Transtage

Transtage
A Transtage
Manufacturer Martin Marietta
Country of origin United States
Used on Titan III
General characteristics
Height 4.57 meters (15.0 ft)
Diameter 3.05 meters (10.0 ft)
Gross mass 12,247 kilograms (27,000 lb)
Engine details
Engines 2 AJ10
Thrust 71.166 kilonewtons (15,999 lbf)
Burn time 440 seconds
Fuel Aerozine 50/N2O4

Transtage, given the United States Air Force designation SSB-10A, was an American upper stage used on Titan III rockets, developed by Martin Marietta and Aerojet.

History

Transtage was developed in anticipation of a requirement to launch military payloads to geostationary orbit; a contract for development of the stage was issued on 20 August 1962.[1] Transtage used a pressure-fed two-chamber configuration, using Aerozine 50 fuel and nitrogen tetroxide as oxidizer; the thrust chambers were gimbaled for steering and each produced 8,000-pound-force (36,000 N) of thrust. The design requirement called for the capability for up to three restarts during the first six hours of a mission.[2]

Forty-seven Titan III launches are known to have used Transtage upper stages; of those, three are known to have suffered launch failures.[3] The first launch, boosted by a Titan IIIA, occurred on 1 September 1964; the Transtage failed to pressurize, resulting in premature engine cutoff, and a failure to reach orbit.[3] The second launch, on 10 December, was successful, and all ensuing launches used the Titan IIIC launch vehicle. The last launch of a Transtage occurred on 4 September 1989, boosted by a Titan 34D rocket.[3]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Foradori, Giacomoello and Pascolini 2017, pp.56-57
  2. ↑ Hunley 2007, p. 168.
  3. 1 2 3 Heyman 2003

Bibliography

  • Foradori, Paolo; Giampiero Giacomello; Alessandro Pascolini (2017). Arms Control and Disamament: 50 Years of Experience in Nuclear Education. London: Palgrage Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-319-62258-3.
  • Heyman, Jos (17 March 2003). "Martin Marietta SSB-10 Transtage". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missilesm Appendix 3: Space Vehicles. Designation-Systems. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  • Hunley, J.D. (2007). The Development of Propulsion Technology for U.S. Space-Launch Vehicles, 1926-1991. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1-58544-588-2.
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