TITAN and Shuttle Military Space Operations

	Figure 50: TITAN IIIC launch 5 May 1971
	Figure 51: Vertical Integration Building
	Figure 52: TITAN IIIC Complex 1965
	Figure 53: TITAN IIIC launch 13 December 1973

Under Lt. Colonel Edwin W. Brenner, the TITAN III Systems Division supervised the preparation and lift-off of Launch Vehicle C-26 on a classified mission on 13 December 1973. The mission had been "scrubbed" (i.e., cancelled during countdown) on December 11th due to an airborne instrumentation support problem, but the countdown on December 13th went smoothly. The vehicle was launched from Complex 40 without incident, and all booster and instrumentation systems performed well. The vehicle carried its payload into orbit successfully and injected two Phase II DSCP satellites into the proper orbits. The highly successful mission also marked the first use of the Universal Space Guidance System (USGS).³⁸

	Figure 54: TITAN III TRANSTAGE
	Figure 55: Artist Conception of Transtage ignition following Stage II separation
	Figure 56: Cape Industrial Area

Launch Vehicle C-27 was processed by an Air Force/contractor team, but it was used for NASA's Applications Technology Satellite mission (ATS-F) that lifted off Complex 40 on 30 May 1974. The Air Force's support for that flight met all the primary and secondary mission objectives, and the vehicle achieved a satisfactory 19,334 x 19,302-nautical-mile final orbit. The next two TITAN IIIC vehicles (e.g., C-25 and C-28) had arrived at the Cape by that time, and both vehicles were being prepared for military missions. Launch Vehicle C-25 was scheduled to boost two Defense Satellite Communications System (formerly known as DSCP) spacecraft into orbit on 13 May 1975, but the countdown was delayed almost a week due to lightning strikes in the vicinity of the launch pad on May 9th. (Further prelaunch testing after the lightning strikes verified the integrity of the booster and its payload.) Another postponement moved the countdown to May 20th, but Launch Vehicle C-25 lifted off Complex 40 at 13:03 Greenwich Mean Time on that date. Though the initial stages of the flight went well, a guidance system power supply failure made it impossible to fire the transtage after the vehicle and payload entered parking orbit. Consequently, the DSCS satellites were marooned until their highly elliptical orbits decayed, and they reentered Earth's atmosphere a few weeks later.³⁹

Figure 57: Map Cape Industrial Area

While Core Vehicle C-28 remained in storage at the VIB, a more recent arrival (Core Vehicle C-29) was prepared for a classified military mission. Core Vehicle C-29 was moved from the VIB to the SMAB on 20 October 1975. Following the mate with its solid rocket motors, the vehicle was moved out to Complex 40 on October 27th. Unlike the previous TITAN IIIC mission on May 20th, C-29's flight on 14 December 1975 was flawless, and the mission was a success. The next TITAN IIIC (C-30) had been accepted on 23 October 1975, and it was moved to the SMAB for solid rocket mating on December 5th. Following the C-29 mission on the 14th, C-30 was moved out to Complex 40 on 22 December 1975.⁴⁰

	Figure 58: Colonel John C. Bricker
	Figure 59: Lt. Colonel Walter S. Yager

As operations continued to move ahead, there were significant changes in the Test Group's command positions and organization. On 24 June 1975, Colonel John C. Bricker assumed command of the 6555th Aerospace Test Group. This action followed Colonel Robert D. Woodward's retirement on June 1st. Lt. Colonel Edwin W. Brenner continued as Chief of the TITAN III Systems Division for most of 1975, but the Division was merged with the ATLAS/AGENA Launch Operations Branch and the ATLAS Mission Management Branch to form the Space Launch Vehicle Systems Division on 1 November 1975. Lt. Colonel Warren G. Green had been Chief of the ATLAS Systems Division before the reorganization. Green now became the Chief of the Space Launch Vehicle Systems Division. Lt. Colonel Walter S. Yager succeeded Lt. Colonel Green as Division Chief in the early part of 1977, and Lt. Colonel George L. Rosenhauer replaced Colonel John C. Bricker as Commander of the 6555th Aerospace Test Group on 8 June 1977.⁴¹

Figure 60: Brigadier General Don M. Hartung officiates at 6555th ASTG Change of Command Ceremony on 8 June 1977. Lt. Colonel Rosenhauer (near right) and Colonel Bricker (far right) standby.

Under Lt. Colonel Green, the Space Launch Vehicle Systems Division supervised the countdown and lift-off of Launch Vehicle C-30 on 14 March 1976. Two Lincoln Experimental Satellites  ( LES 8 and LES 9) were placed in synchronous orbit during that successful space flight, and C-30 also boosted the SOLRAD 11A and 11Bspacecraft into 65,000-mile-high circular orbits to monitor solar conditions. Elsewhere in the ITL Area, Core Vehicle C-28 was taken out of storage and returned to its transporter in the VIB on 29 January 1976. The vehicle required extensive retesting after its extended stay in storage, but C-28's retest CST was completed successfully on 9 April 1976. The Core Vehicle was moved to the SMAB on April 15th, and the vehicle and solids were mated. The vehicle was moved out to Complex 40 on April 27th, and the Launch CST was completed successfully on 10 June 1976. With a classified payload onboard, Launch Vehicle C-28 lifted off Complex 40 at 2300:01 Eastern Daylight Time on 25 June 1976. The launch was a success.⁴²

	Figure 61: Flight Model, Lincoln Experimental Satellite
	Figure 62: Martin Marietta's Denver Division Plant

No other TITAN IIICs were launched during the remaining months of 1976, but three vehicles were in various stages of preparation for upcoming military missions. The first of those vehicles was Core Vehicle C-31. It arrived at the Cape on 30 June 1976. The first two stages of the vehicle were erected on Transporter #3 in Cell #4 of the VIB on July 27th, and C-31 was moved to Cell #2 on 11 August 1976. The transtage was added to the core vehicle on August 12th, and an Acceptance CST was completed successfully on October 28th. The vehicle's hardware acceptance was completed on 9 November 1976. With no immediate launch date in view, Core Vehicle C-31 was moved to Cell #3 in the VIB where it was placed in storage on 6 December 1976. Preparations for the next vehicle (C-23) were well underway by that time. (Core Vehicle C-23 had been accepted at Martin Marietta's plant in Denver in May 1971, but its latest CST was completed in the VIB on 3 August 1976.) The vehicle was moved from the VIB to the SMAB for solid rocket mating on 14 December 1976. Following that operation, Launch Vehicle C-23 was moved out to Complex 40 on 21 December 1976. The third vehicle was Core Vehicle C-32. It arrived at the Cape on December 1st, and it was erected on Transporter #3 on 7 December 1976.⁴³

Due to the classified nature of its payload, not much can be said about Launch Vehicle C-23's mission, but some of the events leading up to the launch are releasable. An eight-day readiness countdown was started for the vehicle on 25 January 1977 for a scheduled launch date of February 2nd. Unfortunately, the Launch CST was aborted on the first day of that countdown due to a problem with Stage I's hydraulic actuator. Complications arising from that incident pushed the launch to 5 February 1977, and the launch countdown did not get underway until February 4th. More bad luck: an automatic hold occurred at T minus 3 seconds when Stage I's Destruct Safe and Arm mechanism failed to arm. The countdown was recycled 24 hours, and it was picked up again on February 5th. Following a smooth and uneventful countdown on the night of February 5th, Launch Vehicle C-23 lifted off Complex 40 at 0100:00 Eastern Standard Time on 6 February 1977. According to an unclassified pamphlet published by the 6555th Aerospace Test Group in 1980, "all aspects of the mission occurred as planned".⁴⁴

	Figure 63: Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) II Satellite
	Figure 64: SMAB (in foreground) and Complexes 40 (top right) and 41 (top left)

Core Vehicle C-32 was prepared for the next TITAN IIIC mission to be launched from Complex 40. Following a successful Acceptance CST on 24 February 1977, the core vehicle was accepted on 3 March 1977. On March 9th, the core vehicle was moved to the SMAB where it was mated to its solid rocket motors. Launch Vehicle C-32 was moved out to Complex 40 on March 16th, and it was mated to its twin DSCS (communications satellite) payload on 22 April 1977. Following a successful payload CST on April 25th, a seven-day readiness countdown began on May 3rd. Though the Launch CST went well, a Stage I engine ordnance connector was broken on the fifth day of the readiness countdown, and two days had to be added to the schedule to repair the connector. That problem aside, the launch countdown went smoothly on May 12th, and Launch Vehicle C-32 lifted off the pad at 1027:01 Eastern Daylight Time. The mission went well, and both DSCS Phase II satellites were injected into near synchronous equatorial orbits at an altitude of 19,334 nautical miles.⁴⁵

Three more TITAN IIIC core vehicles arrived at the Cape in 1977. The first of them Core Vehicle C-33 arrived on March 16th. It was erected on Transporter #1 by March 25th, and its Acceptance CST was completed successfully on May 25th. Following hardware acceptance on 7 June 1977, Core Vehicle C-33 was moved to a storage stand in Cell #3 of the VIB. The next TITAN IIIC core vehicle (C-35) arrived on June 9th, and it was erected on Transporter #1 in Cell #2 by June 14th. An Acceptance CST was performed on C-35 on 1 August 1977, and the vehicle was moved to provide room for the third core vehicle. That vehicle (C-34) arrived at the Cape on October 5th. It was erected on Transporter #3 in Cell #2 by October 19th, and its Acceptance CST was performed successfully on 12 December 1977.⁴⁶

Figure 65: TITAN IIIC being transported from the SMAB to Complex 40

Three TITAN IIIC missions were launched from Complex 40 during 1978. The first of those flights involved Core Vehicle C-35, which was mated to its solid rocket motors in the SMAB in late January 1978. Launch Vehicle C-35 was moved out to the launch pad on January 31st. On February 8th, the vehicle's twin DSCS payload arrived, and Remote Vehicle Checkout Facility (RVCF) tests were completed on the two communications satellites in that mission package on February 16th. Following booster/payload mating on March 5th, Launch Vehicle C-35 was fueled on March 7th, and its payload fairing was installed on March 11th. The TITAN IIIC lifted off Complex 40 on 25 March 1978 at 1309:00 Eastern Standard Time. Sadly, all efforts came to naught: a failure in the launch vehicle's Stage II hydraulic system occurred approximately eight minutes after lift-off, and Stage II's engine shut down prematurely; range safety officers sent arm and destruct commands to the TITAN IIIC, and the vehicle was destroyed.⁴⁷

Figure 66: Launch Vehicle C-35 shortly after lift-off 25 March 1978

The second TITAN IIIC mission in 1978 involved Launch Vehicle C-33 and a classified payload. Due to the classified nature of that mission, we may only note that the vehicle was launched successfully on 10 June 1978 and "all aspects of the mission occurred as planned." The last TITAN IIIC mission of 1978 included two DSCS satellites and Launch Vehicle C-36. Core Vehicle C-36 arrived at the Cape on 14 June 1978, and that vehicle's subsystem testing began on July 11th. The vehicle was accepted formally on September 19th, and its solid rocket motors were installed after C-36 was moved to the SMAB on September 21st. Launch Vehicle C-36 was moved out to Complex 40 on September 26th, but an unacceptable buildup of martyte on one of the vehicle's solid rocket motors required a short return trip to the SMAB on September 29th. The vehicle was moved out to Complex 40 once again around October 4th, and it was mated to its DSCS payload on November 1st. The Launch CST was performed successfully on December 5th, and the vehicle was launched successfully at 1940:00 Eastern Standard Time on 13 December 1978. Both DSCS satellites were placed in their proper orbits and "drifted" into position over the eastern and western Pacific Ocean.⁴⁸

Three TITAN IIIC launch vehicles (C-31, C-34 and C-37) were launched from Complex 40 in 1979. They supported two classified missions and one DSCS communications satellite mission. The oldest of the three vehicles (C-31) was launched first, after its second trip to the launch pad on 19 March 1979. Due to classification restrictions, not much can be said about C-31's countdown or mission. The vehicle lifted off Complex 40 on 10 June 1979 at 0930:00 Eastern Daylight Time and "all aspects of the mission occurred as planned."⁴⁹

Vehicle C-34 was the next TITAN IIIC launched from the Cape. (As we noted earlier, Core Vehicle C-34 arrived at the Cape on 5 October 1977, and its Acceptance CST was performed successfully on 12 December 1977.) Like C-31, C-34 supported a classified mission, and the vehicle did not have a direct route from the VIB and the SMAB to the launch pad and space: Core Vehicle C-34 was designated to support initial testing of the TITAN III program's new Programmable Aerospace Checkout Equipment (PACE). Under that program, C-34 was placed on Transporter #2 in Cell #1 of the VIB on 4 January 1978, and it supported PACE testing in the VIB from 4 February through 7 November 1978. The vehicle was then moved to the SMAB for solid rocket mating on 3 January 1979, but its initial trip to Complex 40 on January 9th merely supported more PACE testing at the launch pad. The vehicle was moved back to the SMAB for solid rocket demate on March 5th, and it went back to the VIB on 21 March 1979. Following an Aerojet special engine retest in Cell #2 on March 21st, the core vehicle was moved into Cell #4 for storage (on its transporter) on April 17th. It was moved to Cell #2 again on 13 June 1979 to replace some hydraulic tubing. Following a retest of core vehicle systems, C-34 was moved to the SMAB for a second solid rocket remate on July 9th. Launch Vehicle C-34 was moved out to Complex 40 on July 13th, and it lifted off the pad on 1 October 1979 at 0722:00 Eastern Daylight Time. All aspects of the mission occurred as planned.⁵⁰

The last TITAN IIIC mission in 1979 involved Launch Vehicle C-37 and a twin-DSCS payload. The core vehicle arrived at the Cape on 27 September 1978, and it was erected on Transporter #2 in Cell #2 of the VIB by 10 October 1978. Its Acceptance CST was run on 12 July 1979, and the vehicle was moved to the SMAB for solid rocket mating on 5 October 1979. Launch Vehicle C-37 was moved out to Complex 40 on 12 October 1979. We may assume that the prelaunch preparations were less complicated than the tasks leading up to the two previous TITAN IIIC missions. The Launch CST was run on 12 November 1979. Regarding the launch itself, there was one unscheduled five-minute hold during C-37's launch countdown on November 20th. The countdown resumed without further incident, and the TITAN IIIC lifted off Complex 40 on the 20th at 2110:00 Eastern Standard Time. Both Phase II DSCS communications satellites were placed in their proper near synchronous orbits, and the mission was a complete success.⁵¹

No TITAN IIICs were launched in 1980, and only two TITAN IIICs (C-40 and C-39) lifted off Complex 40 in 1981. Launch Vehicle C-40 was processed first, after its core arrived at the Cape on 9 April 1980. Core Vehicle C-40 was erected on Transporter #1 in Cell #1 of the VIB by 6 May 1980, and the Acceptance CST was completed on 25 July 1980. Following its formal acceptance by the Air Force on August 8th, Core Vehicle C-40 was transferred to the storage stand in Cell #3. (Transporter #1 was used shortly thereafter to support Core Vehicle C-39's assembly and acceptance testing.) A Retest CST was run on C-40 on 9 December 1980, and the core vehicle was moved to the SMAB for solid rocket mating on December 15th. Launch Vehicle C-40 was moved out to Complex 40 before the end of 1980, and its Launch CST was completed in early March 1981. Details of its classified mission are not releasable, but Launch Vehicle C-40 lifted off Complex 40 on 16 March 1981 at 1424:00 Eastern Standard Time.⁵²

Figure 67: Titan IIIC mission 20 November 1979

Core Vehicle C-39 arrived at the Cape on 10 September 1980, and its erection was completed on Transporter #1 in Cell #1 by 15 September 1980. The vehicle's Acceptance CST was completed on 30 October 1980, and the vehicle was transferred to Transporter #3 and Cell #2 for storage on 15 November 1980. The vehicle was transferred to Cell #1 for additional work on 28 January 1981, and a Retest CST was completed on May 26th. Core Vehicle C-39 was moved to the SMAB for solid rocket mating on 22 June 1981, and it was moved out to Complex 40 around the end of the month. The Launch CST was completed in October 1981. Launch Vehicle C-39 carried a classified payload, and it lifted off Complex 40 on 31 October 1981 at 0422:00 Eastern Standard Time.⁵³

Figure 68: TITAN IIIC Core Vehicle Erection 1980

The last vehicle launched under the TITAN IIIC program was Launch Vehicle C-38. It arrived at the Cape on 24 October 1979, and it was the last of 36 TITAN IIICs launched from the Cape between 18 June 1965 and the evening of 6 March 1982. After two years of testing, storage and retesting, C-38 was launched on a classified mission on 6 March 1982 at 1425:00 Eastern Standard Time. The flight marked the end of an era at the Cape.⁵⁴