Is the Centaur Stage the oldest space equipment in the US space industry?

[Tywin]

Well, is the Centaur the Soyuz (launcher and spacecraft) of the US space Industry, exist something else, that is that old, and still active?

[Harry Cover]

Delta II  was Thor ultimate development (and Thor : mid-1950's) but it is now gone. So yes - maybe the Centaur. Atlas IIAS and Titan are gone since 2004 or 2005 (from memory). Shuttle, Saturn and Agena are long gone. So is Transtage.

But don't forget Aerojet  AJ10 - the valiant little engine that will never die. Can't remember exactly if it was related to Vanguard (or another early booster), but afterwards it has propelled
-Titan's Transtage
- Delta II second stage
- Apollo SPS
- Shuttle OMS
- Orion SM

[edzieba]

Oldest would likely be some of the physical infrastructure, e.g. pads, possible some antennae and dishes, test stands, etc.
LC-16 may be fairly close to the recordholder, having started construction in 1957. Might be some early small test stands still active, though.

[Tywin]

Thank you for the answer...

[TrevorMonty]

Well, is the Centaur the Soyuz (launcher and spacecraft) of the US space Industry, exist something else, that is that old, and still active?

Tywin you seem to create a new thread every other day. These clutter up forum and make it hard to find thread which relates to subject a member is looking for.

Only start a new thread subject if you really can't find a suitable thread for your question or posting of new information. NB this question could have been placed in one of many Centaur threads.

[laszlo]

Well, is the Centaur the Soyuz (launcher and spacecraft) of the US space Industry, exist something else, that is that old, and still active?

Tywin you seem to create a new thread every other day. These clutter up forum and make it hard to find thread which relates to subject a member is looking for.

Somebody got out of the wrong side of bed this morning.

By that logic there should only be one big thread to contain everything. Maybe 2, one for L2.

If you can't find what you're looking for, consider that it's the fault of the search engine, rather than the posters, and talk to the site owners about upgrading it.

[edkyle99]

This *is* the Q&A section.  It can never be wrong to post a question here!

In terms of sheer numbers over the years, Agena may still be tops for the U.S.  The final Titan 34B, 3B-66 launched on February 12, 1987, was the last flight of a Lockheed Agena stage.   Agena logged something like 362 launch attempts on Thor, Atlas, and Titan.

 - Ed Kyle

[Harry Cover]

This *is* the Q&A section.  It can never be wrong to post a question here!

In terms of sheer numbers over the years, Agena may still be tops for the U.S.  The final Titan 34B, 3B-66 launched on February 12, 1987, was the last flight of a Lockheed Agena stage.   Agena logged something like 362 launch attempts on Thor, Atlas, and Titan.

 - Ed Kyle

I learned to love the Agena. That small but powerful stage did so much - upper stage and (spy) satellite bus and Gemini target and all the planetary probes. It flew in space a nuclear reactor (SNAP-10A) electric thrusters (SERT-II) and a powerful SAR (Seasat, although that one ended badly). And plenty other interesting stuff.

Complete list here.

https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_stage/agena.htm

[Bob Shaw]

Possibly Star or Castor solids, or some sounding rockets?

[Vahe231991]

Delta II  was Thor ultimate development (and Thor : mid-1950's) but it is now gone. So yes - maybe the Centaur. Atlas IIAS and Titan are gone since 2004 or 2005 (from memory). Shuttle, Saturn and Agena are long gone. So is Transtage.

But don't forget Aerojet  AJ10 - the valiant little engine that will never die. Can't remember exactly if it was related to Vanguard (or another early booster), but afterwards it has propelled
-Titan's Transtage
- Delta II second stage
- Apollo SPS
- Shuttle OMS
- Orion SM

The Aerojet AJ10 was first used to power the second stage of the Vanguard rocket when that SLV launched the Vanguard 1 into orbit in March 1958. Since the AJ10 is used to power the Orion spacecraft, it remains the oldest American rocket stage for a spacecraft or rocket still in use.

[lrk]

The Minotaur 1 launcher is modified from decommissioned Minuteman II ICBMs, originally built in the 1960s.

[Jim]

Well, is the Centaur the Soyuz (launcher and spacecraft) of the US space Industry, exist something else, that is that old, and still active?

Tywin you seem to create a new thread every other day. These clutter up forum and make it hard to find thread which relates to subject a member is looking for.

Somebody got out of the wrong side of bed this morning.

By that logic there should only be one big thread to contain everything. Maybe 2, one for L2.

If you can't find what you're looking for, consider that it's the fault of the search engine, rather than the posters, and talk to the site owners about upgrading it.

I agree with TrevorMonty

[Jim]

R-4D thruster
RL10 engine