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Hercules Series Launch Vehicle

Disposable launch vehicle developed by the United States

Hercules rocket is U.S.A Developed disposable carrier rocket , a total of 368 launches (from 1959 to 2005), including Gemini Manned Project 。 Hercules rockets continued to be used in the United States until the late 1980s Intercontinental ballistic missile Some components, and carry US military and civilian intelligence collection satellites. Hercules is also used to send Mars 、 Jupiter 、 Saturn 、 Uranus and Neptune The Interstellar Science Explorer.

Chinese name: Hercules Series Launch Vehicle
Foreign name: Titan space rocket
Production company: Lockheed Martin
First flight: December 20, 1958

Retirement: 2005
Production quantity: 368
Unit cost: US $250-350 million
Country: United States of America

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brief introduction

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The Hercules series rockets are developed and produced by Martin Mariette Company, and there are 6 types in total. The Hercules 3 rocket is 45.75 meters long, 3 meters in diameter, and has a launch weight of 680 tons. The payloads of various Hercules rockets are 3.6 tons for 3A, 4.5 tons for 3B, and 15 tons for 3C, 3D, 3D and 3E. The largest Hercules 34D is 62 meters long and 5 meters in diameter, with a delivery capacity of 4.5 tons for launching geosynchronous transfer orbit satellites. The Hercules rockets have been launched more than 150 times so far. It mainly launches various military satellite , also launched the Helios, Viking ， Voyager etc. planetary and interplanetary probe 。

At present, Cosmos, Delta and Hercules carrier rocket It has entered the international launch market.

Hercules I rocket

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Hercules I rocket

The Hercules I rocket is the original model of the Hercules series, originally Atlas rocket If the project is not completed as scheduled Intercontinental ballistic missile The standby plan is a two-part rocket to kerosene and Liquid oxygen As fuel. The use period is from early 1962 to 1965.

Hercules II rocket

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Launch time of Hercules II rocket

Most Hercules rockets have modified the Liberty Hercules II intercontinental ballistic missile and NASA Developed for civilian use. Hercules II uses autoignition Nitrogen tetroxide and Aviation hydrazine 50 （50/50 Hydrazine and Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine Mixed) as oxidant and fuel.

The first guidance system of Hercules II was made by AC Spark Plug, using an inertial measurement unit (IMU) originally designed by Draper Laboratory of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and made by AC Spark Plug Gyro sensor ）。 The missile guidance computer (MGC) is IBM ASC-15. When parts of this system are difficult to obtain, it is replaced by the updated Delco Universal Space Guidance System (USGS). USGS uses Carousel IV inertial measurement device and Magic 352 computer.

The most important civil use of Hercules II is the Gemini manned space program in the mid-1960s, during which 12 were launched, two of which are Gemini unmanned space capsules, and ten of which are space capsules for carrying two astronauts. All launches were successful.

In addition, the Hercules II, which was cut down in the late 1980s, was converted into a space launch vehicle carrying US government payloads. The last launch was on October 18, 2003 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California National Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, DMSP) meteorological satellite.

Hercules III rocket

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Hercules III Rocket Commercially Carries Mars Observer

Hercules III rocket It is improved based on the Hercules II rocket, and can also be carried Solid rocket booster , developed by the US Air Force, is a heavy payload satellite launcher, which is used to payload US military and civilian intelligence collection satellites, such as the Vela Hotel nuclear explosion test monitoring satellite, observation and Reconnaissance satellite (used for intelligence collection), and other series of national defense communication satellites.

Hercules AAA

Hercules AAA as the prototype Rocket launcher , including Hercules II rocket and orbit change stage（ Transtage ）。

Hercules III B

Hercules 3B rocket

The Hercules 3B carrier rocket and other different series (23B, 24B, 33B and 34B) are composed of Hercules III as the core and Agenda D as the superior. This combination is used to launch KH-8 GAMBIT series intelligence collection satellites. By California Vandenberg Air Force Base Launch, entering via the South Pacific Polar orbit 。

Hercules III C

The Hercules 3C uses the Hercules three core rocket and two large bundled solid rocket boosters to increase the launch thrust and significantly increase the payload. The booster rocket of Hercules 3C has strong thrust and advanced vector control system, which is a breakthrough compared with the previous solid booster rocket. The navigation system uses Delco Carousel VI inertial measurement device and Magic 352 guidance computer.

Hercules 3D

Hercules III D is a derivative of Hercules III C, which is not equipped with orbit change stage and mainly carries KH series intelligence reconnaissance satellites in low earth orbit.

Hercules III E

Hercules 3E

Hercules III E Centaur rocket by Upper level , launch several kinds of scientific spacecraft, such as Navigator 1、 Satellites 2 to Jupiter, Saturn, and beyond them, and Viking The mission launched two satellites to orbit Mars and two exploration ships to land on Mars.

The first guidance system of the Hercules III rocket uses the inertial measurement device made by AC Spark Plug Company on the Hercules II and the ASC-15 guidance computer of IBM. The magnetic drum memory of ASC-15 used in the Hercules III rocket was lengthened, adding 20 available tracks, which increased the memory capacity by 35%.

Hercules IV rocket

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Hercules IV B rocket launch

The Hercules IV carrier rocket is the "magnified version" of the Hercules III rocket, which must be equipped with a solid rocket booster. The upper level can be selected Centaur Rocket, NASA inertial upper stage（ en:Inertial Upper Stage , IUS), or without upper stage. Mainly launch US military or civilian intelligence collection satellites, National Reconnaissance Agency Is the main owner. But there are also loads of pure scientific purposes, such as NASA and European Space Agency Of Cassini Huygens Ship to Saturn 。

along with Nongshen V After years of retirement, the Hercules IV was the largest unmanned carrier rocket in the United States when it was completed (1989). However, its launch cost was obviously too high. When the Hercules IV launch vehicle began to operate, due to the extended life of the reconnaissance satellite, and Soviet Union The collapse of the US led to the reduction of the US external threat, which led to the US Department of Defense and National Reconnaissance Agency Reduce the need to launch satellites.

Due to these events and technical improvements, all operating costs include ground operation and rocket launch. The launch cost per unit of the Hercules IV carrier rocket is very high.

The Hercules IV carrier rocket can Vandenberg Air Force Base Launch into polar orbit, or from Florida Kennedy Space Center Emit to nonpolar orbit.

Rocket fuel

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It is dangerous to use liquid oxygen as fuel in a closed silo, and it cannot be stored in the fuel tank for a long time. part Atlas rocket And the Hercules I rocket, which exploded in the silo and damaged the silo, Glenn L. Martin Company The design of the Hercules II carrier rocket was changed to replace the low-temperature oxidant RP-1/LOX (kerosene/liquid oxygen) with room temperature fuel. first stage rocket engine Some modifications were also made, and the diameter of the second stage was increased to match the first stage. The self igniting fuel and oxidant of Hercules II ignite when contacted, but it is highly toxic and corrosive. The fuel of Hercules II is Aviation hydrazine 50 （50/50 Hydrazine and Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine Mixing) and as oxidant Nitrogen tetroxide 。

Hercules II had several accidents in the silo and caused casualties. In August 1965, 53 construction workers were killed in the Hercules II silo in the northwest of Searcy, Arkansas, because of a fire caused by spontaneous combustion fuel. This liquid fuel is liable to leak toxic liquid propulsion fuel. On August 24, 1978, in the suburb of Rock, Kansas, a missile leaked fuel in the silo, killing a pilot. Later, in Potwin, Kansas, a fuel leak occurred and it was shut down immediately. No one died. In September 1980, a technician at the Hercules II silo (374-7) near Damascus, Arkansas, damaged the missile skin due to the falling of the wrench. The leaking fuel ignited and ejected the 8000 pound nuclear warhead out of the silo. The warhead flew hundreds of feet and landed, but the warhead did not cause damage. That means Hercules II can't do anything Intercontinental ballistic missile 。 From the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, 54 Hercules II ICBMs and 1000 LGM-30 CIBMs were deployed（ LGM-30 Minuteman )。 In the late 1980s, 54 Hercules II from Solid rocket motor type LGM-118A Peace Guardian Missile Replaced by. Most retired Hercules II intercontinental ballistic missiles have been renovated and used in air force space launch vehicles, with an excellent success record.

present situation

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In 2006, the Hercules rocket did not meet the contemporary demand. The cost of hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide was high, and attention should be paid to their toxicity. Compared with these fuels, liquid hydrogen or RP-1 fuel (kerosene) and liquid oxygen oxidant Specific impulse Better. Lockheed Martin The company decides to develop Optimus launch vehicle To replace the expensive Hercules rockets. And participate Russia Proton carrier rocket and Boeing Developed by the company Delta IV carrier rocket 。 The last but one launch of the Hercules rocket was on April 9, 2005, from Cape Canaveral Successful launch, last launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base Successful launch, the reward is National Reconnaissance Agency Confidential. About 12 Hercules II were placed on Tucson (Arizona) The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group nearby is used as scrap or souvenir.

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