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Atlas LV-3C/Centaur

Atlas LV-3C/Centaur was the initial Atlas-Centaur configuration used for Centaur development and the first Surveyor missions. The pressure-stabilized Atlas LV-3C first stage carried the twin-RL10 liquid-hydrogen Centaur upper stage; flights AC-1 through AC-12 matured the vehicle from experimental hardware into an operational lunar launcher.

Atlas LV-3C/Centaur
NASA/Bill Ingalls · Stored/public JPEG is byte-identical to the NASA canonical 201108050008HQ large asset (1279x1920, SHA-256 54592683e90ae091eefed5173f1276a07ae2326599475516c32c208dbfd60e1c). NASA Images API metadata identifies the exact image as Atlas V Rocket Launches with Juno Spacecraft, photographed by NASA/Bill Ingalls, and describes the Atlas V/Juno launch from Space Launch Complex 41 on August 5, 2011. NASA current Images and Media Usage Guidelines state that NASA content may be used factually or informationally with NASA acknowledged, while NASA-hosted third-party content is marked and NASA use does not convey rights; commercial use must not imply endorsement and NASA logos and identifiers remain protected: https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/. This is an asset-level, conservative factual/editorial reuse basis with NASA/Bill Ingalls attribution, not a blanket license for promotional content, merchandise, NASA branding, or endorsement. · Source
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Identity

Aliases
Atlas-Centaur LV-3CAtlas LV-3C/CentaurAtlas Centaur D
Family Name
Atlas-Centaur
Full Name
Atlas LV-3C/Centaur
Status
retired
Type
rocket
Variant Name
LV-3C/Centaur

Details

Description
Atlas LV-3C/Centaur was the initial Atlas-Centaur configuration used for Centaur development and the first Surveyor missions. The pressure-stabilized Atlas LV-3C first stage carried the twin-RL10 liquid-hydrogen Centaur upper stage; flights AC-1 through AC-12 matured the vehicle from experimental hardware into an operational lunar launcher.
Dimensions
Diameter M
3.05
First Flight Year
1,962
Last Flight Year
1,967
Manufacturer
Operator
Parent Vehicle Family
Propulsion Configurations
  • Entries
    • Nested value
    • Nested value
    Name
    Atlas LV-3C/Centaur AC-12 documented configuration
    Notes
    Representative late-development LV-3C/Centaur configuration documented for AC-12: one integrated MA-5 Atlas propulsion system and two RL10A-3-3 Centaur engines. Earlier AC-1 through AC-11 test vehicles may differ and remain unmodeled rather than being inferred from this configuration.
Rocket Specs
Reusability
expendable
Stages Count
2
Strap On Boosters Count
0

Links

Official Url
https://www.nasa.gov/altitude-wind-tunnel-centaur-testing/

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
July 18, 2026 at 20:02:51 UTC
Updated Time
August 1, 2026 at 14:10:32 UTC
Image
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Other

Search Name
Atlas LV-3C/Centaur Atlas-Centaur LV-3C Atlas LV-3C/Centaur Atlas Centaur D