Titan 23G

Titan 23G
	The first Titan 23G prior to launch
Function	Expendable launch system
Manufacturer	Martin Marietta / Lockheed Martin
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	31.4 m (103 ft)
Diameter	3.05 m (10.0 ft)
Mass	117,020 kg (257,980 lb)
Stages	Two or Three
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	3,600 kg (7,900 lb)
Payload to Polar LEO
Mass	2,177 kg (4,799 lb)
Payload to HCO
Mass	227 kg (500 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Titan
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Vandenberg, SLC-4W
Total launches	13
Success(es)	12
Failure(s)	1
First flight	5 September 1988
Last flight	18 October 2003
Type of passengers/cargo	Clementine; QuickSCAT
First stage
Powered by	LR-87 (one engine with two combustion chambers)
Maximum thrust	1,900 kN (430,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	258 seconds
Burn time	156 seconds
Propellant	N2O4 / Aerozine 50
Second stage
Powered by	1 LR-91
Maximum thrust	445 kN (100,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	316 seconds
Burn time	180 seconds
Propellant	N2O4 / Aerozine 50
Third stage (Optional) – Star-37XFP-ISS
Powered by	1 Solid
Maximum thrust	38.03 kN (8,550 lbf)
Specific impulse	290 seconds
Burn time	67 seconds
Propellant	Solid
Third stage (Optional) – Star-37S
Powered by	1 Solid
Specific impulse	287 seconds
Propellant	Solid
	[edit on Wikidata]

The Titan 23G, Titan II(23)G, Titan 2(23)G or Titan II SLV was an American expendable launch system derived from the LGM-25C Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile. Retired Titan II missiles were converted by Martin Marietta, into which the Glenn L. Martin Company, which built the original Titan II, had merged. It was used to carry payloads for the United States Air Force (USAF), NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Thirteen were launched from Space Launch Complex 4W (SLC-4W) at the Vandenberg Air Force Base between 1988 and 2003.^[1]

Configuration

Titan 23G rockets consisted of two stages burning liquid propellant. The first stage was powered by one Aerojet LR87 engine with two combustion chambers and nozzles, and the second stage was propelled by an LR91. On some flights, the spacecraft included a kick motor, usually the Star-37XFP-ISS; however, the Star-37S was also used.^[1]

A contract to refurbish fourteen Titan II missiles to the Titan 23G configuration was awarded to Martin Marietta in January 1986. The first launch occurred on 5 September 1988, carrying a classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. Thirteen were launched, with the fourteenth going to the Evergreen Aviation Museum.^[2] The final flight occurred on 17 October 2003, carrying a Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellite.^[3]

During refurbishment, the forward structure of the second stage was modified with the addition of a payload attachment fitting to attach the payload to the rocket, and installing a payload fairing to protect it during launch. The engines were refurbished, and the rockets' guidance and control systems were upgraded by Delco Electronics.

The former Titan IIIB pad at Vandenberg, SLC-4W, was modified to accommodate the Titan 23G, and was used for all thirteen launches.

Launch history

All launches of Titan II(23)G rockets took place from Space Launch Complex 4W (SLC-4W) at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Date/Time (UTC)	Serial number		Third Stage	Payload	Outcome	Remarks
Date/Time (UTC)	Rocket	Stages	Third Stage	Payload	Outcome	Remarks
5 September 1988 09:25	G-1	B-98/56	None	USA-32 (Bernie)	Success
6 September 1989 01:48	G-2	B-75/99	None	USA-45 (Bernie)	Success	Spacecraft failed immediately after launch
25 April 1992 08:53	G-3	B-102	None	USA-81 (Bernie)	Success
5 October 1993 17:56	G-5	B-65	Star-37XFP-ISS^[4]	Landsat 6	Failure	Star-37 failure, spacecraft failed to achieve orbit^[5]
25 January 1994 16:34	G-11	B-89/67	None	Clementine DSPSE-ISA^[6]	Success
4 April 1997 16:47	G-6	B-106	Star-37S-ISS^[7]	USA-131 (DMSP-5D2 F-14)	Success
13 May 1998 15:52:04	G-12	B-84/80	Star-37XFP-ISS^[4]	NOAA-15 (NOAA-K)	Success	Included oxidizer (N₂O₄) tank from Titan II B-72
20 June 1999 02:15:00	G-7	B-99/75	None	QuikSCAT	Success
12 December 1999 17:36:01	G-8	B-94/44	Star-37XFP-ISS^[4]	USA-147 (DMSP-5D3 F-15)	Success
21 September 2000 10:22	G-13	B-96/39	Star-37XFP-ISS^[4]	NOAA-16 (NOAA-L)	Success
24 June 2002 18:23:04	G-14	B-71/72	Star-37XFP-ISS^[4]	NOAA-17 (NOAA-M)	Success	Included oxidizer (N₂O₄) tank from Titan II B-92
6 January 2003 14:19	G-4	B-105	None	Coriolis	Success
18 October 2003 16:17	G-9	B-107	Star-37XFP-ISS^[4]	USA-172 (DMSP-5D3 F-16)	Success	Final Titan II launch

Remaining rockets

A fourteenth rocket, G-10, based on Titan II B-108, but incorporating an oxygen tank from B-80, was not launched and is preserved at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

The remaining 42 Titan II missiles were stored at Davis-Monthan AFB with most being broken up for salvage. Four were transferred to museums.

References

^ ^a ^b Krebs, Gunter. "Titan-2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
^ Kyle, Ed (2009-04-14). "Titan 23G Data Sheet". Space Launch Report. Archived from the original on 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
^ Wade, Mark. "Titan". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on August 5, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "Titan-2(23)G Star-37XFP-ISS (Titan-2G Star-37XFP-ISS)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
^ Wade, Mark. "Landsat 6". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on June 21, 2002. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
^ Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "DSPSE-ISA". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
^ Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "Titan-2(23)G Star-37S-ISS (Titan-2G Star-37S-ISS)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-06-11.

[GSP-1] Krebs, Gunter. "Titan-2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-04-29.

[SLR-2] Kyle, Ed (2009-04-14). "Titan 23G Data Sheet". Space Launch Report. Archived from the original on 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2023-05-15.

[EA-3] Wade, Mark. "Titan". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on August 5, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-29.

[37XFP-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "Titan-2(23)G Star-37XFP-ISS (Titan-2G Star-37XFP-ISS)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-06-11.

[5] Wade, Mark. "Landsat 6". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on June 21, 2002. Retrieved 24 January 2014.

[6] Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "DSPSE-ISA". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 24 May 2021.

[7] Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "Titan-2(23)G Star-37S-ISS (Titan-2G Star-37S-ISS)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-06-11.

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v t e USAF and USSF space vehicle designations (since 1962)
SLV series	SLV-1 (Scout) SLV-2 (Thor) SLV-3 (Atlas) SLV-4 (Titan II) SLV-5 (Titan)
SB series	SB-1 SB-2 SB-3 SB-4 SB-5 SB-6 SSB-7 SSB-8 SSB-9 SSB-10 ASB-11
Satellites	WS-1 WS-2 LS-3 ES-4 ES-5 LS-6 NS-7 ES-8 LS-9 LS-10 (I) XSS-10 (II) XSS-11² XSS-12 S-13¹ ES-14 LS-15³ LS-16³ ES-17 EWS-G1 EWS-G2
¹ Not assigned ² Unofficial designation ³ Designation believed to be this type but unconfirmed

v t e Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Ariane 6 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H-IIA H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 7 7A 8 11 11H 12 LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega C Vulcan Centaur Zhuque 2
In development	Antares 330 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Deca Epsilon S Eris Gravity-2 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 Miura 5 MLV Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 NGLV Nova OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zhuque 3 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able^† Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 RS1^† Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard Vega original VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 1^†
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol ^† indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)

v t e Orbital launch systems developed in the United States
Active	Atlas V**^†† Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Minotaur I IV V C Pegasus XL SLS Block 1 Vulcan Centaur
In development	Antares 330 Daytona I MLV New Glenn Neutron Nova Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Starship Terran R
Retired	Antares 110/120/130/230/230+^††† Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able Agena Centaur Conestoga Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" H-I* Juno I Juno II LauncherOne N-I* N-II* Pilot Rocket 3 RS1^† Saturn I IB V Scout Space Shuttle SPARK Sparta Terran 1 Thor Able Ablestar Agena Burner Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Vanguard
* - Japanese projects using US rockets or stages ** - uses Russian engines ^† - never succeeded ^†† - no new orders accepted ^††† - used Ukrainian first stage

Configuration

Launch history

Remaining rockets

See also

References