Atlas V Phase 3A Alternate Fairing

EELV Phase 3A

Mission Profile

Atlas V Phase 3A Alternate Fairing was a proposed variant of the Atlas V EELV Phase 3A concept featuring a different payload fairing configuration, studied around the year 2000 as part of the Atlas V's planned growth roadmap. Measuring approximately 58.3 meters tall with a 3.8-meter core diameter, this two-stage concept differed from the standard Phase 3A primarily in fairing geometry to accommodate a different class of large payloads. Like the baseline Phase 3A, the Alternate Fairing variant was never developed as a distinct operational vehicle, as the standard Atlas V's flexible modular design proved capable of meeting the payload requirements that these early study configurations had been intended to address.