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Topic: Centaur rocket stage

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	rocket, in aeronautics. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05
		In the case of a rocket, the action is the backward-streaming flow of gas and the reaction is the forward motion of the rocket.
		Another way of understanding rocket propulsion is to realize that tremendous pressure is exerted on the walls of the combustion chamber except where the gas exits at the rear; the resulting unbalanced force on the front interior wall of the chamber pushes the rocket forward.
		Rocket navigation is usually based on inertial guidance; internal gyroscopes are used to detect changes in the position and direction of the rocket.
	www.bartleby.com /65/ro/rocket2.html (1309 words)

	Centaur (rocket stage) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		The Centaur is an upper stage rocket designed for use on satellite launch vehicles, boosting the satellite into its final orbit or, in the case of interplanetary probes, to escape velocity.
		Centaur, named after the centaurs of Greek mythology, was the brain child of Karel J. "Charlie" Bossart (the man behind the Atlas ICBM) and Dr. Krafft A. Ehriche, both Convair employees.
		As of 2006, the 10 foot diameter Centaur continues to be used as the upper stage of the Atlas V EELV rocket, the successor of the Titan-Centaur configuration.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Centaur_(rocket_stage) (1061 words)

	Centaur - Article from FactBug.org - the fast Wikipedia mirror site
		Dwelling in the mountains of Thessaly, the centaurs were the offspring of Ixion and Nephele, the rain-cloud.
		Alternatively, the centaurs were the offspring of Kentauros (the son of Ixion and Nephele) and some Magnesian mares or of Apollo and Hebe.
		The Centaurs are best known for their fight with the Lapithae, caused by their attempt to carry off Hippodamia (a "horse" woman herself) on the day of her marriage to Peirithous, king of the Lapithae, himself the son of Ixion.
	www.factbug.org /cgi-bin/a.cgi?a=7401 (801 words)

	The Principle of the Rocket (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-12)
		A rocket does much the same, except that the cold gas is replaced by the much faster jet of glowing gas produced by the burning of suitable fuel.
		If you ever watched a rocket lift off at Cape Canaveral, it is worth remembering that if you could somehow remove from the scene the launching pad, the atmosphere and the Earth, then the combined center of gravity of the rocket and its exhaust gases would always remain where it started, at the launching point.
		The first stage was a modified big "Redstone" missile, the second stage, a cylindrical cluster of 11 solid-fuel "Sergeant" rockets strapped together, the third stage 3 "Sergeants" strapped together (in the middle of the cylindrical cluster) and the fourth stage a single "Sergeant" which stayed attached to the payload.
	www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov /stargaze/Srocket.htm (1581 words)

	Chapter 6 -- Rockets and Rocket Science (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-12)
		The upper stage is shaped like a cone to minimize the rocket's cross section which has to penetrate the atmosphere.
		This system is really only a partially reusable rocket because the orbiter, the space shuttle main engines and the solid rocket boosters return to be used again, but the shuttle's largest component, the external tank, is thrown away after use by letting it crash into either the Indian or Pacific Oceans.
		Rockets did not just appear for modern humanity to start using; they are the result of years and years of evolution.
	www.space.edu /projects/book/chapter6.html (2268 words)

	NASA - Centaur: America's Workhorse in Space
		Centaur was not to be just another booster, but "the" rocket by which NASA would conduct extensive earth orbit missions, lunar investigations and planetary studies.
		Centaur's first mission objective was to send the unmanned Surveyor spacecraft to the Moon.
		Centaur continues to support scientific missions such as SOHO was successfully on Atlas/Centaur-121 on December 2, 1995.
	www.nasa.gov /centers/glenn/about/history/centaur.html (2702 words)

	Spaceflight :Upper Stages
		Centaur was needed to push very heavy payloads to the Moon and Mars, and as such, was designated a project of “Highest National Priority” by President Kennedy on November 28, 1962.
		Centaur was also adapted for the larger Titan 3 and 4 launch vehicles, launching the Viking spacecraft to Mars and the Voyager space probes out to Jupiter, Saturn and beyond.
		NASA's experience with the Centaur contributed to the development of the Saturn S-IVB stage used aboard both the Saturn IB and the Saturn V. The S-IVB was used in the demanding task of pushing the heavy Lunar Module-Command/Service Module stack to the moon.
	www.centennialofflight.gov /essay/SPACEFLIGHT/upper_stages/SP12.htm (1735 words)

	GPN-2000-000698 - Centaur Rocket Installation in PSL #1
		The RL-10 Rocket was developed by Pratt and Whitney in the late 1950's and tested at the Lewis Research Center (now known as the John H. Glenn Research Lewis Field).
		This power plant was the propulsion system for NASA's upper stage Centaur rocket and was significant for being the first to use liquid hydrogen and oxygen as fuel.
		The Centaur suffered a number of early failures, but later proved to be a very successful upper stage for numerous commercial, NASA and military payloads.
	grin.hq.nasa.gov /ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-000698.html (112 words)

	Observing Centaur Rocket Boosters (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-12)
		Centaur rockets, so I decided to do some research and determine how many of these are potentially observable.
		Atlas Centaurs are relatively large upper stage rockets, most of which are initially in geostationary type transfer orbits (i.e., an apogee of 36000 km and a perigee of a few hundred kilometers).
		The original Atlas Centaur and Atlas I Centaur rockets are cylindrical 9m x 3m rockets with a bare metal surface (an insulating fiberglass covering is jettisoned before reaching orbit), with twin engines.
	www.satobs.org /centaur.html (1147 words)

	EELV: The Next Stage of Space Launch
		The avionics that control the Atlas were located on the Centaur, with booster-specific components residing in an avionics pod attached to the outside of the first stage.
		The Centaur tanks on the Atlas IIIB were lengthened by approximately1.7 meters more than the IIAS; as a result, Aerospace recommended additional structural qualification testing, which is scheduled to be completed in spring 2004.
		The first stage is mated to the upper stage in the processing facility, and the vehicle is then rolled out to the pad and hydraulically rotated to vertical on the launch table.
	www.aero.org /publications/crosslink/winter2004/07.html (2494 words)

	The Evolution of Rockets (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-12)
		In the latter, the fuel gradually burned off (as it did in early gunpowder rockets), and the entire fuel container was under pressure, supplying hot gas directly to the De-Laval nozzle.
		The military's rockets were larger and more ambitious, and the A2 which flew in 1934 developed a thrust of 16000 newton.
		That rocket has been described as a "stainless steel balloon," keeping its shape with the help of pressurized gas in its interior, also used in pushing out the fuel.
	www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov /stargaze/Srockhis.htm (1506 words)

	Nuclear/LH2
		The technology was transferred to the Centaur rocket stage program, and by the mid-1960's the United States was flying the Centaur and Saturn upper stages using the fuel.
		It was adopted for the core of the space shuttle, and Centaur stages still fly today.
		In Russia hydrogen fuelled upper stages were designed and developed by the mid-1970's, but the Russians never seem to have found the extra performance to be worth the extra cost.
	www.astronautix.com /props/nucarlh2.htm (497 words)

	Centaur Upper Stage
		Centaur was the first American high-energy, liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen propelled rocket.
		Centaur’s role is to provide the final delivery of the Space Vehicle (payload) into a desired orbit.
		STRUCTURAL: The Centaur structural elements include stainless steel LOX and LH2 tanks separated by an intermediate bulkhead (reduces heat transfer between the tanks), main engine mounts, forward and aft adapters for SV and Titan core vehicle mounting, respectively, forward and aft bulkheads which enclose the Centaur’s forward and aft ends.
	www.fas.org /spp/military/program/launch/centaur.htm (940 words)

	Spaceflight Now \| Titan Launch Report \| Mission Status Center
		The twin-engine Centaur has reignited for the second of three burns today that are designed to place the 10,000 pound Milstar satellite into geostationary orbit 22,300 miles high.
		The Centaur upper stage and attached Milstar payload are now in a coast period.
		The loading of the Centaur upper stage with liquid hydrogen rocket fuel -- chilled to Minus-423 degrees F -- is nearing completion.
	spaceflightnow.com /titan/b41/status.html (3256 words)

	Titan (rocket) - Wikimedia Commons
		Liftoff of Titan II rocket with Gemini 6A from Pad 19 (Dec. 15, 1965)
		Titan II(23)G rocket in Vandenberg (Sept. 5, 1988)
		Titan 23G second stage is lifted to vertical for the launch with the NOAA-M weather satellite.
	commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/Titan_(Rocket) (477 words)

	SPACE.com -- Human Error Sent Air Force Satellite Astray
		U.S. Air Force Space Command said that the malfunction of a Centaur rocket upper stage that deposited the Milstar satellite into a useless Earth orbit was the result of "a human error made during manual entry of data values into the Centaurs flight software file" prior to the launch.
		The result was the rocket stage lost its attitude control following separation from the main body of the Titan shortly after lift-off.
		By the time the Milstar satellite separated from the Centaur stage, it was too far off course for the satellites own thruster rockets to move it to its proper location.
	www.space.com /missionlaunches/launches/usaf_error.html (389 words)

	Saturn V (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-12)
		All three stages also used small solid-fuelled ullage motors that helped to separate the stages during the launch, and to ensure that the liquid propellants were in a proper position to be drawn into the pumps.
		This stage was used twice during the mission: first for the orbit insertion after second stage cutoff, and later for the trans lunar injection (TLI) burn.
		The U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville also has on display an erect full scale model of the Saturn V. The first stage from SA-515 resides at the Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, Louisiana and the third stage was converted for use as backup Skylab.
	www.zdnet.co.za /wiki/Saturn_V (5679 words)

	Taming Liquid Hydrogen: The Centaur Upper Stage Rocket 1958–2002 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-12)
		The Centaur’s upper stage was developed by the Air Force to increase the payload-delivery capability of the Atlas launch vehicle—to place larger satellites at higher orbits.
		The book chronicles the development of the Centaur’s upper stage from the time it was transferred to NASA; through successful use on the Atlas and Titan launch vehicles; as an in-space stage that would ride in the space shuttle’s cargo bay; and it’s resurrection for use as a commercial launch vehicle.
		The intense scrutiny and concern over putting the Centaur in the space shuttle’s cargo bay was not due to any anti-Centaur bias from MSFC or JSC, it reflected the intense safety reviews of everything that was being prepared to fly on the space shuttle in the 1985 time frame.
	www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil /airchronicles/bookrev/dawsonboles.html (1011 words)

	Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: The Mission
		The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter version of the vehicle is a two-stage launch vehicle that does not use solid rocket boosters.
		The two-stage rocket is simpler than previous three-stage rockets and has better performance.
		Stage II Centaur Upper Stage Booster: engines used to augment Stage I thrust.
	mars.jpl.nasa.gov /mro/mission/lv.html (302 words)

	Early Lunar Access
		The Centaur then fired its engine to accelerate the complex toward the Moon and would then be jettisoned.
		The LEV and Centaur would then dock (possibly assisted by the Shuttle) and depart from low Earth orbit a day later, when the launch window opened.
		The Shuttle, Centaur and LEV could wait up to a week in Earth orbit so there would typically be two translunar injection opportunities per mission.
	www.astronautix.com /craft/earccess.htm (1724 words)

	Centaur (U)
		The Centaur is used on the Titan IV and Atlas family of space launch vehicles and has been developed in four versions.
		These versions are the Centaur I, II, IIA and Titan IV Centaur, and each corresponds to the launch vehicle that it is integrated.
		The Centaur II is used on the Atlas II.
	www.fas.org /spp/military/program/nssrm/initiatives/centaur.htm (509 words)

	GENERAL DYNAMICS EARLY LUNAR ACCESS [1993] (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-12)
		The Centaur then fires its engine to accelerate the complex toward the Moon and is then jettisoned.
		The LEV and Centaur then dock (possibly assisted by the Shuttle) and depart from low Earth orbit a day later, when the launch window opens.
		The Shuttle, Centaur and LEV can wait up to a week in Earth orbit so there would typically be two translunar injection opportunities per mission.
	www.abo.fi /~mlindroo/Station/Slides/sld051e.htm (1756 words)

	1993
		Although it appears on the OSC published list, it does not seem to appear in the Spacewarn bulletin which may imply it was never deployed.
		It was launched on the 25th June 1993 on a Scout rocket from Vandenberg AFB into a 765 x 884 inclined orbit at 89.5 degrees.
		The French 48kg passive reflector was launched alongside SPOT-3 by an Ariane rocket V59 from Kourou, French Guiana on the 26th September 1993 at 01:45 UT, along with six other microsatellites, and is tracked to measure small perturbations in the Earth's gravitational field.
	centaur.sstl.co.uk /SSHP/micro/micro93.html (1298 words)

	National Park Service: Man in Space (Rocket Engine Development Facilities)
		The duplication of this space environment was crucial to the development of the Centaur Rocket which was designed to fire from Earth Orbit to send vehicles to explore the planets and Solar System.
		The Centaur upper stage rocket has launched some of America's most important space probes including the Pioneer, Viking and Voyager Spacecraft.
		The successful development and use of the Centaur was due in large measure to data that was collected from successful test firings of Centaur engines in this facility.
	www.cr.nps.gov /history/online_books/butowsky4/space7.htm (692 words)

	ESA - Cassini-Huygens - The launcher
		The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft was launched from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in Florida on a Titan IV-B/Centaur launch vehicle on 15 October 1997.
		The Centaur upper stage separated successfully at 42 minutes and 40 seconds into the flight.
		The Titan IV-B/Centaur launch vehicle consists of a two-stage, liquid-propellant booster rocket with two strap-on solid rocket motors, a Centaur upper stage and 30-metre high payload enclosure or fairing.
	www.esa.int /SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEMHGIHHZTD_0.html (228 words)

	Centaur rocket is lifted up the tower at Launch Pad 36A, CCAFS (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-12)
		Centaur rocket is lifted up the tower at Launch Pad 36A, CCAFS
		In this long view of the launch tower at Pad 36A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the upper stage Centaur rocket can be seen as it rises up the tower to be mated to the lower stage Atlas IIA rocket already there.
		TDRS will serve as the sole means of continuous, high-data-rate communication with the space shuttle, with the International Space Station upon its completion, and with dozens of unmanned scientific satellites in low earth orbit.
	science.ksc.nasa.gov /gallery/photos/2000/xml/KSC-00PP-0705.xml (151 words)

	No Slide Title (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-12)
		Also found in Shuttle Park is a refurbished high energy, liquid-hydrogen powered, upper stage Centaur, which was first launched in 1963.
		This Centaur was used to propel Mariner probes.
		Centaur’s have helped launch more missions to the moon, Mars and sun than any previous rocket engine.
	www.siue.edu /~msheaha/space_files/slide0080.htm (47 words)

	Annie Easley Summary
		Dubbed the Centaur, the booster's development was authorized by the United States government in 1958.
		She was a leading member of the team which developed software for the Centaur rocket stage and one of the first African-Americans in her field.
		Annie J. Easley was born to Samuel Bird Easley and Mary Melvina Hoover and was raised in Birmingham, Alabama.
	www.bookrags.com /Annie_Easley (1250 words)

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