This photo was taken from the Press Site about 5.25 miles from the
Pad.
This photo was taken from the Press Site about 5.25 miles from the Pad
and shows the shadow of the SRB plume casted on the overcast sky.
This photo shows the burnt Pad & UT Tower about 2 hours after launch.
To read more about this launch and the mission click here!
Read
about and see photos of Titan processing and inside SLC-4E!
Titan IV, produced and launched for the U.S. Air Force by Lockheed Martin, is the nation's largest,
most powerful expendable space launch vehicle. It provides primary access to space for critical
national security and civil payloads and is launched from the East and West Coasts.
Titan launch systems have a better than (95 percent operational success rate). "The Last Titan IV
blewup after launch in 1998 from Cape Canaveral."
A Titan IV is capable of placing 47,800 pounds into low-Earth orbit or more than 12,700 pounds into
geosynchronous orbit - 22,300 miles above the Earth. Titan IV consists of two solid-propellant stage "O"
motors, a liquid propellant two-stage core and a 16.7-foot-diameter payload fairing. Upgraded
three-segment solid rocket motors increase the vehicle¹s payload capability by approximately 25
percent.
The Titan IV configurations include a cryogenic Centaur upper stage, a solid-propellant Inertial Upper
Stage (IUS), or no upper stage. Titan IV rockets are launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California,
or Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida.
Titan IV launches from Launch Complex 40 and 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, and from Space Launch Complex-4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Titan IV core vehicle stages are built at Lockheed Martin's Titan manufacturing facility.
The Air Force is launching an advanced version called the Titan IV B. The first Titan IV B was successfully flown from Cape Canaveral Air Station on February 23, 1997. The new configure improves reliability and operability and increases lift capability by 25%. Advancements also include improved electronics and guidance. The Titan IV B has new standardized vehicle interfaces that increase the efficiency of vehicle processing. Additionally, the new programmable aerospace ground equipment (PAGE) is used to monitor and control vehicle countdown and launch.
Lockheed Martin provides overall program management, system integration, and payload integration for the program and builds the first and second stages and Centaur upper stage of the vehicle. Other members ofthe Titan IV team and their responsibilities are shown on the following diagram.