Atlas 5 Rocket

Orbital launch vehicle.

Country: USA. Status: In production.

The Atlas V launch vehicle system is based on the 3.8-m (12.5-ft) diameter Common Core Booster (CCB) powered by a single RD-180 engine. When combined with a standard Atlas payload fairing, the configuration is part of the Atlas V 400 series. The Atlas V 500 series combines the CCB with a larger and 5 m diameter payload fairing derived from that used on the Ariane 5 vehicle The Atlas V 500 series can also tailor performance by incorporating from zero to five solid rocket boosters (SRB).

Both Atlas V 400 and 500 configurations incorporate a stretched version of the Centaur upper stage (CIII), which can be configured as a single-engine Centaur (SEC) or a dual engine Centaur (DEC). The Atlas V family of launch vehicles can be launched from either Cape Canaveral Air Station Launch Complex 41 or Vandenberg Air Force Base Space Launch Complex 3W.

A three-digit naming convention was developed for the Atlas V launch vehicle system to identify it’s multiple configuration possibilities, and is indicated as follows: the first digit identifies the diameter class (in meters) of the payload fairing (4 or 5 m); the second digit indicates the number of solid rocket motors used (zero for Atlas V 400 and zero to five for Atlas V 500); the third digit represents the number of Centaur engines (one or two). Payload performance of the possible variants are as follows (note payloads over 9,050 kg would require structural modification to the basic vehicle):

Atlas V Payload in kg – Configuration x Orbit

Configuration	LEO 28 deg	LEO Polar	Geosynch Transfer	Geosynch
Atlas V 401	12,500	10,750	5,000	N/A
Atlas V 501	10,300	9,050	4,100	1,500
Atlas V 511	12,050	10,200	4,900	1,750
Atlas V 521	13,950	11,800	6,000	2,200
Atlas V 531	17,250	14,600	6,900	3,000
Atlas V 541	18,750	15,850	7,600	3,400
Atlas V 551	20,050	17,000	8,200	3,750

Manufacturer: Convair. Launches: 10. Success Rate: 100.00%. First Launch Date: 2002-08-21. Last Launch Date: 2007-06-15. Launch data is: continuing. LEO Payload: 12,500 kg (27,500 lb). to: 185 km Orbit. at: 28.50 degrees. Payload: 5,000 kg (11,000 lb). to a: Geosynchronous transfer trajectory. Associated Spacecraft: AS 2100, Eurostar 2000, Spacebus 3000. Liftoff Thrust: 8,590.000 kN (1,931,100 lbf). Total Mass: 546,700 kg (1,205,200 lb). Core Diameter: 3.81 m (12.49 ft). Total Length: 58.30 m (191.20 ft). Span: 5.40 m (17.70 ft). Launch Price $: 138.000 million. in: 2004 price dollars. The originally estimated launch price in 1998 for the Atlas V 401 model was $77 million, the 500 series $ 110 million, and the HLV model $ 170 million. Due to the collapse of the commercial launch market, this was revised by the USAF in November 2004 to $ 138, $192, and $ 254 million respectively.