Titan 4

by Jean-Jacques Serra
listing by Gunter Krebs
After being called CELV (Complementary Expendable Launch Vehicle) for a while and then Titan 34D7, the Titan 4 is the most recent and most powerful one. The solid booster were again elongated (7 segments i.e. 34.4 m) and provide now 7120 kN each during 126 seconds. The first stage was enhanced by 2.3 m (26.4 m) and burns during 186 seconds. The second stage was enhanced by 0.5 m (9.9 m) and burns during 240 s.

Titan 4 exists in 5 versions. Titan 401 feature a Centaur G' top stage and can deliver 4.5 tons in GEO. Titan 402 equiped with a solid IUS orbits 2.4 tons on the Clarke Belt. Titan 403, 404 and 405 have no top stage. The 2 first ones deliver 14 and 13.4 tons respectivly in low polar orbit while the latter (405) delivers 17.6 tons in low orbit from Cape Canaveral.

An enhanced version named Titan 4B should be introduced late 1996. The major modification is the replacement of the 7-segment boosters (UTC/CSD) by 3-segment ones (HTPB) built by Hercules. Those new boosters will measure 34.2 m high for 3.2 m diameter and will provide 7560 kN during 145 seconds. The payload in orbit will then reach 21.9 tons in LEO, and versions 401 & 402 will offer 5.8 and 2.9 tons in GEO.

---

Titan 4 types

Titan 401: always with Centaur-G' (GEO)
Titan-402: always with IUS (polar orbit)
Titan-403: no upper stage, Vandenberg (LEO)
Titan-404: no upper stage, Vandenberg (LEO)
Titan-405: no upper stage, Cape Canaveral (LEO)

The difference between 403 and 404 is the type of payload adapter. One has a system for acomodating Shuttle type payloads, but information is conflicting, which one.

---

Titan 4 launches

#	Launch id	Payload	Launch Date	Site	Type	Status/Comment (orbit in perigee x apogee x inclination x period)
1, K1	89046	DSP 3-1	14 Jun 1989	C LC41	402 IUS
2, K4	90050	NOSS 12	08 Jun 1990	C LC41	405
3, K6	90095	DSP 3-2	13 Nov 1990	C LC41	402 IUS
4, K5	91017	Lacrosse 2	08 Mar 1991	V 4E	404
5, K8	91076	NOSS 13	08 Nov 1991	V 4E	403
6, K3	92083	KH 12-2	28 Nov 1992	V 4E	404 TPA
7, K11	n/a	NOSS 14	2 Aug 1993 at 19:59 UT	V 4E	403	Failure: exploded after 1 min 41 s
8, K10	94009	Milstar 1-1	7 Feb 1994 at 21:47 UT	C LC40	401 Centaur-G' (TC12)
9, K7	94026	USA 103	3 May 1994 at 15:55 UT	C LC41	401 Centaur-G' (TC10)
10, K9	94054	USA 105	27 Aug 1994 at 08:58 UT	C LC41	401 Centaur-G' (TC11)
11, K14	94084	DSP 3-4	22 Dec 1994 at 22:19 UT	C LC40	402 (K14) IUS
12, K23	95022	USA 110	14 May 1995 at 13:45 UT	C LC40	401 (K23) Centaur-G' (TC17)
13, K19	95034	USA 112	10 Jul 1995 at 12:38 UT	C LC41	401 (K19) Centaur-G' (TC8)	26 m payload shroud
14, K21	95060	Milstar 1-2	06 Nov 1995 at 05:15 UT	C LC40	401 (K21) Centaur-G' (TC13)
15, K15	95066	KH 12-3	05 Dec 1995 at 21:18 UT	V 4E	404 (K15)
16, K16	96026	USA 118	24 Apr 1996 at 23:37 UT	C LC41	401 Centaur (TC15)	23 m payload shroud
17, K22	96029	NOSS 15	12 May 1996 at 21:32 UT	V 4E	403
18, K2	96038	USA 125	03 Jul 1996 at 00:31 UT	C	405
19, K13	96072	KH 12-4	20 Dec 1996 at 06:44 UT	V 4E	403
20, B24	97008	DSP 3-5	23 Feb 1997 at 20:20 UT	C LC40	402B (IUS-4)
21, B33	97061	Cassini & Huygens	15 Oct 1997 at 08:43 UT	C LC40	401B Centaur-G' (TC-21)	payload: 5650 kg
22, A18	97064	Lacrosse 3	24 Oct 1997 at 02:32 UT	V 4E	403A
23, A17	97068	USA 136	8 Nov 1997 at 02:05 UT	C LC41	401A Centaur-G' (TC-16)
24, B25	98029	USA 139	9 May 1998 at 01:38 UT	C LC40	401B Centaur-G' (TC-18)
25, A20	n/a	USA (adv Vortex / Mercury)	12 Aug 1998 at 11:30 UT	C LC41	401A Centaur-G' (TC-9)	Failure: exploded after 42 s, wiring failure (short) in a harness
26, B27	99017	DSP 3-6	9 Apr 1999 at 17:01 UT	C LC41	402B (IUS-21)	Partial failure: the second stage of the upper stage vehicle IUS (Boeing) failed to separate. Problem with an electrical plug.
27, B32	99023	Milstar 2-1	30 Apr 1999 at 16:30 UT	C	401B Centaur-G' (TC-14)	Partial failure: the top stage malfunctionned: the 3 burns were done on the first orbit instead of over 6 hours. Software error.
28, B12	99028	USA 144	22 May 1999 at 09:36 UT	V 4E	4B	no upper stage
29, B29	00024	DSP 3-7	8 May 2000 at 16:01 UT	C	4B (IUS-22)
30, B28	00047	Lacrosse 4	17 Aug 2000 at 23:45 UT	V 4E	4B
31, B41	01009	Milstar 2-2	27 Feb 2001 at 21:20 UT	C LC40	401B Centaur-G' (TC-22)
32, B31	01033	DSP 3-8	6 Aug 2001 at 07:28 UT	C LC40	4B (IUS-16)
33, B34	01044	KH 12-5	5 Oct 2001 at 21:21 UT	V 4E		20 m long fairing, no upper stage
34, B38	02001	Milstar 2-3	16 Jan 2002 at 00:30 UT	C LC40	401B Centaur-G' (TC-19)
35, B35	03012	Milstar 2-4	8 Apr 2003 at 13:43 UT	C LC40	401B Centaur-G' (TC-23)
36, B36	03041	USA 171	9 Sep 2003 at 04:29 UT	C LC40	401B Centaur-G' (TC-20)	Launch cost: $450 million
37, B39	04004	DSP 3-9	14 Feb 2004 at 18:50 UT	C LC40	402B (IUS-24)	Launch cost: $396 million + $111 million for the IUS
38, B30	05016A	Lacrosse 5	30 Apr 2005 at 00:50 UT	C LC40
39, B26	05042A	USA 186	19 Oct 2005 at 18:05 UT	V 4E		Last Titan 4

40 more titan 4 have been ordered in Oct 1998

---