Atlas LV3C Centaur A/B/C

Mission Profile

Atlas LV3C Centaur A/B/C was one of the earliest operational configurations of the Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle, combining the Atlas core with the revolutionary Centaur high-energy upper stage — the world's first cryogenic liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen upper stage. Standing 36.6 meters tall with a liftoff mass of approximately 136,000 kg and generating 1,880 kN of thrust, it could deliver 3,620 kg to low Earth orbit. Making its first flight in May 1962, the Atlas-Centaur program proved out the cryogenic upper stage concept that would become foundational to American planetary exploration, enabling the Surveyor lunar landers and Mariner planetary probes. The Centaur's high specific impulse unlocked missions that would have been impossible with conventional propellants.