apogee: 853 km (530 mi). Perigee: 843 km (523 mi). Inclination: 98.90 deg. Period: 101.90 min. Final Titan 2 launch, LV dubbed "Cindy Marie". Originally to have launched January 2001. Launch postponed 12 times due to spacecraft and launch vehicle problems..