Titan/Centaur: NASA's newest launch vehicle

Titan/Centaur is NASA's last new expendable launch vehicle prior to the advent of the space shuttle. Titan/Centaur is an adaptation of the Air Force Titan 3 booster with an improved version of the Centaur stage and a new 4.2 meters payload fairing. Titan/Centaur is initially being used for high performance escape missions (Helios Solar Probe - 340 kilograms' Viking Mars Orbiter and Lander - 3,629 kilograms, and Mariner Jupiter/Saturn Fly-Bys at 771 kilograms, but is also particularly suited for larger spacecraft in synchronous orbits (transfer - 7,031 kilograms and equatorial, with three Centaur burns - 3,175 kilograms). The program which began in 1965 with internal NASA feasibility studies will culminate in a proof flight launch in early 1974. With the new payload fairing, which also encloses Centaur, payloads of nearly 8.5 meters long and 3.8 meters in diameter can be accommodated.