Author Topic: The Shuttle Centaur  (Read 122547 times)

Offline DaveS

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #100 on: 11/22/2014 12:25 am »
I think it would be best to post them as normal attached/embedded files.
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Offline L5

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #101 on: 11/22/2014 03:18 am »
OK, I will do that on the main thread. I have also located a few youtube videos on S/C.
Here is just one.


Also, I have a pic of the G' with TPS, but I can't find the original yet.
Here is a screenshot of it.
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Offline L5

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #102 on: 11/23/2014 03:01 am »
Do you have any titles or NASA reference date to start the search with? Most of our Centaur data comes from the Centaur G Prime Technical Description and some documents from the NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS).

Also, any other photos showing the Centaur with the TPS applied would be great. The only S/C photos I have is of the one on exhibit at the US S&RC, but it along with the CISS it is mated to, has had alot of hardware including the TPS removed.

And do feel free to join and post anything in our Centaur thread.

Here is the main NASA Software catalog and a schedule for the SIF.
The software I reviewed and approved was very well annotated/remarked. My requirement was that I should not need to know a single line of code to review any software program if the remarks were simply complete and accurate.
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Offline DaveS

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #103 on: 11/23/2014 09:46 am »
Well, it isn' in it the NASA Software Catalog and besides, even if it was, it would most likely be US-only which is a hard NO-GO for us.

We'll just await the whatever documents you can provide and make our own from those.
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"We're rolling in the wrong direction but for the right reasons"
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Offline DaveS

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #104 on: 11/24/2014 03:44 pm »
Another thing we're very interested in is any photos or schematics of the control panel(s) for the Centaur/CISS that would have been installed on the aft flightdeck of the orbiters. This is something that has eluded us for a long time.

I have attached a schematic of the IUS Power Control Panel as an example of what we're looking for.
"For Sardines, space is no problem!"
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"We're rolling in the wrong direction but for the right reasons"
-USA engineer about the rollback of Discovery prior to the STS-114 Return To Flight mission

Offline AnalogMan

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #105 on: 05/20/2015 06:29 pm »
Thought this recently published Technical Paper - "RL10 Engine Ability to Transition from Atlas to Shuttle/Centaur Program" - might be of interest for this thread.

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20150008246.pdf

Abstract
[…] This paper describes the transition of the Atlas/Centaur RL10 engine to the Shuttle/Centaur configurations; shows the unique versatility and capability of the engine; and highlights the importance of ground testing. Propulsion testing outcomes emphasize the value added benefits of testing heritage hardware and the significant impact to existing and future programs.

It was originally prepared for the 50th Joint Propulsion Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, July 28–30, 2014

(Copy also attached)

Offline DaveS

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #106 on: 04/01/2016 12:21 am »
collectspace.com article on the Centaur G Prime/Centaur Integrated Support System exhibit move from the US Space & Rocket Center to NASA Glenn for its 75th anniversary: http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-033016a-centaur-g-prime-move.html
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"We're rolling in the wrong direction but for the right reasons"
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Offline zubenelgenubi

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #107 on: 04/28/2016 12:41 am »
collectspace.com article on the Centaur G Prime/Centaur Integrated Support System exhibit move from the US Space & Rocket Center to NASA Glenn for its 75th anniversary: http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-033016a-centaur-g-prime-move.html
Robert's informative article mentions:
Quote
One of the Centaur-G Prime stages built for the shuttle is believed to have been modified for the launch of NASA's Cassini probe to Saturn atop a Titan IVB rocket in 1997.

The Space and Rocket Center had labeled the Centaur-G now being moved as a mockup, though there is some data that points to it being the other stage originally built for the program. Glenn Research Center's records identify it being a high-fidelity ground test article.

I have some follow-up questions.

Are there any pictures of the Centaur's arrival at NASA Glenn?

Do we know how many Centaur G and Centaur G Prime upper stages were built? Or partially assembled?

I'm counting:
1 ground-test article
1 Centaur G' for Galileo
1 Centaur G' for Ulysses
more?

Were any Centaur G stages manufactured?

What about the preparations for Shuttle/Centaur launches from Vandenberg--was there any hardware already on-site?

Is it likely that the other Centaur Gs and G Primes were modified and used in Titan IV/Centaur launches?
Is it possible that they were scrapped?

As always, I'm grateful for any answers that the forum members are able to provide!
« Last Edit: 04/28/2016 12:42 am by zubenelgenubi »
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Offline Jim

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #108 on: 04/28/2016 02:12 am »

1.  Were any Centaur G stages manufactured?

2.  What about the preparations for Shuttle/Centaur launches from Vandenberg--was there any hardware already on-site?

3.  Is it likely that the other Centaur Gs and G Primes were modified and used in Titan IV/Centaur launches?



1.  One tank I believe

2.  Was only a study.  Never got close to the hardware stage.

3.  G's were not going to fly on Titan.  Only G primes.

Offline DaveS

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #109 on: 07/15/2017 01:42 pm »
Is there any lists that show the changes made to the Centaur G Prime to enable it to fly as an upper stage option on the Titan IV? Was there any changes to the tank pressurization system that was one of the reasons that the Centaur G/G Prime got the axe as an shuttle upper stage?
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Offline Jim

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #110 on: 07/15/2017 02:28 pm »
Is there any lists that show the changes made to the Centaur G Prime to enable it to fly as an upper stage option on the Titan IV? Was there any changes to the tank pressurization system that was one of the reasons that the Centaur G/G Prime got the axe as an shuttle upper stage?

Just avionics transmitters to be compatible with the Ranges and AFSCN.  There was no need to change the pressurization system since it was fine for ELV's.  There wasn't any need to carry a CISS pressurization system because of the short duration before first engine burn

Online catdlr

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #111 on: 11/17/2017 08:35 pm »
HACL film 01010 General Dynamics Roll Out of Shuttle Centaur


sdasmarchives
Published on Nov 17, 2017


Film from the Atlas Centaur Heritage Film Collection which was donated to the San Diego Air and Space Museum by Lockheed Martin and United Launch Alliance.  The Collection contains 3,000 reels of 16-millimeter film.



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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #112 on: 11/17/2017 08:39 pm »
HACL film 01011 General Dynamics Roll Out of Shuttle Centaur


sdasmarchives
Published on Nov 17, 2017

Film from the Atlas Centaur Heritage Film Collection which was donated to the San Diego Air and Space Museum by Lockheed Martin and United Launch Alliance.  The Collection contains 3,000 reels of 16-millimeter film.




Tony De La Rosa, ...I'm no Feline Dealer!! I move mountains.  but I'm better known for "I think it's highly sexual." Japanese to English Translation.

Offline dchill

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #113 on: 11/18/2017 09:56 pm »
Roll-out days were always good fun.  We all got an hour or so off work and got to spend time outside in the San Diego sun.  I was hired right out of college to work Shuttle/Centaur but it was cancelled 2 weeks before I started, so I ended up working Titan/Centaur and and Atlas/Centaur instead.  The later T/C and A/C roll-outs weren't quite as showy, but otherwise similar -until the move to Denver.

Offline Galactic Penguin SST

Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #114 on: 12/16/2017 02:08 am »
A theoretical question: What is the maximum payload the Shuttle with Centaur (both versions) could have pushed to a standard GTO (*) or to a trans-Mars trajectory?

(*) I know that most of such missions would had smaller satellites doing direct injection to geostationary, but just let's say that we have the satellite making the circulation burns here.  ;)

Also what is the maximum size of the volume that can be allocated to the payload in the Shuttlr Orbiter cargo bay?
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Offline calapine

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #115 on: 12/16/2017 09:26 pm »
The only figures I have are for GEO - which are probably not news to you - but anyway:

Centaur G Prime: 6350 kg
Centaur G USAF: 4500 kg
« Last Edit: 12/16/2017 09:45 pm by calapine »

Offline DaveS

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #116 on: 02/09/2018 03:08 pm »
Anyone know what encircled items on the CISS are? Photo courtesy of the San Diego Air & Space Museum.
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"We're rolling in the wrong direction but for the right reasons"
-USA engineer about the rollback of Discovery prior to the STS-114 Return To Flight mission

Online ZachS09

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #117 on: 02/09/2018 04:16 pm »
Anyone know what encircled items on the CISS are? Photo courtesy of the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

I'm guessing those are helium pressurization tanks.
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Offline DaveS

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Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #118 on: 06/09/2018 11:24 am »
Does anyone know if the payload bay liner flight kit was manifested for the Shuttle/Centaur missions? The reason I'm asking is that it was always flown on the IUS missions, so the question really is if the liner was flown for the IUS or the actual spacecrafts that the IUS carried.
"For Sardines, space is no problem!"
-1996 Astronaut class slogan

"We're rolling in the wrong direction but for the right reasons"
-USA engineer about the rollback of Discovery prior to the STS-114 Return To Flight mission

Offline Galactic Penguin SST

Re: The Shuttle Centaur
« Reply #119 on: 06/09/2018 01:45 pm »
A theoretical question: What is the maximum payload the Shuttle with Centaur (both versions) could have pushed to a standard GTO (*) or to a trans-Mars trajectory?

(*) I know that most of such missions would had smaller satellites doing direct injection to geostationary, but just let's say that we have the satellite making the circulation burns here.  ;)

Also what is the maximum size of the volume that can be allocated to the payload in the Shuttlr Orbiter cargo bay?

Bumping if anyone can roughly calculate that.  :)
Astronomy & spaceflight geek penguin. In a relationship w/ Space Shuttle Discovery. Current Priority: Chasing the Chinese Spaceflight Wonder Egg & A Certain Chinese Mars Rover

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