Conference 7.286::space

    	It's interesting to note that every heavy lift system available
    to commercial users, WORLDWIDE, is now grounded due to problems!
     - Chris

    I dont think the CCCP will consider their PHOTON grounded, if they
    do what they have done in pass it will be considered a failure of
    QC and turn around time to the next launch will be less then 30
    days.  The CCCP has had so many launch and probadly rightfully so
    will consider this a fluk.  However if they were trying a new
    4 th stage that may be a different story.  The GLONASS satellites
    never did have a good track record at 61 % initial reliability rate
    is not characteristic of any other Soviet Space Program
    
    don't count out China and Japan, their HLV are not yet advable
    but both have been doing a super job an rumors have it they
    have actual contrats for launchs.
                                             
    to back this ieda up three PHOTON have fail that I know of
    one  in late DEC or was it Early Jan
    and another was in APR and 
    now one in MAY    but they keep on trucking
    

    this weeks AW 18-May had a note the the PHOTON is no longer
    grounded and back into operation duty, less the 30 days.
    

    Minor nit... its Proton (named after the satellites flown on the
    first test launches) and its more in the Medium Launch Vehicle class,
    with similar performance to a Titan 34D.
    
    Not all US MLV's are grounded. Delta is not and I think the Titan
    is cleared to fly, although they are looking for a few good segments.
    Certainly the last Titan 34Bs have flown since the last Titan failure.
    I don't know the status of the Atlas Centaur (I have a month's worth
    of AW&ST to catch up on) but I'd bet that the last failure will
    be attributed to launch crew failure and the A/C will be able to
    fly soon (if there are any left). And the Atlas E/F SGS-II vehicle
    has not been grounded (again, if there are any left).
    
    The US launch vehicle situation is not quite as black as it has
    been painted (more of a dark grey...)
                 
    gary

    Correction to .4
    
    The Titan 34D is not yet cleared to fly. The segments were being
    assembled for a static firing of a full 5 1/2 segment solid before
    resuming flights of the larger Titans.
    
    The USAF 'has an inventory of 116 launch vehicles - Titan, Atlas,
    Thor and Scout' (AW&ST May 4, 87). About 50 of those will be Titan
    2's.
    
    gary

    I'm quite sure there has been an Atlas launch since the lightning-rod
    flight.  It was a semi-secret military launch.  I remember seeing
    it (in AWST?) and being surprised that more was not made of the
    resumption.
    
    Burns
    

    The Atlas was not grounded (in the flight sense, not electrical),
    only the Atlas Centaur which is very different system. Different
    guidance, propulsion, etc.
    
    gary

    re .7:  Yes, the launch I mentioned in .6 was an Atlas H (confirmed
    in AWST).  Just out of curiosity, how come an Atlas-Centaur is so
    different from an -H?  Obviously the A-C has a different payload
    adaptor and all that, but how come the Atlas part itself is so
    different that the A-C would be grounded and the A-H would not?
    
    Burns
    

    re .8
    
    Ah, rocket trivia....
    
    The A/C was designed as a complete vehicle based in part upon Atlas
    components and tooling. It has never used production (i.e. weapon)
    Atlas components, has different engines, larger propellant tanks
    and no guidance. The Centaur stage contains all of the control and
    guidance for both stages. If I have the Atlas family tree correct,
    this lead to the Atlas G, the Atlas built specifically for space
    work, aka SLV-3. A variant was built to take Agena and possibly
    other upper stages.
    
    The immediate cause of the A/C failure was the guidance computer
    sending a command to the booster and sustainer engines in the Atlas
    stage to gimbal hard over to the left (or right, it doesn't matter)
    sending the vehicle outside its normal envelope. Since it was a
    guidance failure and other Atlas vehicles do not use the same guidance
    system, it is reasonable to keep flying them.
    
    I don't know what makes an Atlas-H different from other Atlas's. It may
    be an Atlas-G type vehicle with an SGS-II upper stage assembly (i.e.
    built for space work, not a refurbished Atlas-E/F), but thats just a
    guess. Since the shuttle carrying satellites and their upper stages
    life has become more difficult for us launch vehicle spotters. In
    NASA's view, the shuttle launches the satellite but in my view it is
    shuttle/IUS or shuttle/PAM-D or whatever. This attitude has spread
    somewhat to other launch vehicles.
    
    gary 

    The Atlas-H is the same basic vehicle as the Atlas-G but with a tapered
    forward section and its own guidance. It can use one of a couple of
    different upper stages or fly single stage (stage-and-a-half to be more
    precise).
    
    gary