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The Titan II was an ICBM and space launcher developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company from the earlier Titan I missile.

Titan II

Launch of a Titan II ICBM from underground silo 395-Charlie at Vandenberg AFB, CA in the mid-1960s. (Photo: USAF)</center>
Fact sheet
Function	ICBM/Launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Martin
Country of origin	USA
Cost per Launch (1969)<td>$3.16m (USD)
Size
Height	31.4 m
Diameter	3.05 m
Mass	154,000 kg
Stages	2
<td colspan="2">Capacity <tr>	Payload to LEO<td>3,600 kg <tr> <td>Payload to 10,000 km sub-orbital trajectory<td>3700 kg <tr> <td>Payload to Polar LEO<td>2,177 kg <tr> <td>Payload to Escape<td>227 kg (500 lb)
Launch History
Status	Retired
Launch Sites	Cape Canaveral LC-15, LC-16 & LC-19 Vandenberg AFB LC-395 & SLC-4W
Total launches <td>106
Successes <td>99
Failures <td>7
Maiden flight <td>12 March 1962
Last flight <td>18 October 2003
Notable payloads <td>Gemini (manned) Clementine
First Stage
Engines	2 LR-87
Thrust	1,900 kN (430,000 lbf)
Specific Impulse<td> 258 sec
Burn time	156 seconds
Fuel	A-50 Hydrazine/N2O4
Second Stage <tr> <td>Engines<td>1 LR-91 <tr> <td>Thrust<td>445 kN (100,000 lbf) <tr> <td>Specific Impulse <td> 316 sec <tr> <td>Burn time<td>180 seconds <tr> <td>Fuel<td>A-50 Hydrazine/N2O4

Image:Titan 2 launching Gemini 11 spaceship.jpg

Contents 1 Mission 1.1 Features 1.2 Development 2 Service history 3 Titan II launch vehicle 3.1 Titan 23G specifications 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Mission

Titan II was originally used as an ICBM. It was later used as a medium-lift space launch vehicle used to carry payloads for the Air Force, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These payloads include the USAF Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and the NOAA weather satellites. The modified Titan II SLVs (Space Launch Vehicles) were launched from Vandenberg AFB, California up until 2003.

[edit] Features

The Titan II space launch vehicle is a two-stage liquid fueled booster, designed to provide a small-to-medium weight class capability. It is able to lift approximately 4,200 pounds (1,900 kg) into a polar low-Earth circular orbit. The first stage consists of two ground ignited Aerojet LR87 liquid propellant rocket engines, while the second stage consists of an Aerojet LR91 liquid propellant rocket engine.

[edit] Development

The Titan rocket family was established in October 1955, when the Air Force awarded the Glenn L. Martin Company a contract to build an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It became known as the Titan I, the nation’s first two-stage ICBM and first underground silo-based ICBM. The Martin Company recognized that the Titan I could be further improved and presented a proposal to the U.S. Air Force for an improved version. It would carry a larger warhead over a greater range with more accuracy and could be fired more quickly. The Martin company received a contract for the new missile, designated SM-68B Titan II, in June 1960. The Titan II was 50% heavier than the Titan I, with a longer first stage and a larger diameter second stage. The Titan II also used storable propellants, Aerozine 50 and dinitrogen tetroxide. The Titan I, whose liquid oxygen oxidizer must be loaded immediately before launching, had to be raised from its silo and fueled before launch. The use of storable propellants enabled the Titan II to be launched within 60 seconds directly from within its silo. Their hypergolic nature made them dangerous to handle; a fuel leak could (and did) lead to explosions.

The first flight of the Titan II was in December 1961 and the missile, now designated LGM-25C, reached initial operating capability in October 1963. The Titan II contained one W-53 nuclear warhead in a Mark 6 re-entry vehicle with a range of 9,325 miles (15,000 km). The W-53 had a yield of 9 megatons. This warhead was guided to its target using an inertial guidance unit. The 54 deployed Titan IIs formed the backbone of America’s strategic deterrent force. Ten Titan IIs were flown in NASA’s Gemini manned space program in the mid-1960s.

Deactivation of the Titan II ICBM system began in July 1982 and was completed in June 1987. The deactivated missiles are now in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. The Titan II ICBM was the most powerful on-standby nuclear missile in the U.S. military arsenal.

A single missile still rests in its silo (without the warhead) and is open to the public as the Titan Missile Museum at Sahuarita, Arizona.

[edit] Service history

The Titan II was in service from 1963 to 1987. The original 63 Strategic Air Command missles were distributed at the Vandenberg AFB training base (nine) plus three rings of 18 missles each surrounding Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Arizona, at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas, and McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.<ref> Titan II Missle Base Locations accessed September 12, 2006</ref> An oxidizer leak on August 24, 1978 killed two at McConnell AFB. A fuel leak killed an airman and destroyed a silo at Little Rock AFB on September 19, 1980.

Number of Titan II misiles in service, by year:

• 1963 - 56
• 1964 - 59
• 1965 - 59
• 1966 - 60
• 1967 - 63
• 1968 - 59 (3 deactivated at Vandenberg)
• 1969 - 60
• 1970 - 57 (3 more deactivated at Vandenberg)
• 1971 - 58
• 1972 - 57
• 1973 - 57
• 1974 - 57
• 1975 - 57
• 1976 - 58
• 1977 - 57
• 1978 - 57
• 1979 - 57
• 1980 - 56
• 1981 - 56 (President Reagan announces retirement of Titan II systems)
• 1983 - 53
• 1984 - 43 (Davis-Monthan site closure completed)
• 1985 - 21
• 1986 - 9 (Little Rock closure completed in 1987)

Image:Titan 23G rocket.gif Image:Titan 23G launches Clementine.jpg

[edit] Titan II launch vehicle

The Titan II space-launch vehicles were purpose-built as space launchers or are decommissioned ICBMs that have been refurbished and equipped with hardware required for use as space launch vehicles. All twelve Gemini capsules were launched by Titan II launchers. The Titan 23B was a Titan II with an Agena third stage that was used to launch reconnaissance satellites.

The Martin Marietta Astronautics Group was awarded a contract in January 1986 to refurbish, integrate, and launch fourteen Titan II ICBMs for government space launch requirements. These were designated Titan 23G. The Air Force successfully launched the first Titan 23G space launch vehicle from Vandenberg AFB September 5, 1988. NASA’s Clementine spacecraft, which was launched aboard a Titan 23G in January 1994, discovered water on the moon in November 1996.

• Tasks involved in converting the Titan II ICBMs into space launch vehicles include:
  • Modifying the forward structure of the second stage to accommodate payload
  • Manufacturing a new 10 foot (3 m) diameter payload fairing with variable lengths plus payload adapters
  • Refurbishing the Titan’s liquid rocket engines; upgrading the inertial guidance system; developing command, destruct and telemetry systems
  • Modifying Vandenberg AFB, Calif., Space Launch Complex-4 West to conduct the launches
  • Performing payload integration

[edit] Titan 23G specifications

• Primary function: Launch vehicle used to lift medium class satellites into space

• Builder: Lockheed-Martin Astronautics

• Launch site: Vandenberg AFB, Calif.

• First stage: length: 70 feet (21.3 m)
  • Diameter: 10 feet (3 m)
  • Engine thrust: 474,000 lbf (2,100 kN) vacuum
  • Weight:
    • 258,000 lb (117,020 kg) fueled
    • 10,500 lb (4,760 kg) empty

• Second stage: length: 24 feet (7.3 m)
  • Diameter: 10 feet (3 m)
  • Engine thrust: 100,000 lbf (440 kN) vacuum
  • Weight:
    • 64,000 lb (29,030 kg) fueled
    • 6,100 lb (2,760 kg)empty

• Guidance: Inertial with Digital Computers
• Subcontractor: Delco Electronics

• Payload fairing: diameter: 10 feet (3 m)
• Length: 20 feet (6.1 m)

• Skin and Stringer Construction — Tri-Sector Design
• Subcontractor: Boeing

• Liquid rocket engines: Refurbished Titan II ICBM Engines
• Subcontractor: Aerojet Tech Systems

• Date deployed: September 1988

[edit] See also

• Strategic Air Command

Related development<h3>

• Titan (rocket family)
• Titan I
• Titan 23B

<h3>Comparable missiles<h3>

• Atlas (missile)

<h3>Designation sequence<h3> AGM-22 - MIM-23 - RIM-24 - LGM-25 I/LGM-25 II - AIM-26 - UGM-27 - AGM-28

SM-65 - B-66 - GAM-67 - XB-68/SM-68 I/SM-68 II - RB-69 -	XB-70	-	SR-71
	IM-70	-	GAM-71

<h3>Related lists<h3>

• List of military aircraft of the United States
• List of missiles

[edit] References

<references/>

• Gunston, Bill (1979). Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Rockets & Missiles. London: Salamander Books. ISBN 0-517-26870-1

[edit] External links

• Titan Missile Museum
• Titan missiles & variations