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Atlas V is a launch vehicle built by Lockheed Martin. Although it is the newest version of Atlas, it contains little existing Atlas technology. It no longer uses balloon tanks nor 1.5 staging, but incorporates a rigid framework for its first stage booster much like the Titan family of vehicles.
Ironically, given Atlas' origin as a Cold War military weapon against the Soviet Union, the Atlas III and Atlas V uses Russian-designed engines. The Atlas V was developed by Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services as part of the US Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The term "expendable launch vehicle" means it is only used once. Launches are from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. In addition, Space Launch Complex 3 East at Vandenberg Air Force Base is being prepared for future polar launches.
All eight Atlas V launches to date have been successful. The Atlas V family uses a single-stage Atlas main engine, the Russian RD-180 and the newly developed Common Core Booster (CCB) with up to five strap-on solid rocket boosters. The CCB is 12.5 ft (3.8 m) in diameter by 106.6 ft (32.5 m) long and uses 627,105 lb (284,453 kg) of liquid oxygen and RP-1 rocket fuel propellants. The booster operates for about four minutes, providing about 4 meganewtons (900,000 lbf) of thrust at start.
The Centaur upper stage uses a pressure stabilized propellant tank design and cryogenic propellants. The Centaur stage for Atlas V is stretched 5.5 ft (1.68 m) and is powered by either one or two Pratt & Whitney RL10A-4-2 engines, each engine developing a thrust of 99.2 kN (22,300 lbf). Operational and reliability upgrades are enabled with the RL10A-4-2 engine configuration. The inertial navigation unit (INU) located on the Centaur provides guidance and navigation for both Atlas and Centaur, and controls both Atlas and Centaur tank pressures and propellant use. The Centaur engines are capable of multiple in-space starts, making possible insertion into low-earth parking orbit, followed by a coast period and then insertion into GTO. An upgrade to a Fault Tolerant INU is currently in development and will further enhance mission reliability for all Atlas vehicles.
The Atlas V-Heavy configuration is available 30 months from order. It would use three CCB stages strapped together to provide the capability necessary to lift the heaviest spacecraft.
On Atlas V, in addition to the classic 4-meter payload fairing used since the Atlas II, Lockheed Martin introduced a 5-meter (4.57 meters usable) Contraves payload fairing. The Contraves fairing is a composite design and is based on flight proven hardware. Three configurations will be manufactured to support Atlas V. The short and medium length configurations will be used on the Atlas V 500 series. The long configuration will be used on the Atlas V-Heavy. * The classic fairing covers only the payload, leaving the Centaur stage exposed to open air. With the Contraves fairing, the Centaur is enclosed within the fairing as well as the payload.
Versions
Each Atlas booster has a three digit version designation that is determined by the features of the rocket. The first digit is the diameter (in meters) of the nosecone fairing, and is always either four or five. The second digit is the number of solid rocket boosters attached to the base of the rocket, and can number anywhere from zero through three with the 4-m fairing and zero through five with the 5-m fairing. The third digit is the number of engines on the Centaur stage, either one or two. Single-engine Centaurs are typically used for satellites going to geostationary transfer orbit or reaching escape velocity. Dual engine Centaurs are typically used for satellites reaching low Earth orbit.
Comparable rockets: Delta IV - Ariane 5 - Chang Zheng 5 - Angara - Falcon 9
Versions list
List Date: January 19 2006
- bgcolor="#FFDEAD" | Version | Booster | Upper stage | Fairing | Payload to LEO | Payload to GTO | Launches to date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas V(401) | - | SEC | 4 m | - | 4951 kg | 3 |
| Atlas V(402) | - | DEC | 4 m | 12500 kg | - | 0 |
| Atlas V(411) | 1 | SEC | 4 m | - | 5951 kg | 1 |
| Atlas V(421) | 2 | SEC | 4 m | - | 6832 kg | 0 |
| Atlas V(431) | 3 | SEC | 4 m | - | 7642 kg | 1 |
| Atlas V(501) | - | SEC | 5 m | - | 3971 kg | 0 |
| Atlas V(502) | - | DEC | 5 m | 10300 kg | - | 0 |
| Atlas V(511) | 1 | SEC | 5 m | - | 5271 kg | 0 |
| Atlas V(512) | 1 | DEC | 5 m | 12050 kg | - | 0 |
| Atlas V(521) | 2 | SEC | 5 m | - | 6287 kg | 2 |
| Atlas V(522) | 2 | DEC | 5 m | 13950 kg | - | 0 |
| Atlas V(531) | 3 | SEC | 5 m | - | 7202 kg | 0 |
| Atlas V(532) | 3 | DEC | 5 m | 17250 kg | - | 0 |
| Atlas V(541) | 4 | SEC | 5 m | - | 7982 kg | 0 |
| Atlas V(542) | 4 | DEC | 5 m | 18750 kg | - | 0 |
| Atlas V(551) | 5 | SEC | 5 m | - | 8672 kg | 1 |
| Atlas V(552) | 5 | DEC | 5 m | 20050 kg | - | 0 |
| Atlas V(Heavy) | 2 CCB | SEC | 5 m | - | 13605 kg | 0 |
| Atlas V(Heavy) | 2 CCB | DEC | 5 m | 25000 kg | - | 0 |
Launch history
List Date: January 19 2006
- bgcolor="#FFDEAD" | Date | Type | Serial-no. | Startplace | Payload | Kind of payload | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 21 2002 | Atlas V(401) | AV-001 | CC LC41 | Hot Bird 6 | Commercial communications satellite | Success |
| May 13 2003 | Atlas V(401) | AV-002 | CC LC41 | HellasSat 2 | Commercial communications satellite | Success |
| July 17 2003 | Atlas V(521) | AV-003 | CC LC41 | Rainbow 1 | Commercial communications satellite | Success |
| December 17 2004 | Atlas V(521) | AV-005 | CC LC41 | AMC 16 | Commercial communications satellite | Success |
| March 11 2005 | Atlas V(431) | AV-004 | CC LC41 | Inmarsat 4-F1 | Commercial communications satellite | Success |
| August 12 2005 | Atlas V(401) | AV-007 | CC LC41 | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | Mars orbiter | Success |
| January 19 2006 | Atlas V(551) | AV-010 | CC LC41 | New Horizons | Pluto and Kuiper Belt probe | Success |
| April 20 2006 | Atlas V(411) | AV-008 | CC LC41 | ASTRA 1KR | Commercial communications satellite | Success |
Planned launches
- bgcolor="#FFDEAD" | Date | Type | Serial-no. | Launch site | Payload | Kind of payload | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Atlas V(411) | AV-006 | VAFB SLC-3E | - | NRO Reconnaissance satellite | First Atlas V Launch from Vandenberg |
| October 2006 | Atlas V(401) | AV-013 | CC LC41 | Space Test Program-1 | 7 military research satellites | |
| Late 2007 | Atlas V(401) | - | VAFB SLC-3E | DMSP-18 | Military weather satellite | |
| Late 2009 | Atlas V(541) | - | CC LC41 | Mars Science Laboratory | Mars rover | Press release |
External links
- Official page at ILS, the launch provider for Atlas V
- http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/atlasv.htm
"Atlas V rocket"