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Athena
Athena II with Lunar Prospector
Fact sheet
Function	Small, modular component launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Country of origin	USA
Size
Height	19.8 - 30.48 m (65 - 100 ft)
Diameter	1.98 m (78 in)
Mass	66,344 - 120,202 kg (146,264 - 265,000 lb)
Stages	2 or 3
Capacity
Payload to LEO	794 - 1,896 kg (1,750 - 4,350 lb)
Launch History
Status	Active
Launch sites	Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 46, Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 6, Kodiak Launch Complex 1
Total launches	7 For breakdown by variant, see text
Successes	6
Failures	1
Maiden flight	August 1995
Notable payloads	Lunar Prospector
First Stage - Castor-120
Engines	1
Thrust	1,900 kN (435,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	280 seconds
Burn time	83.4 seconds
Fuel	Class 1.3 Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB-a polymer) propellant
Second Stage - ORBUS ® 21D
Engines	1
Thrust	194 kN (43,723 lbf)
Specific impulse	293 seconds
Burn time	150 seconds
Fuel	Class 1.3 Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB-a polymer) propellant

The Athena rocket is a Lockheed Martin launch vehicle. It has undergone several name changes in its lifetime. Initially developed in 1993 as the Lockheed Launch Vehicle (LLV) at its inception at the Lockheed Corporation, the name was changed to the Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle when its developing company merged with Martin Marietta. Late in the program's life the name was finally changed to the current name of Athena.

The Athena comes in two versions, Athena I and Athena II. The Athena I has two stages, the Thiokol Castor-120 first stage and a Pratt & Whitney ORBUS ® 21D upper stage. The Athena II has three stages, the Castor-120 first and second stages, and an ORBUS ® 21D upper stage.

The Athena rocket uses the Primex Technologies Orbit Adjust Module (OAM). The OAM houses the attitude control system and avionics subsystem (guidance and navigation, batteries, telemetry transmitters, command and destruct receivers and antennas). This 1 meter (3.3 feet) long module is fueled with monopropellant hydrazine. After payload separation, the OAM performs a contamination and collision avoidance maneuver, distancing itself from the payload and burning any remaining fuel to depletion.

An Athena III rocket was planned, but never developed. It was to add two, four or six Castor-4A strap-on boosters to the stack.

Athena 1 rocket launching from Kodiak Island in Alaska (Sept. 30, 2001)

• DLV - The Demonstration Launch Vehicle (DLV) was launched in August 1995.
• Lewis - An Athena I launched the NASA Lewis satellite on Aug. 22, 1997.
• Lunar Prospector - An Athena II launched NASA's Lunar Prospector on Jan. 6, 1998.
• ROCSAT-1 - An Athena I launched ROCSAT-1 for the Republic of China (Taiwan) on Jan. 26, 1999.
• IKONOS-1 - An Athena II launched IKONOS-1, a commercial earth observation satellite, on April 27, 1999. (Failed to orbit)
• IKONOS-2 - An Athena II launched IKONOS-2, a commercial earth observation satellite, on Sept. 24, 1999.
• Kodiak Star - An Athena launched Kodiak Star for NASA and the Space Test Program on Sept. 30, 2001.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Athena (rocket)

• Lockheed Martin official page
• Encyclopedia Astronautica

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