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. ... 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 an object that orbits another object (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 and a human head and torso. ... Greek mythology comprises the collected legends of Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines, originally created and spread within 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 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to 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). ... The Saturn V (popularly known as the Moon Rocket) was a multistage liquid-fuel expendable rocket used by NASAs Apollo and Skylab programs. ...

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 navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the... 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 reasonably 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 Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA). ... Shuttle Orbiter Challenger (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-99) was a Space Shuttle orbiter. ... Seal of the Air Force. ... The Titan IV family (including the IVA and IVB) of space boosters are used by the US Air Force. ...

As of 2004, Centaur is in regular use on Atlas-Centaur and Titan-Centaur launch vehicles. There is also possible future use of the Centaur on the new Delta IV (Heavy) rocket, which made its first test flight in 2004. 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday 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. ... Titan is a family of U.S. expendable rockets. ... 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. ...

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Centaur (rocket stage)

• Centaur versions and launch list