Model of Centaur with Surveyor as payload.

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. Model of Centaur D rocket stage with surveyer payload CENTAUR CHARTS ON MODEL GRC Number: C-1965-02033 Date Archived: 08/06/1965 Photographer: AL LUKAS Requester: J DAUS NASA image http://ajax. ... Model of Centaur D rocket stage with surveyer payload CENTAUR CHARTS ON MODEL GRC Number: C-1965-02033 Date Archived: 08/06/1965 Photographer: AL LUKAS Requester: J DAUS NASA image http://ajax. ... The second stage of a Minuteman III rocket Description A multistage (or multi-stage) rocket is, like any rocket, propelled by the recoil pressure of the burning gases it emits as it burns fuel. ... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program A rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving exhaust gas from within a rocket engine. ... A satellite is any object that orbits another object (which is known as its primary). ... In physics, an orbit is the path that an object makes, around another object, whilst under the influence of a source of centripetal force, such as gravity. ... In physics, for a given gravitational field and a given position, the escape velocity is the minimum speed an object without propulsion, at that position, needs to have to move away indefinitely from the source of the field, as opposed to falling back or staying in an orbit within a...

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. Development started in 1956, but proceeded slowly, with the first (unsuccessful) test flight in May 1962. The first successful flight was some 3 years later. In the late 1950's and early 1960's Centaur was proposed as a high energy upper stage for the Saturn I, Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets. Guido Reni, Abduction of Deianira, 1620-21 In Greek mythology, the centaurs (Greek: Κένταυροι) are a race part human and part horse, with a horses body, including all four legs, and a human head and torso with arms. ... Greek mythology consists of a large collection of narratives detailing the lives and adventures of a wide variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines, which were first envisioned and disseminated in an oral-poetic tradition. ... Karel Bossart (born 9 February 1904 in Antwerp - died 3 August 1973) was a pioneering rocket designer and creator of the Atlas ICBM. His achievements rank along side those of Werner Von Braun and Sergei Korolev but as most of his work was for the United States Air Force and... Mercury Atlas 9 rocket and capsule on pad The Atlas is a venerable line of space launch vehicles built by Lockheed Martin. ... The Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, universally known as Convair, was the result of a 1943 merger between Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft, resulting in a leading aircraft manufacturer of the United States. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... The Saturn I was Americas first large clustered rocket. ... The Saturn IB was an uprated verson of the Saturn I, which was the first manned launch vehicle that was not directly derived from an ICBM (though its tanks were derived from the Jupiter and Redstone tanks, and its first stage engines were Navaho derived). ... This article is about the rocket. ...

Centaur was the world's first high-energy upper stage. It burns liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX), stored in balloon tanks, in either one or two RL-10 cryogenic rocket engines. LH2 is an acronym used in the aerospace industry, which stands for liquid hydrogen. ... Lox can stand for any of several things: Lox (salmon) - a type of salmon produce LOx (oxidizer) - liquid oxygen used as oxidizer in aerospace The Lox - was a Yonkers, NY-based rap trio This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles associated with the same title. ... RL-10 Rocket Engine Specifications. ...

Centaur uses an ingenious common double-bulkhead to separate the LOX and LH2 tanks. The two stainless steel skins are separated by a 0.25 inch (6.4 mm) layer of fiberglass. The extreme cold of the LH2 on one side creates a vacuum within the fiberglass layer, giving the bulkhead a low thermal conductivity, and thus preventing heat transfer from the relatively warm LOX to the super cold LH2.

A version of the Centaur was developed for use with the Space Shuttle but was never used due to tougher safety rules imposed after the Challenger accident. This decision helped lead the US Air Force to create the Titan IV, which uses the Centaur as its final stage, to launch payloads which had originally been designed for the Shuttle-Centaur combination. The last Titan-Centuar launch was in 2005. The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA). ... The Challenger breaks apart 73 seconds into its final mission, STS-51-L. Space Shuttle Challenger (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099) was NASAs second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, after Columbia. ... Seal of the Air Force. ... The Titan IV family (including the IVA and IVB) of space boosters are used by the US Air Force. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

As of 2006, Centaur is used as the upper stage of the Atlas V EELV rocket, the successor of the Atlas-Centuar configuration. There is a possible use of the Centaur as an upper stage on the new Delta IV (Heavy) rocket, which started test flights in 2004, and may even be used as a high-energy "kick motor" for planetary probes launched onboard the 125-ton Cargo Launch Vehicle, which will see its first flight after 2015. 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mercury Atlas 9 rocket and capsule on pad The Atlas is a venerable line of space launch vehicles built by Lockheed Martin. ... The United States government–sponsored Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program was intended to develop affordable alternatives to legacy medium-to-heavy-lift launch vehicles (e. ... Delta EELV family of launch vehicles (US Govt) Delta rocket (sometimes retroactively called Delta I) Delta II rocket Delta III rocket Delta IV rocket The Delta family of expendable launch vehicles has been a mainstay of the United States space launch capability since 1960. ... It has been designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization) Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in... Comparison of the Saturn V, Space Shuttle and the two proposed Shuttle Derived Launch Vehicles. ... 2015 (MMXV) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Centaur (rocket stage)

• Centaur versions and launch list