The failure was determined to be caused by an insulation panel that ripped off the Centaur during ascent, resulting in a surge in tank pressure when the LH2 overheated. However, analysis of telemetry data and closer examination of the launch films quickly confirmed the Centaur as the source of trouble. Scott Carpenter's Mercury flight was only days away, and if the failure were caused by the Atlas, it could mean significant delays for that mission, which used a similar Atlas D derived Atlas LV-3B booster. Initial assumptions were that Atlas had suffered a LOX tank failure, either from a pressurization problem, rupture of the tank from flying debris, or structural bending/aerodynamic issues caused by the unproven Atlas-Centaur combination, and indeed there had been several previous occurrences of these failure modes on Atlas launches. It was unclear what had caused the failure at first, as tracking camera footage merely showed a large white cloud enveloping the booster followed by the explosion of the entire launch vehicle. Slightly under a minute into the launch, the Centaur stage ruptured and disintegrated, taking the Atlas with it in a matter of seconds. The vehicle was launched at 2:49 PM EST (18:49 GMT) on, with the intention of performing a single burn with a partially fueled Centaur. Technical problems caused the vehicle to sit on the launch pad for seven months, the most serious being leakage of liquid hydrogen through the intermediate bulkhead separating the propellant tanks combined with numerous lesser maladies with the guidance and propulsion systems. In October 1961, the first Atlas-Centaur (Vehicle Flight-1: Atlas 104D and Centaur F-1) arrived at Cape Canaveral and was erected at the newly completed and specifically built LC-36A.

Research and development (R/D) flights First flight

Under original timetables, Centaur was to make its first flight in January 1961. ADVENT never got off the drawing board, but Centaur quickly found a use for several NASA planetary probe projects, namely Mariner and Surveyor.Īn initial lack of funds caused the project to drag on far longer than intended. The first three would be launched on an Atlas-Agena, then the remainder on Centaur. A constellation of ten satellites would provide round-the-clock instant communications for the three main branches of the US military. However, the Air Force retained overall supervision in part because they intended to use Centaur to launch a network of military communications satellites known as ADVENT. The engines were manufactured by Pratt & Whitney.Īlthough originally under ARPA supervision, Centaur was transferred to NASA in July 1959, eleven months after the program's inception. This was done for time and budget reasons and because it allowed the Centaur to be manufactured on the existing Atlas assembly line at Convair. Centaur development was made somewhat difficult by the insistence on modifying Atlas components rather than developing totally new ones. Originally, Centaur was conceived of as a purely experimental project to develop an experience for larger, more powerful rocket stages so as not to distract Convair's focus on the all-important SM-65 Atlas missile program.Ĭonvair developed a specially-enhanced version of the Atlas D vehicle for mating with Centaur stages the Atlas was equipped with an uprated booster section, the MA-5, which had twin turbopumps on each booster engine, and the structure reinforced for the large upper stage, along with elongated fuel tanks. The progress made during the aborted venture was picked up by Convair and others for rocket stage use. Air Force's top-secret Lockheed CL-400 Suntan reconnaissance aircraft program in the mid-1950s. The first attempt at using an LH2/LOX-fueled engine was the U.S. Despite boasting high performance, LH2 had to be chilled to extremely low temperatures (lower than LOX) and its low density meant that large fuel tanks were needed. Centaur was the first rocket stage to utilize liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) as propellants.

Atlas agena crash