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Titan IIIC
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==History== The [[Titan rocket]] family was established in October 1955 when the Air Force awarded the [[Glenn L. Martin Company]] (later [[Martin Marietta]] and now [[Lockheed Martin]]) a contract to build an intercontinental ballistic missile (SM-68). It became known as the [[Titan I]], the nation's first two-stage [[ICBM]], and replaced the [[Atlas ICBM]] as the second underground, vertically stored, silo-based [[ICBM]]. Both stages of the [[Titan I]] used [[RP-1|kerosene]] (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX) as propellants. A subsequent version of the Titan family, the [[LGM-25C Titan II|Titan II]], was similar to the [[Titan I]], but was much more powerful. Designated as LGM-25C, the Titan II was the largest [[United States Air Force|USAF]] missile at the time and burned [[Aerozine 50]] and [[nitrogen tetroxide]] (NTO) rather than RP-1 and LOX. The Titan III family consisted of an enhanced Titan II core with or without solid rocket strap-on boosters and an assortment of upper stages. All Solid Rocket Motor SRM-equipped Titans (IIIC, IIID, [[Titan IIIE|IIIE]], [[Titan 34D|34D]], and [[Titan IV|IV]]) launched with only the SRMs firing at liftoff, the core stage not activating until T+105 seconds, shortly before SRM jettison. The [[Titan IIIA]] (an early test variant flown in 1964β65) and [[Titan IIIB|IIIB]] (flown from 1966 to 1987 with an [[RM-81 Agena|Agena D]] upper stage in both standard and extended tank variants) had no SRMs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/titan3b.htm |title=Titan 3B |access-date=2013-02-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025055447/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/titan3b.htm |archive-date=2012-10-25 }}</ref> The Titan III launchers provided assured capability and flexibility for launch of large-class payloads. All Titan II/III/IV vehicles contained a special range safety system known as the Inadvertent Separation Destruction System (ISDS) that would activate and destroy the first stage if there was a premature second stage separation. Titans that carried Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) (Titan IIIC, IIID, 34D, and IV) had a second ISDS that consisted of several lanyards attached to the SRBs that would trigger and automatically destroy them if they prematurely separated from the core, said "destruction" consisting mainly of splitting the casings open to release the pressure inside and terminate thrust. The ISDS would end up being used a few times over the Titan's career. Another slight modification to SRB-equipped Titans was the first stage engines being covered instead of the open truss structure on the [[Titan II GLV|Titan II]]/IIIA/IIIB. This was to protect the engines from the heat of the SRB exhaust. Titan III/IV SRBs were fixed nozzle and for roll control, a small tank of nitrogen tetroxide was mounted to each motor. The {{chem|N|2|O|4}} would be injected into the SRB exhaust to deflect it in the desired direction. As the IIIC consisted of mostly proven hardware, launch problems were generally only caused by the upper stages and/or payload. === Launch history === {{Main|List of Titan launches}} [[File:Titan 3C with Transtage 4 (Jun. 18 1965) - ascending.png|thumb|First Titan IIIC rocket with technological stage Transtage 4, June 18 1965.]] The first Titan IIIC (3C-7) flew on June 18, 1965,<ref name=":1" /> and was the most powerful launcher used by the Air Force until it was replaced by the [[Titan 34D]] in 1982. The second launch (3C-4) in October 1965 failed,<ref name=":1" /> when the Transtage suffered an oxidizer leak and was unable to put its payload (several small satellites) into the correct orbit. The third launch (3C-8) in December experienced a similar failure. [[File:Titan IIIC-11 launch.jpg|thumb|Titan IIIC-11 launch 16 June 1966 carrying first seven Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program satellites and GGTS]] The [https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-108Bthe fourth IIIC launch] (3C-11 on June 16, 1966)<ref name=":1" /> was used to send the LES 4 (Lincoln Experimental Satellite 4) into orbit. It was a US Air Force experimental communications satellite launched along with OV2-3, LES 3, and Oscar 4 from Cape Canaveral aboard a single Titan 3C rocket. It transmitted in X-band. The fifth Titan IIIC (3C-12 on August 26, 1966)<ref name=":1" /> failed shortly after launch when pieces of the payload fairing started breaking off. Around 80 seconds, the remainder of the shroud disintegrated, causing loss of launch vehicle control as well as the payload (a group of IDCSP satellites intended to provide radio communication for the US Army in Vietnam). The ISDS activated automatically when one of the SRBs broke away from the stack and destroyed the entire launch vehicle. The exact reason for the shroud failure was not determined, but the fiberglass payload shrouds used on the Titan III up to this point were replaced with a metal shroud afterwards. A Titan IIIC in November 1970 (3C-19) failed to place its missile [[early warning satellite]] (DSP 1) in the correct orbit due to a Transtage failure and a 1975 launch (3C-25) of two DSCS II (DSCS-2 5 and DSCS-2 6) military communication satellites left in LEO by another Transtage failure.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Titan-3(23)C |url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau_det/titan-323c.htm |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=Gunter's Space Page |language=en}}</ref> On March 25, 1978, a launch of two DSCS II satellites (3C-35 with DSCS-2 9 and DSCS-2 10) ended up in the Atlantic Ocean when the Titan second stage hydraulic pump failed, resulting in engine shutdown approximately 470 seconds after launch.<ref name=":2" /> The Range Safety destruct command was sent, but it was unclear if the stage received it or if it had already broken up by that point. The last IIIC (3C-38 with DSP 10) was launched in March 1982.<ref name=":2" />
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