Titan IV

Titan IV

Cape Canaveral, 12 October 1997 (NASA)
Function	Heavy-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Country of origin	United States
Cost per launch	$432 million (USD)
Size
Height	50-62 m (164-207 ft)
Diameter	3.05 m (10 ft)
Mass	943,050 kg (2,079,060 lb)
Stages	3-5
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	21,680 kg(47,790 lb)
Payload to Polar LEO
Mass	17,600 kg(38,800 lb)
Payload to GSO
Mass	5,760 kg(12,690 lb)
Payload to HCO
Mass	5,660 kg(12,470 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

Titan IV was a family of

The Titan IV was the last of the

Two Titan IV vehicles are currently on display at the

.

Vehicle description

The Titan IV was developed to provide assured capability to launch Space Shuttle–class payloads for the Air Force. The Titan IV could be launched with no upper stage, the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), or the Centaur upper stage.

The Titan IV was made up of two large

, igniting on contact, and are liquids at room temperature, so no tank insulation is needed. This allowed the launcher to be stored in a ready state for extended periods, but both propellants are extremely toxic.

The Titan IV could be launched from either coast:

occurred from Vandenberg, with most other launches taking place at Cape Canaveral.

Titan IV-A

Titan IV-A flew with steel-cased solid UA1207 rocket motors (SRMs) produced by Chemical Systems Division.^[8][9][10]

Titan IV-B

The Titan IV-B evolved from the Titan III family and was similar to the Titan 34D.

While the launcher family had an extremely good reliability record in its first two decades, this changed in the 1980s with the loss of a Titan 34D in 1985 followed by the disastrous explosion of another in 1986 due to a

failure. Due to this, the Titan IV-B vehicle was intended to use the new composite-casing Upgraded Solid Rocket Motors.^[11] Due to development problems the first few Titan IV-B launches flew with the old-style UA1207 SRMs.

• 
  Titan IV-A
• 
  Titan-4(01)A Centaur
• 
  Titan IV-B Centaur
• 
  LR91-AJ-11

  rocket engine thrust chamber and injector
• 
  Bottom of first stage of Titan IV-B rocket

General characteristics

• Builder: Lockheed-Martin Astronautics
• Power Plant:
  • Stage 0 consisted of two solid-rocket motors.
  • Stage 1 used an LR87-AJ-11 liquid-propellant rocket engine.
  • Stage 2 used the LR91-AJ-11 liquid-propellant engine.
  • Optional upper stages included the Centaur and Inertial Upper Stage.
• Guidance System: A ring laser gyro guidance system manufactured by Honeywell.
• Thrust:
  • Stage 0: Solid rocket motors provided 1.7 million pounds force (7.56 MN) per motor at liftoff.
  • Stage 1: LR87-AJ-11 provided an average of 548,000 pounds force (2.44 MN)
  • Stage 2: LR91-AJ-11 provided an average of 105,000 pounds force (467 kN).
  • Optional Centaur (RL10A-3-3A) upper stage provided 33,100 pounds force (147 kN) and the Inertial Upper Stage provided up to 41,500 pounds force (185 kN).
• Length: Up to 204 feet (62 m)
• Lift Capability:
  • Could carry up to 47,800 pounds (21,700 kg) into low Earth orbit
  • up to 12,700 pounds (5,800 kg) into a geosynchronous orbit when launched from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla.;
  • and up to 38,800 pounds (17,600 kg) into a low Earth polar orbit when launched from Vandenberg AFB.
  • into geosynchronous orbit:
    • with Centaur upper stage 12,700 pounds (5,800 kg)
    • with Inertial Upper Stage 5,250 pounds (2,380 kg)
• Payload fairing:^[12]
  • Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co
  • Diameter: 16.7 feet (5.1 m)
  • Length: 56, 66, 76, or 86 ft
  • Mass: 11,000, 12,000, 13,000, or 14,000 lb
  • Design: 3 sections, isogrid structure, Aluminum
• Maximum Takeoff Weight: Approximately 2.2 million pounds (1,000,000 kg)
• Cost: Approximately $250–350 million, depending on launch configuration.
• Date deployed: June 1989
• Launch sites: Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., and Vandenberg AFB, Calif.

Upgrades

Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade test stand

In 1988–89, The R. M. Parsons Company designed and built a full-scale steel tower and deflector facility, which was used to test the Titan IV Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU).^[13] The launch and the effect of the SRMU thrust force on the Titan IV vehicle were modeled. To evaluate the magnitude of the thrust force, the SRMU was connected to the steel tower through load measurement systems and launched in-place. It was the first full-scale test conducted to simulate the effects of the SRMU on the Titan IV vehicle.^[14]

Proposed aluminum-lithium tanks

In the early 1980s,

Type identification

The IV-A (40nA) used boosters with steel casings, the IV-B (40nB) used boosters with composite casings (the SRMU).

Type 401 used a Centaur 3rd stage, type 402 used an IUS 3rd stage. The other 3 types (without 3rd stages) were 403, 404, and 405:

• Type 403 featured no upper stage, for lower-mass payloads to higher orbits from Vandenberg.[17]
• Type 404 featured no upper stage, for heavier payloads to low orbits, from Vandenberg.^[17]
• Type 405 featured no upper stage, for lower-mass payloads to higher-orbit from Cape Canaveral.^[17]

History

The

as propellants.

A subsequent version of the Titan family, the Titan II, was a two-stage evolution of the Titan I, but was much more powerful and used different propellants. Designated as LGM-25C, the Titan II was the largest missile developed for the USAF at that time. The Titan II had newly developed engines which used Aerozine 50 and nitrogen tetroxide as fuel and oxidizer in a self-igniting, hypergolic propellant combination, allowing the Titan II to be stored underground ready to launch. Titan II was the first Titan vehicle to be used as a space launcher.

Development of the space launch only

began in 1964, resulting in the Titan IIIA, eventually followed by the Titan IV-A and IV-B.

CELV

By the mid-1980s the United States government worried that the Space Shuttle, designed to launch all American payloads and replace all unmanned rockets, would not be reliable enough for military and classified missions. In 1984

The post-Challenger program added Titan IV versions with the

solid rocket motor

) casing using lightweight composite materials was introduced.

Program cost

In 1990, the Titan IV Selected Acquisition Report estimated the total cost for the acquisition of 65 Titan IV vehicles over a period of 16 years to US$18.3 billion (inflation-adjusted US$ 42.7 billion in 2024).[21]

Cassini–Huygens launch

In October 1997, a Titan IV-B rocket launched Cassini–Huygens, a pair of probes sent to Saturn. It was the only use of a Titan IV for a non-Department of Defense launch. Huygens landed on Titan on January 14, 2005. Cassini remained in orbit around Saturn. The Cassini Mission ended on September 15, 2017, when the spacecraft was sent into Saturn's atmosphere to burn up.

Retirement

While an improvement over the shuttle, the Titan IV was expensive and unreliable.

launch vehicles, which replaced Titan IV and a number of other legacy launch systems. The new EELVs eliminated the use of hypergolic propellants, reduced costs, and were much more versatile than the legacy vehicles.

Surviving examples

In 2014, the

• 
  Titan IV-B in the National Museum of the United States Air Force
• 
  Titan IV-B in the National Museum of the United States Air Force
• 
  Titan IV-B in the restoration hangar at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. This is Stage One aft with two Aerojet LR87-AJ-11 engines.
• 
  Titan IV-B stage one and SRMU's at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
• 
  Titan IV-B at the

  Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum
• 
  Titan IV-B at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum
• 
  Titan IV-B at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum

Launch history

Date / Time (UTC)	Launch Site	S/N	Type	Payload	Outcome	Remarks
14 June 1989 13:18	LC-41	K-1	402A / IUS	USA-39 (DSP-14)	Success	An engine bell burn-through left only a narrow margin for success.
8 June 1990 05:21	CCAFS LC-41	K-4	405A	USA-60 (NOSS) USA-61 (NOSS) USA-62 (NOSS) USA-59 Satellite Launch Dispenser Communications (SLDCOM)	Success
13 November 1990 00:37	CCAFS LC-41	K-6	402A / IUS	USA-65 (DSP-15)	Success
8 March 1991 12:03	LC-4E	K-5	403A	USA-69 (Lacrosse)	Success
8 November 1991 07:07	VAFB LC-4E	K-8	403A	USA-74 (NOSS) USA-76 (NOSS) USA-77 (NOSS) USA-72 SLDCOM	Success
28 November 1992 21:34	VAFB LC-4E	K-3	404A	USA-86 ( KH-11 )	Success
2 August 1993 19:59	VAFB LC-4E	K-11	403A	NOSS x3 SLDCOM	Failure	SRM exploded at T+101s due to damage caused during maintenance on ground.
7 February 1994 21:47	CCAFS LC-40	K-10	401A / Centaur	USA-99 (Milstar-1)	Success
3 May 1994 15:55	CCAFS LC-41	K-7	401A / Centaur	USA-103 (Trumpet)	Success
27 August 1994 08:58	CCAFS LC-41	K-9	401A / Centaur	USA-105 (Mercury)	Success
22 December 1994 22:19	CCAFS LC-40	K-14	402A / IUS	USA-107 (DSP-17)	Success
14 May 1995 13:45	CCAFS LC-40	K-23	401A / Centaur	USA-110 (Orion)	Success
10 July 1995 12:38	CCAFS LC-41	K-19	401A / Centaur	USA-112 (Trumpet)	Success
6 November 1995 05:15	CCAFS LC-40	K-21	401A / Centaur	USA-115 (Milstar-2)	Success
5 December 1995 21:18	VAFB LC-4E	K-15	404A	USA-116 ( KH-11 )	Success
24 April 1996 23:37	CCAFS LC-41	K-16	401A / Centaur	USA-118 (Mercury)	Success
12 May 1996 21:32	VAFB LC-4E	K-22	403A	USA-120 (NOSS) USA-121 (NOSS) USA-122 (NOSS) USA-119 (SLDCOM) USA-123 Tethers in Space Physics Satellite (TiPS) USA-124 (TiPS)	Success
3 July 1996 00:30	CCAFS LC-40	K-2	405A	USA-125 (SDS)	Success
20 December 1996 18:04	VAFB LC-4E	K-13	404A	USA-129 ( KH-11 )	Success	NROL-2
23 February 1997 20:20	CCAFS LC-40	B-24	402B / IUS	USA-130 (DSP-18)	Success
15 October 1997 08:43	CCAFS LC-40	B-33	401B / Centaur	Cassini Huygens	Success
24 October 1997 02:32	VAFB LC-4E	A-18	403A	USA-133 (Lacrosse)	Success	NROL-3
8 November 1997 02:05	CCAFS LC-41	A-17	401A / Centaur	USA-136 (Trumpet)	Success	NROL-4
9 May 1998 01:38	CCAFS LC-40	B-25	401B / Centaur	USA-139 (Orion)	Success	NROL-6
12 August 1998 11:30	CCAFS LC-41	A-20	401A / Centaur	NROL-7 (Mercury )	Failure	Guidance system short-circuited at T+40s due to frayed wire, vehicle lost control and destroyed by range safety.
9 April 1999 17:01	CCAFS LC-41	B-27	402B / IUS	USA-142 (DSP-19)	Failure	Spacecraft failed to separate from IUS stage.
30 April 1999 16:30	CCAFS LC-40	B-32	401B / Centaur	USA-143 (Milstar-3)	Failure	Centaur software database error caused loss of attitude control, insertion burns done incorrectly. Satellite deployed into useless orbit.
22 May 1999 09:36	VAFB LC-4E	B-12	404B	USA-144 ( Misty )	Success	NROL-8
8 May 2000 16:01	CCAFS LC-40	B-29	402B / IUS	USA-149 (DSP-20)	Success
17 August 2000 23:45	VAFB LC-4E	B-28	403B	USA-152 (Lacrosse)	Success	NROL-11
27 February 2001 21:20	CCAFS LC-40	B-41	401B / Centaur	USA-157 (Milstar-4)	Success
6 August 2001 07:28	CCAFS LC-40	B-31	402B / IUS	USA-159 (DSP-21)	Success
5 October 2001 21:21	VAFB LC-4E	B-34	404B	USA-161 ( KH-11 )	Success	NROL-14
16 January 2002 00:30	CCAFS LC-40	B-38	401B / Centaur	USA-164 (Milstar-5)	Success
8 April 2003 13:43	CCAFS LC-40	B-35	401B / Centaur	USA-169 (Milstar-6)	Success
9 September 2003 04:29	CCAFS LC-40	B-36	401B / Centaur	USA-171 (Orion)	Success	NROL-19
14 February 2004 18:50	CCAFS LC-40	B-39	402B / IUS	USA-176 (DSP-22)	Success
30 April 2005 00:50	CCAFS LC-40	B-30	405B	USA-182 (Lacrosse)	Success	NROL-16
19 October 2005 18:05	VAFB LC-4E	B-26	404B	USA-186 ( KH-11 )	Success	NROL-20

Launch failures

The Titan IV experienced four catastrophic launch failures.

1993 booster explosion

On August 2, 1993, Titan IV K-11 lifted from SLC-4E carrying a NOSS SIGNIT satellite. Unusually for DoD launches, the Air Force invited civilian press to cover the launch, which became more of a story than intended when the booster exploded 101 seconds after liftoff. Investigation found that one of the two SRMs had burned through, resulting in the destruction of the vehicle in a similar manner as the earlier 34D-9 failure. An investigation found that an improper repair job was the cause of the accident.^[25]

After Titan 34D-9, extensive measures had been put in place to ensure proper SRM operating condition, including X-raying the motor segments during prelaunch checks. The SRMs that went onto K-11 had originally been shipped to Cape Canaveral, where X-rays revealed anomalies in the solid propellant mixture in one segment. The defective area was removed by a pie-shaped cut in the propellant block. However, most of CSD's qualified personnel had left the program by this point and so the repair crew in question did not know the proper procedure. After replacement, they neglected to seal the area where the cut in the propellant block had been made. Post repair X-rays were enough for CC personnel to disqualify the SRMs from flight, but the SRMs were then shipped to Vandenberg and approved anyway. The result was a near-repeat of 34D-9; a gap was left between the propellant and SRM casing and another burn-through occurred during launch.

1998 IV-A electrical failure

1998 saw the failure of Titan K-17 with a Navy

from Cape Canaveral around 40 seconds into the flight. K-17 was several years old and the last Titan IV-A to be launched. The post-accident investigation showed that the booster had dozens of damaged or chafed wires and should never have been launched in that operating condition, but the Air Force had put extreme pressure on launch crews to meet program deadlines. The Titan's fuselage was filled with numerous sharp metal protrusions that made it nearly impossible to install, adjust, or remove wiring without it getting damaged. Quality control at Lockheed's Denver plant, where Titan vehicles were assembled, was described as "awful".

The proximal cause of the failure was an electrical short that caused a momentary power dropout to the guidance computer at T+39 seconds. After power was restored, the computer sent a spurious pitch down and yaw to the right command. At T+40 seconds, the Titan was traveling at near supersonic speed and could not handle this action without suffering a structural failure. The sudden pitch downward and resulting aerodynamic stress caused one of the SRMs to separate. The ISDS (Inadvertent Separation Destruct System) automatically triggered, rupturing the SRM and taking the rest of the launch vehicle with it. At T+45 seconds, the Range Safety Officer sent the destruct command to ensure any remaining large pieces of the booster were broken up.[26]

An extensive recovery effort was launched, both to diagnose the cause of the accident and recover debris from the classified satellite. All of the debris from the Titan had impacted offshore, between three and five miles downrange, and at least 30% of the booster was recovered from the sea floor. Debris continued to wash ashore for days afterward, and the salvage operation continued until October 15.

The Air Force had pushed for a "launch on demand" program for DOD payloads, something that was almost impossible to pull off especially given the lengthy preparation and processing time needed for a Titan IV launch (at least 60 days). Shortly before retiring in 1994, General Chuck Horner referred to the Titan program as "a nightmare". The 1998-99 schedule had called for four launches in less than 12 months. The first of these was Titan K-25 which successfully orbited an Orion SIGNIT satellite on May 9, 1998. The second was the K-17 failure, and the third was the K-32 failure.

Stage failure to separate

After a delay caused by the investigation of the previous failure, the 9 April 1999 launch of K-32 carried a DSP early warning satellite. The IUS second stage failed to separate, leaving the payload in a useless orbit. Investigation into this failure found that wiring harnesses in the IUS had been wrapped too tightly with electrical tape so that a plug failed to disconnect properly and prevented the two IUS stages from separating.

Programming error

The fourth launch was K-26 on April 30, 1999, carrying a Milstar communications satellite. During the Centaur coast phase flight, the roll control thrusters fired open-loop until the RCS fuel was depleted, causing the upper stage and payload to rotate rapidly. On restart, the Centaur cartwheeled out of control and left its payload in a useless orbit. This failure was found to be the result of an incorrectly programmed equation in the guidance computer. The error caused the roll rate gyro data to be ignored by the flight computer.^[27]

See also

• Comparison of heavy lift launch systems
• List of Titan launches, Titan I, II, III & IV

References

External links

• USAF Titan IVB Fact Sheet Archived 2018-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
• Titan IV Ignition Videos
• Cassini Huygens Aboard a Titan IV-B Launch Videos
• Early Lunar Access