1964-F10
The first Titan IIIA was launched on 1964 Sep 1 from Cape Kennedy. It carried a 1414 kg dummy payload. The Transtage burn cutoff prematurely and the vehicle did not reach orbit. The Transtage and nosecone reentered uprange from Ascension Island.
Planned Transtage burn was 406s, cutoff came after 391s. For a 406s burn we expect 9500 kg burned, giving final mass of 4450 kg if total mass at MES was 13950 kg; then dV = 3.485 km/s. If planned velocity was 7.808 km/s (160 x 160 km) then initial orbit is 4.323 km/s ( -5542 x 160 km). After 391s we have 9150 kg burnt giving 4800 kg left, with dV = 3.254 km/s + 4.323 km/s = 7.577 km/s or -560 x 160 km, not so far from orbit. Such a orbit predicts (ignoring drag) reentry at around 10N 35W which is well uprange from Ascension.
| Transtage 2 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 Sep 1 | 1500 | Launch by Titan IIIA | CK LC20 |
| 1502? | T+2:30? St 1 sep | ||
| 1505? | T+5:33? St 2 sep | ||
| 1505? | T+5:33? Transtage MES | ||
| 1512? | T+12:05? Transtage cutoff | ||
| 1517? | Impact Atlantic | ||
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