"The Atlas 3 booster is now at the Cape ready to be erected on the newly modified pad 36B, and everyone is focused on making this Atlas 3 flight a complete Mission Success for the company and for our customers," said Dr. Raymond S. Colladay, Astronautics president.

The Atlas 3 stainless steel tanks were manufactured at Astronautics' San Diego Operations and were shipped to the company's Final Assembly Building near Denver, Colo., in March 1998, to complete the installation and final assembly of engines, harnessing, avionics and electronics and other features. When compared to the Atlas IIAS configuration, the Atlas 3 booster tank is 10 feet longer, allowing for greater fuel and oxidizer capacity.

To accommodate the new Atlas rockets, Lockheed Martin has completed a number of significant upgrades and modifications to Launch Complex 36B at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla. Among the numerous modifications: the Mobile Service Tower (MST) was heightened by 20 feet, new umbilical tower and launcher interfaces were installed as well as new flame bucket platforms and upgrades and reinforcements were made to accommodate the heavier loads and larger configurations.

Atlas 3 is more powerful and more efficient than its predecessor -- the number of engines that power the rocket has been reduced from nine to two, the number of parts has been reduced by more than 15,000 and the rocket is simpler and less costly to build and operate. It is powered by a new, Russian-designed and -built RD-180 rocket engine, produced exclusively for the company's Atlas 3 and Atlas V family of rockets. The RD-180 flight engine that was installed on AC-201 was delivered to Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver on Jan. 3, 1999.

The development of the RD-180 has taken a fraction of the time typically required to develop a new rocket engine. The RD-180 has undergone extensive testing at NPO Energomash facilities in Khimky, Russia, as well as test firings of fully integrated propulsion stages at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Lockheed Martin established an international teaming relationship with the RD AMROSS, LLC joint venture that was formed by Pratt & Whitney, an operating unit of United Technologies Corporation based in West Palm Beach, Fla., and NPO Energomash, Khimky, Russia, to co-produce the RD-180 engines for exclusive use by Lockheed Martin.

To date, 11 developmental engines and the first flight engine have been successfully test fired 81 times for a total of 12,860 seconds. During a typical Atlas 3A mission, the engine will operate for 186 seconds. With the increase in performance and reliability that is achieved with the RD-180, the Atlas 3 and Atlas V rockets will be among the most reliable in the world.

Lockheed Martin's Atlas 3 and Atlas V rockets will be used to deliver a wide range of satellites for commercial and government customers, from low earth orbit to geosynchronous transfer orbit, as well as interplanetary trajectories. At least nine Atlas 3 missions will be flown before the first flight of an Atlas V, scheduled to occur in 2001.

Atlas Vehicles

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