Encyclopedia Astronautica
Athena-2


llv2.jpg
Athena-1
Athena-1 Launch Vehicle
Credit: Lockheed Martin
American all-solid orbital launch vehicle. The Athena-2 version featured a Castor 120 first stage, Castor 120 second stage, Orbus third stage, and OAM Orbital Adjustment Module.

LEO Payload: 2,065 kg (4,552 lb) to a 185 km orbit at 28.50 degrees. Payload: 1,165 kg (2,568 lb) to a 800 km SSO. Failures: 1. First Fail Date: 1999-04-27. Last Fail Date: 1999-04-27. Launch Price $: 26.000 million in 2000 dollars.

Stage Data - Athena-2

  • Stage 1. 1 x Castor 120. Gross Mass: 53,020 kg (116,880 lb). Empty Mass: 4,211 kg (9,283 lb). Thrust (vac): 1,606.594 kN (361,177 lbf). Isp: 286 sec. Burn time: 83 sec. Isp(sl): 229 sec. Diameter: 2.36 m (7.74 ft). Span: 2.36 m (7.74 ft). Length: 10.70 m (35.10 ft). Propellants: Solid. No Engines: 1. Engine: Castor 120. Status: In Production. Comments: Modification of Peackeeper ICBM first stage.
  • Stage 2. 1 x Castor 120. Gross Mass: 53,020 kg (116,880 lb). Empty Mass: 4,211 kg (9,283 lb). Thrust (vac): 1,606.594 kN (361,177 lbf). Isp: 286 sec. Burn time: 83 sec. Isp(sl): 229 sec. Diameter: 2.36 m (7.74 ft). Span: 2.36 m (7.74 ft). Length: 10.70 m (35.10 ft). Propellants: Solid. No Engines: 1. Engine: Castor 120. Status: In Production. Comments: Modification of Peackeeper ICBM first stage.
  • Stage 3. 1 x ESBM. Gross Mass: 10,810 kg (23,830 lb). Empty Mass: 1,030 kg (2,270 lb). Thrust (vac): 189.200 kN (42,534 lbf). Isp: 293 sec. Burn time: 150 sec. Diameter: 2.30 m (7.50 ft). Span: 2.30 m (7.50 ft). Length: 3.00 m (9.80 ft). Propellants: Solid. No Engines: 1. Engine: SRM-1. Status: In Production.
  • Stage 4. 1 x OAM. Gross Mass: 714 kg (1,574 lb). Empty Mass: 360 kg (790 lb). Thrust (vac): 882 N (198 lbf). Isp: 222 sec. Burn time: 1,500 sec. Diameter: 2.30 m (7.50 ft). Span: 2.30 m (7.50 ft). Length: 1.00 m (3.20 ft). Propellants: Hydrazine. No Engines: 4. Engine: MR-107. Status: In Production. Comments: Monopropellant final stage providing precise orbital injection. Pressure-fed, indefinite number of restarts.

AKA: LMLV 2; LLV 2.
Gross mass: 120,700 kg (266,000 lb).
Payload: 2,065 kg (4,552 lb).
Height: 28.20 m (92.50 ft).
Diameter: 2.36 m (7.74 ft).
Thrust: 1,449.00 kN (325,748 lbf).
Apogee: 185 km (114 mi).
First Launch: 1998.01.07.
Last Launch: 1999.09.24.
Number: 3 .

More... - Chronology...
Associated Countries
Associated Spacecraft
  • Ikonos American civilian surveillance satellite. 2 launches, 1999.04.27 (Ikonos 1) and 1999.09.24 (Ikonos). The first high resolution commercial imaging satellite. More...
Associated Engines
  • Castor 120 Thiokol solid rocket engine. 1650 kN. Isp=280s. Motor similar in size to the Peacekeeper missile stage 1 motor; filled the gap between Castor 4A and the large segmented motors. First flight 1989. More...
  • SRM-1 CSD solid rocket engine. 181.5 kN. Used in TOS; IUS-1 on Shuttle, Titan 34D. Known by manufacturer as Orbus 21. Propellant: 86% solids made up of HTPB UTP-19360A. Shape: cylindrical. Isp=296s. First flight 1982. More...
See also
  • Athena Privately funded family of solid propellant satellite launch vehicles. Originally known as LMLV (Lockheed-Martin Launch Vehicle); LLV (Lockheed Launch Vehicle). Sales did not develop as hoped by the company after the MEO-satellite bubble burst in the 1990's. More...
Associated Manufacturers and Agencies
  • Lockheed American manufacturer of rockets, spacecraft, and rocket engines. Lockheed Martin, Sunnyvale, CA, USA. More...
Associated Programs
  • Discovery The Discovery program was begun by NASA in the early 1990s as the planetary counterpart to the Explorer program. More...
Associated Launch Sites
  • Cape Canaveral America's largest launch center, used for all manned launches. Today only six of the 40 launch complexes built here remain in use. Located at or near Cape Canaveral are the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, used by NASA for Saturn V and Space Shuttle launches; Patrick AFB on Cape Canaveral itself, operated the US Department of Defense and handling most other launches; the commercial Spaceport Florida; the air-launched launch vehicle and missile Drop Zone off Mayport, Florida, located at 29.00 N 79.00 W, and an offshore submarine-launched ballistic missile launch area. All of these take advantage of the extensive down-range tracking facilities that once extended from the Cape, through the Caribbean, South Atlantic, and to South Africa and the Indian Ocean. More...
  • Vandenberg Vandenberg Air Force Base is located on the Central Coast of California about 240 km northwest of Los Angeles. It is used for launches of unmanned government and commercial satellites into polar orbit and intercontinental ballistic missile test launches toward the Kwajalein Atoll. More...
  • Cape Canaveral LC46 Trident, Athena launch complex. This complex was built as part of the U.S. Navy's Trident II ballistic missile effort at the Cape. Construction was underway in February 1984, and the complex was ordnance-certified in November 1986. Complex 46 supported the Cape's first Trident II test missile launch on 15 January 1987. Eighteen more Trident IIs were launched from the site between 17 March 1987 and 27 January 1989. As Trident launch operations moved out to sea later in 1989, the complex was placed on standby status awaiting special Trident II test requirements. No new requirements surfaced in the 1990s, but the Spaceport Florida Authority (SFA) won $4,890,000 in Air Force grants to redesign Complex 46 to handle small commercial space launch operations (e.g., Lockheed Martin's new LMLV-2 space launch vehicle). More...
Associated Stages
  • ESBM Solid propellant rocket stage. Loaded/empty mass 10,810/1,030 kg. Thrust 189.20 kN. Vacuum specific impulse 293 seconds. More...
  • OAM Hydrazine propellant rocket stage. Loaded/empty mass 714/360 kg. Thrust 0.88 kN. Vacuum specific impulse 222 seconds. Monopropellant final stage providing precise orbital injection. Pressure-fed, indefinite number of restarts. More...
  • SR118 Solid propellant rocket stage. Loaded/empty mass 53,020/4,211 kg. Thrust 1,606.59 kN. Vacuum specific impulse 286 seconds. Modification of Peackeeper ICBM first stage. More...

Athena-2 Chronology
1998 January 7 - . 02:28 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC46. Launch Pad: SLC46. LV Family: Athena. Launch Vehicle: Athena-2. LV Configuration: Athena-2 LM-004.
  • Lunar Prospector - . Payload: Discovery 3. Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Ames. Manufacturer: Lockheed. Program: Discovery. Class: Moon. Type: Lunar probe. Spacecraft: Lunar Prospector. Decay Date: 1999-07-31 . USAF Sat Cat: 25131 . COSPAR: 1998-001A. The Lunar Prospector was designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, including mapping of surface composition and possible polar ice deposits, measurements of magnetic and gravity fields, and study of lunar outgassing events. Data from the 1 to 3 year mission will allow construction of a detailed map of the surface composition of the Moon, and will improve understanding of the origin, evolution, current state, and resources of the Moon. After launch, the Lunar Prospector had a 105 hour cruise to the Moon, followed by insertion into a near-circular 100 km altitude lunar polar orbit with a period of 118 minutes. The nominal mission duration was one year.
1999 April 27 - . 18:22 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC6. LV Family: Athena. Launch Vehicle: Athena-2. LV Configuration: Athena-2 LM-005. FAILURE: Payload shroud failed to separate four minutes after launch.. Failed Stage: S.
  • Ikonos 1 - . Nation: USA. Agency: Martin. Class: Surveillance. Type: Civilian surveillance satellite. Spacecraft: Ikonos. COSPAR: F990427A. Tracking stations downrange did not pick up the spacecraft. It was later determined that the rocket nose fairing failed to separate four minutes after launch. The extra mass caused the vehicle to reenter over the South Pacific on the first partial orbit. Space Imaging's Ikonos 1 was to have been the first commercial imaging satellite with a high a resolution camera.
1999 September 24 - . 18:21 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC6. LV Family: Athena. Launch Vehicle: Athena-2. LV Configuration: Athena-2 LM-007.
  • Ikonos - . Mass: 726 kg (1,600 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: SpaceIm. Manufacturer: Lockheed. Class: Surveillance. Type: Civilian surveillance satellite. Spacecraft: Ikonos. USAF Sat Cat: 25919 . COSPAR: 1999-051A. Apogee: 679 km (421 mi). Perigee: 678 km (421 mi). Inclination: 98.1000 deg. Period: 98.30 min. Summary: Commercial / civilian high resolution (1 metre resolution) photograhic satellite..
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