Location
Holiday Inn, Manatee Rooms A & B
Start Date
27-4-1994 1:00 PM
End Date
27-4-1994 4:00 PM
Description
Titan IV, the nation's most capable launch system, was initiated in 1984 as the Complementary Expendable Launch Vehicle (CELY). The mission of the CELY was to back-up the space shuctles for specific, large Department of Defense (DOD) payloads. National space policy changes, following the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986, fundamentally altered the CELY program and initiated an evolution that has established Titan IV as the primary launch capability for many of the nation·s most critically-important space systems. Major developmental initiatives are now near completion, and the program is moving to its mature operational phase.
This paper examines the Air Force/contractor team response as program requirements expanded and the nation's priorities shifted. The resulting heavy-lift capability of the Titan IV system will be described. Technological improvements and system modernization initiatives will be reviewed. Projected applications of the Titan IV to meet future national space launch requirements will be evaluated.
Paper Session II-C - Titan IV Heavy-Lift Space Launch System Evolution
Holiday Inn, Manatee Rooms A & B
Titan IV, the nation's most capable launch system, was initiated in 1984 as the Complementary Expendable Launch Vehicle (CELY). The mission of the CELY was to back-up the space shuctles for specific, large Department of Defense (DOD) payloads. National space policy changes, following the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986, fundamentally altered the CELY program and initiated an evolution that has established Titan IV as the primary launch capability for many of the nation·s most critically-important space systems. Major developmental initiatives are now near completion, and the program is moving to its mature operational phase.
This paper examines the Air Force/contractor team response as program requirements expanded and the nation's priorities shifted. The resulting heavy-lift capability of the Titan IV system will be described. Technological improvements and system modernization initiatives will be reviewed. Projected applications of the Titan IV to meet future national space launch requirements will be evaluated.
Comments
DOD Space Operations
Session Chairman: Owen Jensen, 14th Air Force/ CV
Session Organizer: Stephen L. Mitchell, 45th Operations Group