Titan II GLV

Titan II GLV

Launch of Gemini 11 on a Titan II GLV from LC-19
Function Human-rated launch vehicle for Gemini spacecraft
Manufacturer Martin
Country of origin United States
Size
Height 109 feet (33.2 m)[1]
Diameter 10 feet (3.05 m)
Mass 340,000 pounds (154,200 kg)
Stages 2
Capacity
Payload to
LEO 		7,900 pounds (3,580 kg)
Associated rockets
Family Titan
Launch history
Status Retired
Launch sites Cape Canaveral LC-19
Total launches 12
Successes 12
First flight April 8, 1964
Last flight November 11, 1966
Notable payloads Gemini
First Stage
Engines 1 LR-87
Thrust 430,000 pounds-force (1,913 kN)
Specific impulse 258 sec
Burn time 156 seconds
Fuel Aerozine 50/N2O4
Second Stage
Engines 1 LR-91
Thrust 100,000 pounds-force (445 kN)
Specific impulse 316 sec
Burn time 180 seconds
Fuel Aerozine 50/N2O4

The Titan II GLV (Gemini Launch Vehicle) or Gemini-Titan II was an American expendable launch system derived from the Titan II missile, which was used to launch twelve Gemini missions for NASA between 1964 and 1966. Two unmanned launches followed by ten manned ones were conducted from Launch Complex 19 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, starting with Gemini 1 on April 8, 1964.

The Titan II was a two-stage liquid-fuel rocket, using a hypergolic propellant combination of Aerozine 50 fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer. The first stage was powered by an LR87 engine (with two combustion chambers and nozzles, fed by a single set of turbomachinery), and the second stage was propelled by an LR-91 engine.

Modifications from the Titan II missile

In addition to greater payload capability, the Titan II promised greater reliability than the Atlas LV-3B which had been selected for Project Mercury, because Titan's hypergolic-fueled engines contained far fewer components.

Several modifications were made to the Titan missile to man-rate it for Project Gemini:

Modifications were overseen by the Air Force Systems Command. Aerojet, the manufacturer of the Titan's engines, had released a revised model during mid-1963 due to deficiencies in the original design and also attempting to improve manufacturing procedures.

Assembly was done at Martin-Marietta's Baltimore plant so as not to interfere with missile work at the Denver facility, although it also saved the former from a planned shutdown.[2]

Flights

Titan II GLV launches
Mission LV Serial No Launch date Crew
GT-1 GLV-1 12556 April 8, 1964 Unmanned orbital test flight
GT-2 GLV-2 12557 January 19, 1965 Unmanned suborbital test of Gemini heat shield
GT-3 GLV-3 12558 March 23, 1965 Gus Grissom and John Young
GT-IV GLV-4 12559 June 3, 1965 James McDivitt and Edward H. White
GT-V GLV-5 12560 August 21, 1965 Gordon Cooper and Charles P. Conrad
GT-VII GLV-7 12562 December 4, 1965 Frank Borman and James Lovell
GT-VI A GLV-6 12561 December 15, 1965 Wally Schirra and Thomas P. Stafford
GT-VIII GLV-8 12563 March 16, 1966 Neil Armstrong and David Scott
GT-IX A GLV-9 12564 June 3, 1966 Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene Cernan
GT-X GLV-10 12565 July 18, 1966 John Young and Michael Collins
GT-XI GLV-11 12566 September 12, 1966 Charles P. Conrad and Richard F. Gordon
GT-XII GLV-12 12567 November 11, 1966 James Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Gatland, Kenneth (1976), Manned Spacecraft (2nd revision ed.), New York: MacMilan, p. 37, ISBN 0-02-542820-9
  2. ↑ http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19780012208_1978012208.pdf

References

External links

Media related to Titan II Gemini at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, September 10, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.