Titan IV
Titan IV was a family of heavy-lift space launch vehicles developed by Martin Marietta and operated by the United States Air Force from 1989 to 2005. Launches were conducted from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
A Titan IV-B rocket carrying the Cassini-Huygens space research mission before takeoff from Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral, 12 October 1997 (NASA) | |
| Function | Heavy-lift launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Cost per launch | $432 million (USD) |
| Size | |
| Height | 50-62 m (164-207 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.05 m (10 ft) |
| Mass | 943,050 kg (2,079,060 lb) |
| Stages | 3-5 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass | 21,680 kg(47,790 lb) |
| Payload to Polar LEO | |
| Mass | 17,600 kg(38,800 lb) |
| Payload to GSO | |
| Mass | 5,760 kg(12,690 lb) |
| Payload to HCO | |
| Mass | 5,660 kg(12,470 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Titan |
| Comparable | Atlas V, Delta IV Heavy, Falcon 9 |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | SLC-40/41, Cape Canaveral SLC-4E, Vandenberg AFB |
| Total launches | 39 (IVA: 22, IVB: 17) |
| Success(es) | 35 (IVA: 20, IVB: 15) |
| Failure(s) | 4 (IVA: 2, IVB: 2) |
| First flight | IV-A: 14 June 1989 IV-B: 23 February 1997 |
| Last flight | IV-A: 12 August 1998 IV-B: 19 October 2005 |
| Type of passengers/cargo | Lacrosse DSP Milstar Cassini-Huygens |
| Boosters (IV-A) – UA1207 | |
| No. boosters | 2 |
| Powered by | United Technologies UA1207 |
| Maximum thrust | 14.234 MN (3,200,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 272 seconds (2667 N·s/kg) |
| Burn time | 120 seconds |
| Propellant | PBAN |
| Boosters (IV-B) – SRMU | |
| No. boosters | 2 |
| Powered by | Hercules USRM |
| Maximum thrust | 15.12 MN (3,400,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 286 seconds (2805 N·s/kg) |
| Burn time | 140 seconds |
| Propellant | HTPB |
| First stage | |
| Powered by | LR87 |
| Maximum thrust | 2,440 kN (548,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 302 seconds (2962 N·s/kg) |
| Burn time | 164 seconds |
| Propellant | N2O4 / Aerozine 50 |
| Second stage | |
| Powered by | 1 LR91 |
| Maximum thrust | 467 kN (105,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 316 seconds (3100 N·s/kg) |
| Burn time | 223 seconds |
| Propellant | N2O4 / Aerozine 50 |
| Third stage (Optional) – Centaur-T | |
| Powered by | 2 RL10 |
| Maximum thrust | 147 kN (33,100 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 444 seconds (4354 N·s/kg) |
| Burn time | 625 seconds |
| Propellant | LH2/LOX |
The Titan IV was the last of the Titan family of rockets, originally developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company in 1958. It was retired in 2005 due to their high cost of operation and concerns over its toxic hypergolic propellants, and replaced with the Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles under the EELV program. The final launch (B-30) from Cape Canaveral occurred on 29 April 2005, and the final launch from Vandenberg AFB occurred on 19 October 2005. Lockheed Martin Space Systems built the Titan IVs near Denver, Colorado, under contract to the US government.
Two Titan IV vehicles are currently on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio and the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.