Athena (rocket family)
 Athena II with Lunar Prospector | |
| Function | Small, modular component launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin Alliant Techsystems |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Size | |
| Height | 19.8 - 30.48 m (65 - 100 ft) |
| Diameter | 2.36 m (92 in) |
| Mass | 66,344 - 120,202 kg (146,264 - 265,000 lb) |
| Stages | 2 or 3 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass | 794–1,896 kg (1,750–4,180 lb) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired[1] |
| Launch sites |
|
| Total launches | 7 For breakdown by variant, see text. Launch data. HTPB |
Athena was a 1990s Lockheed Martin expendable launch system which underwent several name changes in its lifetime.
Development began at the Lockheed Corporation in 1993, where the design was known as the Lockheed Launch Vehicle. The name was subsequently changed to the Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle when Lockheed merged with Martin Marietta. In 1997[3] the name was finally changed to Athena, and all of the launches after the demonstration flight in August 1995 were conducted using that name. Athena was retired from service in 2001, but in September 2010 Athena was added to NASA's Launch Services II contract. It was announced that it would be put back into production, with launches set to resume in 2012.[4] All production had ceased by March 2017.[5]
Variants
The Athena comes in two versions,
The Athena rocket uses an Orbit Adjust Module (OAM) developed by Primex Technologies. Primex was acquired by
Athena III
1990s proposal
An Athena III rocket was originally planned and designated the LLV-3 in the 1990s according to the original patent. It was never developed, because of the lack of customer interest. It was to add two, four or six Castor-4A strap-on boosters to the first stage of the stack, and would have been capable of launching 3.6 tons to low Earth orbit.[10]
PlanetSpace proposal
The designation was later reused for a proposed rocket for the
Athena III was to feature a 2 1⁄2-segment Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) derived reusable solid rocket booster (RSRB) first stage topped by one Castor 120, one Castor 30 and an OAMS orbit adjust module. Athena III would have been capable of placing a 4,600 kg (10,100 lb) satellite in polar orbit from Kodiak, or launch a 5,900 kg (13,000 lb) satellite from the East Coast into an orbit due east; however an East Coast launch site had not been selected. Kodiak was selected over heavily booked Vandenberg to avoid delays in high-priority rapid-response launches for the U.S. military.[11]
Launches
List of launches
| Flight number | Date (UTC) | Vehicle type | Launch Site | Payload | Result | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 15, 1995 22:30 |
Athena-1 (DLV) | SLC-6
|
Gemstar 1 (VitaSat 1) (113 kg) | Failure | 
|
| 2 | August 23, 1997 06:51 |
Athena-1 (LM-002) | SLC-6
|
Lewis (404 kg) | Success | Payload failed after 3 days in orbit |
| 3 | January 7, 1998 02:28 |
Athena-2 (LM-004) | SLC-46
|
Lunar Prospector (295 kg) | Success | |
| 4 | January 27, 1999 00:34 |
Athena-1 (LM-006) | SLC-46
|
Chunghua 1 (ROCSAT 1, Formosat-1), (410 kg) | Success | |
| 5 | April 27, 1999 18:22 |
Athena-2 (LM-005) | SLC-6
|
Ikonos-1 (726 kg) | Failure | 
|
| 6 | September 24, 1999 18:21 |
Athena-2 (LM-007) | SLC-6
|
Ikonos-2 (726 kg) | Success | |
| 7 | September 30, 2001 02:40 |
Athena-1 (LM-001) | KLC LC-1
|
(10 kg), SAPPHIRE (18 kg) | Success | Kodiak Launch Complex's first orbital launch.[12]
|
Launch failures
Gemstar 1 (VitaSat 1) launch failure
On August 15, 1995, an Athena-1 rocket (vehicle DLV), failed during launch. Expended hydraulic fluid burned in first stage aft section, damaging nozzle feedback cables causing loss of gimbal control and tumbling. Separately, arcing in the IMU high-voltage power supply caused loss of attitude reference. Flight terminated by range safety officer at T+160 s.[13]
IKONOS-1 launch failure
On April 27, 1999, an Athena-2 rocket (vehicle LM-005), failed during launch. The payload fairing failed to separate, and the extra weight prevented the vehicle from reaching orbit. During the fairing separation event, the shock of the circumferential ordnance firing disconnected the cable carrying the signal to fire the longitudinal ordnance.[13]
References
- ^ "Athena-1". Astronautix. Archived from the original on 2010-03-29.
- ^ "Peacekeeper". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on September 4, 2003.
- ^ Scully, Janene (27 September 1997). "Failed explorer returns to Earth this weekend". Santa Maria Times. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Clark, Stephen (25 March 2010). "Athena rocket reborn under aerospace industry alliance". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
- ^ "Lockheed Martin halts Athena effort, plans some Atlas 5 overlap with Vulcan - SpaceNews.com". SpaceNews.com. 2017-03-10. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
- ^ "General Dynamics to Acquire Primex Technologies, Inc" (Press release). General Dynamics. November 9, 2000. Archived from the original on 2010-02-06.
- ^ "Primex Technologies, Inc. Shareholders Approve Acquisition by General Dynamics" (Press release). GD. January 24, 2001. Archived from the original on 2008-11-20.
- ^ "Lockheed Martin Athena I Launch Vehicle Successfully Completes First Launch From Alaska's Kodiak Launch Complex" (Press release). LM. September 28, 2001. Archived from the original on 2009-09-15.
- ^ ATK Space Propulsion Products Catalog, May 2008, p. 93
- ^ Day, Dwayne. "Athena rising?". Retrieved 28 March 2013.
- ^ Lockheed Martin Connecting with Kodiak, Satnews Daily, March 05, 2012
- ^ NASA: Kodiak Star 2001 Archived 2012-03-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ISBN 1-56347-591-X