Atlas III

Atlas III

The maiden flight of the Atlas III
Function	Medium expendable launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	52.8 m (173 ft)
Diameter	3.05 m (10.0 ft)
Mass	214,338 kg (472,534 lb)
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload to 185 km 28.5° Low Earth orbit
Mass	IIIA: 8,686 kg (19,149 lb) IIIB: 10,759 kg (23,720 lb)[1]
Payload to Geostationary transfer orbit
Mass	IIIA: 4,060 kg (8,950 lb) IIIB: 4,500 kg (9,900 lb)[1]
Payload to 185 km 90° Polar orbit
Mass	IIIA: 7,162 kg (15,790 lb) IIIB: 9,212 kg (20,309 lb)[1]
Associated rockets
Family	Atlas
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	SLC-36B, Cape Canaveral SLC-3E, VSFB (never used)
Total launches	6 (IIIA: 2, IIIB: 4)
Success(es)	6 (IIIA: 2, IIIB: 4)[2]
First flight	IIIA: 24 May 2000 IIIB: 21 February 2002
Last flight	IIIA: 13 March 2004 IIIB: 3 February 2005
First stage
Powered by	1 RD-180
Maximum thrust	4,148.7 kN (932,700 lbf)
Specific impulse	311 s (3.05 km/s)
Burn time	132 seconds
Propellant	RP-1 / LOX
Second stage (Atlas IIIA/IIIB) – Centaur (SEC)
Powered by	1 RL-10A
Maximum thrust	99.2 kN (22,300 lbf)
Specific impulse	451 s (4.42 km/s)
Burn time	738 seconds
Propellant	LH2 / LOX
Second stage (Atlas IIIB) – Centaur (DEC)
Powered by	2 RL-10A
Maximum thrust	147 kN (33,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	449 s (4.40 km/s)
Burn time	392 seconds
Propellant	LH2 / LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

The Atlas III (known as the Atlas II-AR (R for Russian) early in development ^[3]) was an American orbital launch vehicle, used in the years between 2000 and 2005.^[4] It was developed from the highly successful Atlas II rocket and shared many components.^[1] It was the first member of the Atlas family since the Atlas A to feature a "normal" staging method, compared to the previous Atlas family members, which were equipped with two jettisonable outboard engines on the first (booster) stage (with a single center engine serving as the sustainer). The Atlas III was developed further to create the Atlas V.