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Inertial Upper Stage
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Inertial Upper Stage
The Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), originally designated the Interim Upper Stage, was a two-stage, solid-fueled space launch system developed by Boeing for the United States Air Force beginning in 1976 for raising payloads from low Earth orbit to higher orbits or interplanetary trajectories following launch aboard a Titan 34D or Titan IV rocket as its upper stage, or from the payload bay of the Space Shuttle as a space tug.
During the development of the Space Shuttle, NASA, with support from the Air Force, wanted an upper stage that could be used on the Shuttle to deliver payloads from low earth orbit to higher energy orbits such as GTO or GEO or to escape velocity for planetary probes. The candidates were the Centaur, propelled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, the Transtage, propelled by hypergolic storable propellants Aerozine-50 and dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4), and the Interim Upper Stage, using solid propellant. The US Department of Defense (DoD) reported that Transtage could support all defense needs but could not meet NASA's scientific requirements, the IUS could support most defense needs and some science missions, while the Centaur could meet all needs of both the Air Force and NASA. Development began on both the Centaur and the IUS, and a second stage was added to the IUS design which could be used either as an apogee kick motor for inserting payloads directly into geostationary orbit or to increase the payload mass brought to escape velocity.
Boeing was the primary contractor for the IUS while Chemical Systems Division of United Technologies built the IUS solid rocket motors.
When launched from the Space Shuttle, the IUS could deliver up to 2,270 kilograms (5,000 lb) directly to GEO or up to 4,940 kilograms (10,890 lb) to GTO.
The first launch of the IUS was in 1982 on a Titan 34D rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station shortly before the STS-6 Space Shuttle mission.
Development of the Shuttle-Centaur was halted after the Challenger disaster, and the Interim Upper Stage became the Inertial Upper Stage.
The solid rocket motor on both stages had a steerable nozzle for thrust vectoring. The second stage had hydrazine reaction control jets for attitude control whilst coasting, and for separation from payload. Depending on mission, one, two or three 54 kg (120 lb) tanks of hydrazine could be fitted.
On Titan launches, the Titan booster would launch the IUS, carrying the payload into low Earth orbit where it was separated from the Titan and ignited its first stage, which carried it into an elliptical "transfer" orbit to a higher altitude.
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Inertial Upper Stage
The Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), originally designated the Interim Upper Stage, was a two-stage, solid-fueled space launch system developed by Boeing for the United States Air Force beginning in 1976 for raising payloads from low Earth orbit to higher orbits or interplanetary trajectories following launch aboard a Titan 34D or Titan IV rocket as its upper stage, or from the payload bay of the Space Shuttle as a space tug.
During the development of the Space Shuttle, NASA, with support from the Air Force, wanted an upper stage that could be used on the Shuttle to deliver payloads from low earth orbit to higher energy orbits such as GTO or GEO or to escape velocity for planetary probes. The candidates were the Centaur, propelled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, the Transtage, propelled by hypergolic storable propellants Aerozine-50 and dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4), and the Interim Upper Stage, using solid propellant. The US Department of Defense (DoD) reported that Transtage could support all defense needs but could not meet NASA's scientific requirements, the IUS could support most defense needs and some science missions, while the Centaur could meet all needs of both the Air Force and NASA. Development began on both the Centaur and the IUS, and a second stage was added to the IUS design which could be used either as an apogee kick motor for inserting payloads directly into geostationary orbit or to increase the payload mass brought to escape velocity.
Boeing was the primary contractor for the IUS while Chemical Systems Division of United Technologies built the IUS solid rocket motors.
When launched from the Space Shuttle, the IUS could deliver up to 2,270 kilograms (5,000 lb) directly to GEO or up to 4,940 kilograms (10,890 lb) to GTO.
The first launch of the IUS was in 1982 on a Titan 34D rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station shortly before the STS-6 Space Shuttle mission.
Development of the Shuttle-Centaur was halted after the Challenger disaster, and the Interim Upper Stage became the Inertial Upper Stage.
The solid rocket motor on both stages had a steerable nozzle for thrust vectoring. The second stage had hydrazine reaction control jets for attitude control whilst coasting, and for separation from payload. Depending on mission, one, two or three 54 kg (120 lb) tanks of hydrazine could be fitted.
On Titan launches, the Titan booster would launch the IUS, carrying the payload into low Earth orbit where it was separated from the Titan and ignited its first stage, which carried it into an elliptical "transfer" orbit to a higher altitude.
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