Documents / Report
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.
“Lockheed”3 pages
94. 26E, 8 Sep 61, Response Mode 4, Flight Phase 2: Sustainer engine shut down prematurely during the booster jettison sequence. Most probable cause was drop in fuel flow to the gas generator. The vernier engines continued to burn for about 28 seconds after the sustainer shut down. Vernier thrust decayed at 137 seconds, guidance platform tumbled at 163 seconds. The missile remained intact until at least 470 seconds, when data were lost. Impact was about 525 miles downrange. 95. 106D (LV-3A)/ Agena B (First Motion), 9 Sep 61, Response Mode 1, Flight Phase 1: Failure of an umbilical to eject allowed a commit/stop-power signal to reach the missile. Lack of electrical power 0.265 seconds after liftoff caused the vehicle to fall back on the launch pad after a rise of about 18 inches.. . 99. 105D (LV-3A)/ Agena B (Big Town), Midas IV, 21 Oct 61, Response Mode NA, Flight Phase 2: Flight was regarded as a success, since the Agena compensated for Atlas anomalies. Atlas roll control was lost at 186 seconds, resulting in a roll rate of over 40° per second at Agena separation. Control in pitch and yaw was maintained. A LOX leak affected sustiliner performance just before SECO and throughout the vernier phase. 100. 32E, 10 Nov 61, Response Mode 4T, Flight Phase 1: Sustainer engine shut down 0.7 seconds after liftoff. Although a fire appeared in the thrust section at 19 seconds, booster engines maintained stability until 24.5 seconds, when the B2 engine-performance began to decay. All control was lost after this point, and the missile was destroyed by the RSO at 35 seconds. Impact was about 2500 feet downrange and 320 feet crossrange. 101. 1170 (Ranger-2),18 Nov 61, Response Mode NA, Flight Phase 4: The Atlas booster functioned normally. A parking orbit was attained during the Agena first burn although roll control was not maintained due to failure of the roll gyro. When control gas was depleted, missile lost stability and began to tumble. Second Agena bum lasted only one second. 103. 108D (LV-3A)/Agena B (Round Trip), 22 Nov 61, Response Mode 4T, Flight Phase 2: Flight was not successful since vehicle failed to achieve orbit. Loss of pitch control at 244 seconds was attributed to aerodynamic heating. At Agena separation the Atlas had pitched up 145°. 108. SF,12 Dec 61, Response Mode 5, Flight Phase 2: A failure in the inertial guidance system of 1.06 seconds duration caused the existing inertial X velocity to be inserted in the Z-velocity channel. As a result, the missile impacted 575 miles short and 30 miles left of target. 110. 6F, 20 Dec 61, Response Mode 4T, Flight Phase 2: Flight appeared normal until staging. During booster jettison, sustainer and vernier hydraulic pressure began to decay, leading to compete loss of sustainer yaw and pitch control at 229 and 232 seconds, respectively. Missile began tumbling at about 226 seconds. 9/10/96 121 RTI
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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.