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45-623: Part of the Titan rocket family , the Titan IIIA made its first flight on 1 September 1964. However, the Transtage failed to pressurize, resulting in a premature cutoff and failure to reach orbit. A second test on 10 December was successful. Two further launches occurred in 1965 with Lincoln Experimental Satellites , before the Titan IIIA was retired. [REDACTED] Media related to Titan IIIA at Wikimedia Commons This rocketry article

90-725: A Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) weather satellite on 18 October 2003. The Titan III was a modified Titan II with optional solid rocket boosters . It was developed on behalf of the United States Air Force (USAF) as a heavy-lift satellite launcher to be used mainly to launch American military payloads and civilian intelligence agency satellites such as the Vela Hotel nuclear-test-ban monitoring satellites, observation and reconnaissance satellites (for intelligence-gathering), and various series of defense communications satellites. As USAF project, Titan III

135-616: A Delco Carousel VB IMU and MAGIC 352 Missile Guidance Computer (MGC). The Titan IIIA was a prototype rocket booster and consisted of a standard Titan II rocket with a Transtage upper stage. The Titan IIIB with its different versions (23B, 24B, 33B, and 34B) had the Titan III core booster with an Agena D upper stage. This combination was used to launch the KH-8 GAMBIT series of intelligence-gathering satellites. They were all launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, due south over

180-520: A missile silo , and cannot be stored for long periods in the booster oxidizer tank. Several Atlas and Titan I rockets exploded and destroyed their silos, although without loss of life. The Martin Company was able to improve the design with the Titan II. The RP-1/LOX combination was replaced by a room-temperature fuel whose oxidizer did not require cryogenic storage. The same first-stage rocket engine

225-637: A cryogenic fuel system, known as the Tu-155 . The plane uses a fuel referred to as liquefied natural gas or LNG, and made its first flight in 1989. Some applications of cryogenics: Cryogenic cooling of devices and material is usually achieved via the use of liquid nitrogen , liquid helium , or a mechanical cryocooler (which uses high-pressure helium lines). Gifford-McMahon cryocoolers, pulse tube cryocoolers and Stirling cryocoolers are in wide use with selection based on required base temperature and cooling capacity. The most recent development in cryogenics

270-588: A further consideration. Lockheed Martin decided to extend its Atlas family of rockets instead of its more expensive Titans, along with participating in joint-ventures to sell launches on the Russian Proton rocket and the new Boeing -built Delta IV class of medium and heavy-lift launch vehicles. The Titan IVB was the last Titan rocket to remain in service, making its penultimate launch from Cape Canaveral on 30 April 2005, followed by its final launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base on 19 October 2005, carrying

315-524: A location often used for launch into non-polar orbits. The Titan V was a proposed development of the Titan IV, that saw several designs being suggested. One Titan V proposal was for an enlarged Titan IV, capable of lifting up to 90,000 pounds (41,000 kg) of payload. Another used a cryogenic first stage with LOX/LH2 propellants; however the Atlas V EELV was selected for production instead. Most of

360-403: A low temperature environment. The freezing of foods and biotechnology products, like vaccines , requires nitrogen in blast freezing or immersion freezing systems. Certain soft or elastic materials become hard and brittle at very low temperatures, which makes cryogenic milling ( cryomilling ) an option for some materials that cannot easily be milled at higher temperatures. Cryogenic processing

405-429: A missile silo northwest of Searcy, Arkansas . The fire started when hydraulic fluid used in the Titan II was ignited by a welding torch. The liquid fuel missiles were prone to developing leaks of their toxic propellants. At a silo outside Rock, Kansas , an oxidizer transfer line carrying NTO ruptured on August 24, 1978. An ensuing orange vapor cloud forced 200 rural residents to evacuate the area. A staff sergeant of

450-566: A threshold of 120 K (−153 °C) to distinguish these terms from conventional refrigeration. This is a logical dividing line, since the normal boiling points of the so-called permanent gases (such as helium , hydrogen , neon , nitrogen , oxygen , and normal air ) lie below 120 K, while the Freon refrigerants, hydrocarbons , and other common refrigerants have boiling points above 120 K. Discovery of superconducting materials with critical temperatures significantly above

495-461: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Titan (rocket family) Titan was a family of United States expendable rockets used between 1959 and 2005. The Titan I and Titan II were part of the US Air Force 's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) fleet until 1987. The space launch vehicle versions contributed the majority of the 368 Titan launches, including all

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540-487: Is even more widely used but as an oxidizer , not a fuel. NASA 's workhorse Space Shuttle used cryogenic hydrogen/oxygen propellant as its primary means of getting into orbit . LOX is also widely used with RP-1 kerosene, a non-cryogenic hydrocarbon, such as in the rockets built for the Soviet space program by Sergei Korolev . Russian aircraft manufacturer Tupolev developed a version of its popular design Tu-154 with

585-647: Is legally purchasable around the world. Liquid helium is also commonly used and allows for the lowest attainable temperatures to be reached. These liquids may be stored in Dewar flasks , which are double-walled containers with a high vacuum between the walls to reduce heat transfer into the liquid. Typical laboratory Dewar flasks are spherical, made of glass and protected in a metal outer container. Dewar flasks for extremely cold liquids such as liquid helium have another double-walled container filled with liquid nitrogen. Dewar flasks are named after their inventor, James Dewar ,

630-478: Is not a substitute for heat treatment, but rather an extension of the heating–quenching–tempering cycle. Normally, when an item is quenched, the final temperature is ambient. The only reason for this is that most heat treaters do not have cooling equipment. There is nothing metallurgically significant about ambient temperature. The cryogenic process continues this action from ambient temperature down to −320 °F (140 °R; 78 K; −196 °C). In most instances

675-601: The Delco Electronics Universal Space Guidance System (USGS). The USGS used a Carousel IV IMU and a Magic 352 computer. The USGS was already in use on the Titan III space launcher when work began in March 1978 to replace the Titan II guidance system. The main reason was to reduce the cost of maintenance by $ 72 million per year; the conversions were completed in 1981. Liquid oxygen is dangerous to use in an enclosed space, such as

720-709: The Project Gemini crewed flights of the mid-1960s. Titan vehicles were also used to lift US military payloads as well as civilian agency reconnaissance satellites and to send interplanetary scientific probes throughout the Solar System. The HGM-25A Titan I, built by the Martin Company , was the first version of the Titan family of rockets. It began as a backup ICBM project in case the SM-65 Atlas

765-619: The Pacific into polar orbits . Their maximum payload mass was about 7,500 lb (3,000 kg). The powerful Titan IIIC used a Titan III core rocket with two large strap-on solid-fuel boosters to increase its launch thrust and maximum payload mass. The solid-fuel boosters that were developed for the Titan IIIC represented a significant engineering advance over previous solid-fueled rockets, due to their large size and thrust, and their advanced thrust-vector control systems. The Titan IIID

810-782: The Titan I inventory was scrapped and never reused for space launches or RV tests, as all support infrastructure for the missile had been converted to the Titan II/III family by 1965. Most of the Titan rockets were the Titan II ICBM and their civilian derivatives for NASA . The Titan II used the LR-87-5 engine, a modified version of the LR-87 , that used a hypergolic propellant combination of nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) for its oxidizer and Aerozine 50 (a 50/50 mix of hydrazine and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) instead of

855-613: The USA-186 optical imaging satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. Cryogenic In physics , cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures . The 13th International Institute of Refrigeration 's (IIR) International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington DC in 1971) endorsed a universal definition of "cryogenics" and "cryogenic" by accepting

900-666: The United States Department of Defense (DOD). Derived from the Titan 34D and originally proposed as a medium-lift expendable launch system for the US Air Force, who selected the Delta II instead. Development was continued as a commercial launch system, and the first rocket flew in 1990. The Commercial Titan III differed from the Titan 34D in that it had a stretched second stage, and a larger payload fairing to accommodate dual satellite payloads. The Titan IIIM

945-452: The ability to reach a temperature of 2 K. These first superconductive properties were observed in mercury at a temperature of 4.2 K. Cryogenicists use the Kelvin or Rankine temperature scale, both of which measure from absolute zero , rather than more usual scales such as Celsius which measures from the freezing point of water at sea level or Fahrenheit which measures from

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990-488: The boiling point of nitrogen has provided new interest in reliable, low-cost methods of producing high-temperature cryogenic refrigeration. The term "high temperature cryogenic" describes temperatures ranging from above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen, −195.79 °C (77.36 K; −320.42 °F), up to −50 °C (223 K; −58 °F). The discovery of superconductive properties is first attributed to Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on July 10, 1908. The discovery came after

1035-549: The commercial cryogenic processing industry was founded in 1966 by Bill and Ed Busch. With a background in the heat treating industry, the Busch brothers founded a company in Detroit called CryoTech in 1966. Busch originally experimented with the possibility of increasing the life of metal tools to anywhere between 200% and 400% of the original life expectancy using cryogenic tempering instead of heat treating . This evolved in

1080-441: The cryogenic cycle is followed by a heat tempering procedure. As all alloys do not have the same chemical constituents, the tempering procedure varies according to the material's chemical composition, thermal history and/or a tool's particular service application. The entire process takes 3–4 days. Another use of cryogenics is cryogenic fuels for rockets with liquid hydrogen as the most widely used example. Liquid oxygen (LOX)

1125-409: The decommissioned Titan II ICBMs were refurbished and used for Air Force space launch vehicles, with a perfect launch success record. For orbital launches, there were strong advantages to using higher-performance liquid hydrogen or RP-1 fueled vehicles with liquid oxygen ; the high cost of using hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, along with the special care that was needed due to their toxicity, were

1170-421: The freezing point of a particular brine solution at sea level. The word cryogenics stems from Greek κρύος (cryos) – "cold" + γενής (genis) – "generating". Cryogenic fluids with their boiling point in Kelvin and degree Celsius. Liquefied gases , such as liquid nitrogen and liquid helium , are used in many cryogenic applications. Liquid nitrogen is the most commonly used element in cryogenics and

1215-612: The internal disintegration of the Soviet Union . As a result of these events and improvements in technology, the unit cost of a Titan IV launch was very high. Additional expenses were generated by the ground operations and facilities for the Titan IV at Vandenberg Air Force Base for launching satellites into polar orbits. Titan IVs were also launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida,

1260-422: The late 1990s into the treatment of other parts. Cryogens, such as liquid nitrogen , are further used for specialty chilling and freezing applications. Some chemical reactions, like those used to produce the active ingredients for the popular statin drugs, must occur at low temperatures of approximately −100 °C (−148 °F). Special cryogenic chemical reactors are used to remove reaction heat and provide

1305-566: The liquid oxygen and RP-1 propellant of the Titan I. The first Titan II guidance system was built by AC Spark Plug . It used an inertial measurement unit made by AC Spark Plug derived from original designs from the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory at MIT. The missile guidance computer (MGC) was the IBM ASC-15 . When spares for this system became hard to obtain, it was replaced by a more modern guidance system,

1350-461: The maintenance crew was killed while attempting a rescue and a total of twenty were hospitalized. Another site at Potwin, Kansas leaked NTO oxidizer in April 1980 with no fatalities, and was later closed. In September 1980, at Titan II silo 374-7 near Damascus, Arkansas , a technician dropped an 8 lb (3.6 kg) socket that fell 70 ft (21 m), bounced off a thrust mount, and broke

1395-615: The man who first liquefied hydrogen . Thermos bottles are smaller vacuum flasks fitted in a protective casing. Cryogenic barcode labels are used to mark Dewar flasks containing these liquids, and will not frost over down to −195 degrees Celsius. Cryogenic transfer pumps are the pumps used on LNG piers to transfer liquefied natural gas from LNG carriers to LNG storage tanks , as are cryogenic valves. The field of cryogenics advanced during World War II when scientists found that metals frozen to low temperatures showed more resistance to wear. Based on this theory of cryogenic hardening ,

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1440-425: The mid-1960s. Twelve Titan II GLVs were used to launch two U.S. uncrewed Gemini test launches and ten crewed capsules with two-person crews. All of the launches were successful. Starting in the late 1980s, some of the deactivated Titan IIs were converted into space launch vehicles to be used for launching U.S. Government payloads. Titan 23G rockets consisted of two stages burning liquid propellant . The first stage

1485-577: The mid-1980s; the last Titan II silo was deactivated in May 1987. The 54 Titan IIs had been fielded along with a thousand Minuteman missiles from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. A number of Titan I and Titan II missiles have been distributed as museum displays across the United States. The most famous use of the civilian Titan II was in the NASA Gemini program of crewed space capsules in

1530-506: The most powerful uncrewed rocket available to the United States, with proportionally high manufacturing and operations expenses. By the time the Titan IV became operational, the requirements of the Department of Defense and the NRO for launching satellites had tapered off due to improvements in the longevity of reconnaissance satellites and the declining demand for reconnaissance that followed

1575-489: The silo. It landed harmlessly several hundred feet away. There was one fatality and 21 were injured, all from the emergency response team from Little Rock AFB . The explosion blew the 740-ton launch tube cover 200 ft (60 m) into the air and left a crater 250 feet (76 m) in diameter. The 54 Titan IIs in Arizona, Arkansas, and Kansas were replaced by 50 MX "Peacekeeper" solid-fuel rocket missiles in

1620-422: The skin of the missile's first stage, over eight hours prior to an eventual explosion . The puncture occurred about 6:30 p.m. and when a leak was detected shortly after, the silo was flooded with water and civilian authorities were advised to evacuate the area. As the problem was being attended to at around 3 a.m., leaking rocket fuel ignited and blew the 8,000 lb (3,630 kg) nuclear warhead out of

1665-667: The two Viking missions to place two orbiters around Mars and two instrumented landers on its surface. The Titan 34D featured Stage 1 and Stage 2 stretched with more powerful UA1206 solid motors. A variety of upper stages were available, including the Inertial Upper Stage , the Transfer Orbit Stage , and the Transtage . The Titan 34D made its maiden flight in the year of 1982 on the 30th of October with two DSCS defense communications satellites for

1710-666: The years), however SRB-equipped variants had a heat shield over them as protection from the SRB exhaust and the engines were modified for air-starting. The first guidance system for the Titan III used the AC Spark Plug company IMU (inertial measurement unit) and an IBM ASC-15 guidance computer from the Titan II. For the Titan III, the ASC-15 drum memory of the computer was lengthened to add 20 more usable tracks, which increased its memory capacity by 35%. The more-advanced Titan IIIC used

1755-497: Was delayed. It was a two-stage rocket operational from early 1962 to mid-1965 whose LR-87 booster engine was powered by RP-1 (kerosene) and liquid oxygen (LOX). The ground guidance for the Titan was the UNIVAC ATHENA computer , designed by Seymour Cray , based in a hardened underground bunker. Using radar data, it made course corrections during the burn phase. Unlike decommissioned Thor, Atlas, and Titan II missiles,

1800-637: Was intended to launch the Manned Orbiting Laboratory and other payloads. Development was cancelled in 1969. The projected UA1207 solid booster rockets were eventually used on the Titan IV . The Titan IV was an extended length Titan III with solid rocket boosters on its sides. The Titan IV could be launched with a Centaur upper stage, the USAF Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), or no upper stage at all. This rocket

1845-422: Was more formally known as Program 624A ( SSLS ), Standard Space Launch System , Standardized Space Launch System , Standardized Space Launching System or Standard Space Launching System (all abbreviated SSLS ). The Titan III core was similar to the Titan II, but had a few differences. These included: The Titan III family used the same basic LR-87 engines as Titan II (with performance enhancements over

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1890-523: Was powered by one Aerojet LR87 engine with two combustion chambers and nozzles, and the second stage was propelled by an LR91 . On some flights, the spacecraft included a kick motor, usually the Star-37XFP-ISS ; however, the Star-37S was also used. Thirteen were launched from Space Launch Complex 4W (SLC-4W) at Vandenberg Air Force Base starting in 1988. The final such vehicle launched

1935-551: Was the Vandenberg Air Force Base version of the Titan IIIC, without a Transtage, that was used to place members of the Key Hole series of reconnaissance satellites into polar low Earth orbits . The Titan IIIE, with a high- specific-impulse Centaur upper stage, was used to launch several scientific spacecraft, including both of NASA's two Voyager space probes to Jupiter, Saturn and beyond, and both of

1980-543: Was used almost exclusively to launch US military or Central Intelligence Agency payloads. However, it was also used for a purely scientific purpose to launch the NASA–ESA Cassini / Huygens space probe to Saturn in 1997. The primary intelligence agency that needed the Titan IV's launch capabilities was the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). When it was being produced, the Titan IV was

2025-474: Was used with some modifications. The diameter of the second stage was increased to match the first stage. The Titan II's hypergolic fuel and oxidizer ignited on contact, but they were highly toxic and corrosive liquids. The fuel was Aerozine 50 , a 50/50 mix of hydrazine and UDMH, and the oxidizer was NTO. There were several accidents in Titan II silos resulting in loss of life and/or serious injuries. In August 1965, 53 construction workers were killed in fire in

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