Documents / Report

Department of the Air Force Report, 1996

U.S. Department of War · 1996-09-10 · 181 pages · text from the file's own layer

This final report, dated September 10, 1996, was prepared by the Research Triangle Institute for the Department of the Air Force's 45th and 30th Space Wing safety offices. Titled Modeling Unlikely Space-Booster Failures in Risk Calculations, it shows how rare Mode-5 failures, in which a rocket veers well off its intended flight line, are modeled in the DAMP risk-analysis program. An appendix lists Atlas, Delta, Titan and Thor launch and failure histories through August 1996.

From the source:Release of 2026-05-08 Incident: 9/10/96, N/A. This report describes the Modeling of Unlikely Space-Booster Failures in Risk Calculations, documenting historical launch failure modes and recommending corrective actions to address them using novel modelling techniques.

  • p. 88 …Vehicle loses control at or shortly after liftoff, with all flight directions equally likely. Destruct is…
  • p. 106 …121 (8) Missiles/Space Vehicle Files, 45th Space Wing, Wing Safety, Mission Flight Control and Analysis…
  • p. 111 …Such behavior did not necessarily prevent the attainment of some, or even all, mission objectives. 50…
  • p. 131 …Due to excess speed, spacecraft passed 22,000 miles in front of moon, and primary mission…
  • p. 132 …Although Atlas performance was satisfactory, the mission was apparently a failure. No other data available. 134…
  • p. 133 …A flight-control malfunction occurred at about 15 seconds at the start of the pitch program…
  • p. 137 …Vehicle became unstable when B2 pitch control was lost at 121 seconds. Loss of pitch control…
  • p. 138 …The missile then lost attitude control, executing a hard yaw rate tum throughout and beyond the…
  • p. 139 …of the rate gyro or an electrical failure in the pitch channel of the flight control…
  • p. 140 caused yaw and roll rates that the flight control system could not correct. As a result…
  • p. 151 …Attitude control lost during second stage coast period. Third stage spun up, but did not fire…
  • p. 153 …One solid-rocket motor carried to MECO, but mission was still a complete success. 102. SMS…
  • p. 169 …Missile tumbled out of control at 130 seconds, then broke up. 104. IHA (65-210), 1…
  • p. 170 …Nominal mission through transtage second burn shutdown. Attitude control system engine failed to shutdown following vernier…
  • p. 171 …However, satellite propulsion system malfunctioned putting satellite in uncontrollable position with no possibility of restoring mission…
  • p. 172 …control until propellant depletion. Trajectory inaccuracies were compensated for during Stage-2 burn, and the mission…
  • p. 180 …Missiles/Space Vehicle Files, 45th Space Wing, Wing Safety, Mission Flight Control and Analysis (SEO), 1957…
(4) "Spacelift Effective Capacity: Part 1 - Launch Vehicle Projected Success Rate
Analysis", Draft prepared by Booz•Allen & Hamilton, Inc. 19 February 1992,
prepared for Air Force Space Command Launch Services Office.141
(5) Isakowitz, Steven J., (updated by Jeff Samella), International Reference Guide to
Space Launch Systems, Second Edition, published and distributed by AIAA in
1995.[to]
(6) Smith, 0. G., "Launch Systems for Manned Spacecraft'', Draft, July 23, 1991Y11
(7) "Comparison of Orbit Parameters - Table 1", prepared bl McDonnell Douglas
Space Systems Company, Delta launches through 4 Nov 95. 121
(8) Missiles/Space Vehicle Files, 45th Space Wing, Wing Safety, Mission Flight
Control and Analysis (SEO), 1957 through 1995.1131
(9) Missile Launch Operations Logs, 30th Space Wing, copies provided via ACTA,
Inc., (Mr. James Baeker), 1963 through 1995.[141
(10) "Titan IV, America's Silent Hero", published by Lockheed Martin in Florida Today,
13 Nov 95.1151 . .
(11) "Atlas Program Flight History" (through April 1965), General Dynamics Report
EM-1860, 26 April 1965.1161
(12) Fenske, C. W., "Atlas Flight Program Summary", Lockheed Martin, April 1995.117]
(13) Brater, Bob, "Launch History", Lockheed Martin FAX to RTI, March 13, 1996.[181
(14) Several USAF Accident/Incident Reports for Atlas and Titan failuresY91
(15) Quintero, Andrew H., "Launch Failures from the Eastern Range Since 1975",
Aerospace memo, February 25, 1996, provided to RTI by Bill Zelinsky.1201
(16) Set of "Titan Flight Anomaly /Failure Summary" since 1959, received from
Lockheed Martin, April 4, 1996.i211
(17) Chang, I-Shih, "Space Launch Vehicle Failures (1984 - 1995)", Aerospace Report
No. TOR-96(8504)-2, January 1996.[221
There were numerous discrepancies in the source data, particularly with regard to
launch date and vehicle configuration. Some sources apparently list launch dates in
local time, others use Greenwich time, and in some cases the same source may use both
with no indication of which is which. Most of the launch dates shown in Appendix D
agree with those in the Eastern Range and Western Range summaries published by the
respective History offices. Since the dates on these summaries are not consistently local
or Greenwich, neither are the dates listed in Appendix D. Although launch dates are
9/10/96 97

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Report, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 181 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.