Date
.
Feb. 24, 1969
Atlas-Centaur successfully launched
Mariner 6 to Mars.
March 27, 1969
Atlas-Centaur successfully launched
Mariner 7 to Mars.
June 26, 1969
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
issued a request for proposals for an eight- month study of
six launch vehicle configurations that would utilize a
Centaur upper stage on a Saturn S-IVB stage. McDonnell
Douglas was awarded the contract.
Aug. 12, 1969
Atlas-Centaur successfully launched
ATS 5 to earth orbit.
Sept. 29, 1969
NASA executed a contract with General
Dynamics for the development of an improved Centaur (D-l)
stage.
Oct. 15, 1969
NASA's Lewis Research Center awarded
General Dynamics a contract for the manufacture of six Atlas
stages to be used with Centaur.
Nov. 10, 1969
Pratt & Whitney and NASA
officials signed a letter contract calling for 18 RL-10
engines for Centaur; a definitive contract was executed on
April 10, 1970. An additional 12 engines were requested in
May.
June 26, 1970
Lewis announced that Lockheed
Missiles & Space Co. had been awarded a contract to
develop an improved Centaur shroud.
Nov. 30, 1970
Atlas-Centaur failed to launch OAO B
into earth orbit because the nose fairing failed to separate
from the vehicle.
Jan. 25, 1971
Atlas-Centaur launched Intelsat IVF-2
to earth orbit for ComSat Corp.
May 8, 1971
Atlas-Centaur failed to launch
Mariner 8 to Mars because the Centaur's engines
malfunctioned.
May 30, 1971
Atlas-Centaur successfully launched
Mariner 9 to Mars.
Dec, 19, 1971
Atlas-Centaur launched Intelsat IVF-3
to earth orbit for ComSat Corp.
Jan. 22, 1972
Atlas-Centaur launched Intelsat IVF-4
to earth orbit for ComSat Corp.
March 2, 1972
Atlas-Centaur successfully launched
Pioneer 10. The probe was scheduled to journey through the
Asteroid Belt, past the planet Jupiter, and eventually out
of the solar system. A third-stage motor, the TE-M-364-4,
was added to the Atlas-Centaur configuration for the first
time.
June 13, 1972
Atlas-Centaur launched Intelsat IVF-5
to earth orbit for ComSat Corp.
Aug. 21, 1972
Atlas-Centaur successfully launched
OAO 3 to earth orbit.
April 5, 1973
Atlas-Centaur successfully launched
Pioneer 11 on its way to Jupiter. This was the first use of
the upgraded Atlas-Centaur configuration (Atlas
SLV-3D-Centaur D-IA).
July 17, 1973
Marshall awarded General Dynamics a
contract to study a reusable Centaur stage, which would also
have potential as an interim space tug.
Aug. 3, 1973
General Dynamics officials briefed
NASA Headquarters personnel on the results of their
Centaur-Shuttle integration study.
Aug. 23, 1973
Atlas-Centaur launched Intelsat IV
F-7 to earth orbit for ComSat Corp.
Sept. 24, 1973
It was announced that NASA awarded a
contract to General Dynamics for the production of nine
Centaur stages.
Nov. 3, 1973
Atlas-Centaur successfully launched
Mariner 10 on its way to Venus and Mercury.
Nov. 21, 1974
Atlas-Centaur launched Intelsat IV
F-8 to earth orbit for ComSat Corp.
Feb. 20, 1975
Atlas-Centaur failed to launch
Intelsat IV F-6 to earth orbit for ComSat Corp. because of
several vehicle malfunctions.
May 22, 1975
Atlas-Centaur launched Intelsat IV
F-l to earth orbit for ComSat Corp.
Spring 1975
NASA officials were conducting
in-house studies of the possibility of using Centaur as a
Shuttle interim upper stage (IUS). These studies and debate
among NASA, Congress, and the Air Force over which vehicle,
if any, would serve as the best IUS, would continue through
the early 1980s.
Sept. 26, 1975
Atlas-Centaur launched Intelsat IVA
F-l to earth orbit for ComSat Corp.
Jan. 29, 1976
Atlas-Centaur launched Intelsat IVA
F-2 to earth orbit for ComSat Corp.
May 13, 1976
Atlas-Centaur launched ComStar 1 to
earth orbit for ComSat Corp. and American Telephone and
Telegraph Co.
July 22, 1976
Atlas-Centaur launched ComStar 2 to
earth orbit for ComSat Corp. and American Telephone and
Telegraph Co.
Sept. 8, 1976
Lewis awarded General Dynamics a
contract to produce eight Atlas-Centaur vehicles.
May 26, 1977
Atlas-Centaur launched Intelsat IVA
F-4 to earth orbit for ComSat Corp.
Aug. 12, 1977
Atlas-Centaur successfully launched
HEAO I to earth orbit.
Sept. 29, 1977
Atlas-Centaur failed to launch
Intelsat IVA F-5 into orbit for ComSat Corp. because the
high-pressure gas generator system on the Atlas booster
failed.
Jan. 7, 1978
Atlas-Centaur launched Intelsat IVA
F-3 to earth orbit for ComSat Corp.
Feb. 9, 1978
NASA's Atlas-Centaur launched
Fltsatcom I to earth orbit for the Navy and the Department
of Defense.
March 31, 1978
Atlas-Centaur launched Intelsat IVA
F-6 to earth orbit for ComSat Corp.
May 20, 1978
Atlas-Centaur successfully launched
Pioneer Venus I onto its interplanetary trajectory.
June 29, 1978
Atlas-Centaur launched Comstar 3 to
earth orbit for ComSat Corp. and AT&T.
Aug. 8, 1978
Atlas-Centaur successfully launched
Pioneer Venus 2 to the planets.
Nov. 13, 1978
Atlas-Centaur successfully launched
HEAO 2 to earth orbit