Mishaps Although Centaur has a long and successful flight history, it has experienced a number of mishaps: April 7, 1966: Centaur did not restart after coast — ullage motors ran out of fuel. August 10, 1968: AC-17. Centaur did not restart after coast — icing of the hydrogen peroxide supply lines.Lewis Research Center (1972) Atlas-Centaur AC-17 performance for applications technology satellite ATS-D mission NASA TM X-2525 May 9, 1971: Centaur guidance failed, destroying itself and the Mariner 8 spacecraft bound for Mars orbit. April 18, 1991: AC-70. Centaur failed to restart (icing problem). Incomplete failure investigation initially stated that Centaur failed due to particles from the scouring pads used to clean the propellant ducts getting stuck in the turbopump, preventing start-up. August 22, 1992: AC-71. Centaur failed to restart (same icing problem as the prior incident). April 30, 1999: Launch of the USA-143 (Milstar DFS-3m) communications satellite failed when a Centaur database error resulted in uncontrolled roll rate and loss of attitude control, placing the satellite in a useless orbit.MILSTAR 3 — Description. June 15, 2007: the engine in the Centaur upper stage of an Atlas V shut down early, leaving its payload — a pair of National Reconnaissance Office ocean surveillance satellites — in a lower than intended orbit. The failure was called "A major disappointment," though later statements claim the spacecraft will still be able to complete their mission. The cause was traced to a stuck-open valve that depleted some of the hydrogen fuel, resulting in the second burn terminating four seconds early. The problem was fixed, and the next flight was nominal. March 23–25, 2018: Atlas V Centaur passivated second stage launched on September 8, 2009, broke up. August 30, 2018: Atlas V Centaur passivated second stage launched on September 17, 2014, broke up, creating space debris. April 6, 2019: Atlas V Centaur passivated second stage launched on October 17, 2018, broke up. September 6, 2024: Atlas V Centaur passivated second stage launched on March 1, 2018, broke up.
Mishaps Although Centaur has a long and successful flight history it has experienced a number of mishaps: April 7, 1966: Centaur did not restart after coast — ullage motors ran out of fuel. August 10, 1968: AC-17. Centaur did not restart after coast — icing of the hydrogen peroxide supply lines.Lewis Research Center (1972) Atlas-Centaur AC-17 performance for applications technology satellite ATS-D mission NASA TM X-2525 May 9, 1971: Centaur guidance failed destroying itself and the Mariner 8 spacecraft bound for Mars orbit. April 18, 1991: AC-70. Centaur failed to restart (icing problem). Incomplete failure investigation initially stated that Centaur failed due to particles from the scouring pads used to clean the propellant ducts getting stuck in the turbopump, preventing start-up. August 22, 1992: AC-71. Centaur failed to restart (same icing problem as the prior incident). April 30, 1999: Launch of the USA-143 (Milstar DFS-3m) communications satellite failed when a Centaur database error resulted in uncontrolled roll rate and loss of attitude control, placing the satellite in a useless orbit.MILSTAR 3 — Description. June 15, 2007: the engine in the Centaur upper stage of an Atlas V shut down early, leaving its payload — a pair of National Reconnaissance Office ocean surveillance satellites — in a lower than intended orbit. The failure was called "A major disappointment," though later statements claim the spacecraft will still be able to complete their mission. The cause was traced to a stuck-open valve that depleted some of the hydrogen fuel, resulting in the second burn terminating four seconds early. The problem was fixed, and the next flight was nominal. March 23–25, 2018: Atlas V Centaur passivated second stage launched on September 8, 2009, broke up. August 30, 2018: Atlas V Centaur passivated second stage launched on September 17 2014, broke up, creating space debris. April 6, 2019: Atlas V Centaur passivated second stage launched on October 17, 2018, broke up. September 6, 2024: Atlas V Centaur passivated second stage launched on March 1, 2018, broke up.