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Atlas-Centaur

Spacecraft and Launch Vehicles

The Atlas-Centaur was a United States expendable launch vehicle derived from the SM-65 Atlas D missile and topped with the Centaur upper stage, the first stage to burn liquid hydrogen with liquid oxygen. Convair, the maker of the Atlas, developed Centaur for this booster and shared its pressure-stabilised tank structure, building both on the existing Atlas assembly line in San Diego. Convair also produced an uprated Atlas booster section with twin turbopumps on each booster engine and a strengthened structure for the heavy upper stage. Launches came from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral. After a troubled test programme, in which the first flight on 8 May 1962 ended in an explosion, it launched Surveyor 1 and Pioneer 10 and 11, and was developed into the 1990s, with the Atlas II as its last direct descendant.

Facts
Year
1962 1
Propulsion
Hydrogen 1
Engine Class
Rocket 1
Connections

Ancestor Of

Atlas G, Vehicles
Source Atlas G (Wikipedia)

Exemplifies

Orbital Spaceflight, Modes
Source Atlas-Centaur (Wikipedia)

Of Make

Convair, Networks and Operators
Source Atlas-Centaur (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Manufactured By

Convair

Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.

Source Atlas-Centaur (Wikipedia)Early development, manufacturer
Quote, Early development, manufacturer
Convair, the manufacturer of the Atlas, developed the Centaur upper stage specifically for that booster

Originated In

United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Atlas-Centaur (Wikipedia)Lead, country
Quote, Lead, country
The Atlas-Centaur was a United States expendable launch vehicle
Sources
1. Atlas-Centaur (Wikipedia)
  • Flight history, first launch
    on 8 May 1962
  • Technical, propellants
    Centaur was the first rocket stage to utilize liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) as propellants.
  • Lead, fuel
    the first such stage to use high-performance liquid hydrogen as fuel
  • Early development, manufacturer
    Convair, the manufacturer of the Atlas, developed the Centaur upper stage specifically for that booster
  • Lead, country
    The Atlas-Centaur was a United States expendable launch vehicle
  • Exemplifies: Orbital Spaceflight, Lead, launch vehicle
    The Atlas-Centaur was a United States expendable launch vehicle
  • In Group: Orbital Launch Vehicles, Lead, launch vehicle
    The Atlas-Centaur was a United States expendable launch vehicle
View the Source
Atlas G (Wikipedia)
Ancestor Of: Atlas G, Lead
Quote, Ancestor Of: Atlas G, Lead
an American expendable launch system derived from the Atlas-Centaur
View the Source
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