The Centaur is a family of rocket propelled upper stages produced by U.S. launch service provider United Launch Alliance, with one main active version and one version under development. The diameter Common Centaur/Centaur III flies as the upper stage of the Atlas V launch vehicle, and the diameter Centaur V is being developed as the upper stage of ULA's new Vulcan rocket. Centaur was the first rocket stage to use liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants, a high-energy combination that is ideal for upper stages but has significant handling difficulties.
Characteristics
Common Centaur is built around stainless steel pressure stabilized balloon propellant tanks with thick walls. It can lift payloads of up to . The thin walls minimize the mass of the tanks, maximizing the stage's overall performance.
A common bulkhead separates the LOX and LH2 tanks, further reducing the tank mass. It is made of two stainless steel skins separated by a fiberglass honeycomb. The fiberglass honeycomb minimizes heat transfer between the extremely cold LH2 and relatively warm LOX.
The main propulsion system consists of one or two Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engines. The stage is capable of up to twelve restarts, limited by propellant, orbital lifetime, and mission requirements. Combined with the insulation of the propellant tanks, this allows Centaur to perform the multi-hour coasts and multiple engine burns required on complex orbital insertions.
The reaction control system (RCS) also provides ullage and consists of twenty hydrazine monopropellant engines located around the stage in two 2-thruster pods and four 4-thruster pods. For propellant, of Hydrazine is stored in a pair of bladder tanks and fed to the RCS engines with pressurized helium gas, which is also used to accomplish some main engine functions.
Current versions
As of 2019, all but two of the many Centaur variants had been retired: Common Centaur/Centaur III (active) and Centaur V (in development).
Current engines
Centaur III/Common Centaur
Common Centaur is the upper stage of the Atlas V rocket. Earlier Common Centaurs were propelled by the RL10-A-4-2 version of the RL-10. Since 2014, Common Centaur has flown with the RL10-C-1 engine, which is shared with the Delta Cryogenic Second Stage, to reduce costs. The Dual Engine Centaur (DEC) configuration will continue to use the smaller RL10-A-4-2 to accommodate two engines in the available space.
The Atlas V can fly in multiple configurations, but only one affects the way Centaur integrates with the booster and fairing: the diameter Atlas V payload fairing attaches to the booster and encapsulates the upper stage and payload, routing fairing-induced aerodynamic loads into the booster. If the diameter payload fairing is used, the attachment point is at the top (forward end) of Centaur, routing loads through the Centaur tank structure.
The latest Common Centaurs can accommodate secondary payloads using an Aft Bulkhead Carrier attached to the engine end of the stage.
Single Engine Centaur (SEC) Most payloads launch on Single Engine Centaur (SEC) with one RL10. This is the variant for all normal flights of the Atlas V (indicated by the last digit of the naming system, for example Atlas V 421).
Dual Engine Centaur (DEC) A dual engine variant with two RL-10 engines is available, but only for launching the CST-100 Starliner crewed spacecraft. The higher thrust of two engines allows a gentler ascent with more horizontal velocity and less vertical velocity, which reduces deceleration to survivable levels in the event of a launch abort and ballistic reentry occurring at any point in the flight.
Centaur V
Centaur V will be the upper stage of the new Vulcan launch vehicle currently being developed by the United Launch Alliance to meet the needs of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. Vulcan was initially intended to enter service with an upgraded variant of the Common Centaur, with an upgrade to the Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES) planned after the first few years of flights.