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πŸ“Š Analysis

Statistics & insights on rockets and organizations β€” technology, history, numbers.

Titan IIIC

Retired

Lockheed Martin

The Titan IIIC was an expendable launch system used by the United States Air Force from 1965 until 1982. It was the first Titan booster to feature large solid rocket motors and was planned to be used as a launcher for the Dyna-Soar, though the spaceplane was cancelled before it could fly. The majority of the launcher's payloads were DoD satellites, for military communications and early warning, though one flight (ATS-6) was performed by NASA. The Titan IIIC was launched exclusively from Cape Canaveral while its sibling, the Titan IIID, was launched only from Vandenberg AFB.

Key figures

Total launches
36
Successes
34
Failures
2
Success rate
94.4 %
Success streak
8
Maiden flight
Jun 18, 1965
Reusable
No
Shortest launch interval β“˜
50d 14h
Planned launches
0
Titan, Titan III family total
91 launches Β· 86 successes Β· 5 failures (5 variants)

🧐 Data check

Automatic plausibility checks β€” anomalies are surfaced transparently here:

  • ℹ️The figures above apply only to the β€œTitan IIIC” variant. The Launch Library counts each variant separately β€” the Titan, Titan III family totals 91 launches across 5 variants.

Technology

Length
42 m
Diameter
3 m
Launch mass
626 t
Liftoff thrust
10,586 kN
Stages
2–3
LEO (low Earth orbit)
13,100 kg
GTO (geo transfer)
3,000 kg

Launches per year

of which in our database: 36

1965: 3 Successes319651966: 2 Successes1966: 1 Failures31967: 3 Successes319671968: 2 Successes21969: 2 Successes219691970: 2 Successes21971: 2 Successes219711972: 1 Successes11973: 2 Successes219731974: 1 Successes11975: 2 Successes219751976: 2 Successes21977: 2 Successes219771978: 2 Successes1978: 1 Failures31979: 3 Successes319791981: 2 Successes21982: 1 Successes11982
Successes Failures Other/planned

History & events

  1. Jun 18, 1965πŸš€ Maiden flightTranstage 5View launch β†’
  2. Aug 26, 1966πŸ’₯ FailureIDCSP 8 to 14View launch β†’
  3. Mar 25, 1978πŸ’₯ FailureDSCS-2 9 & 10View launch β†’

Sources