Transtage

 ( Rocket Stages ) 

Transtage, given the United States Air Force designation SSB-10A, was an American upper stage used on Titan III rockets, developed by Martin Marietta and Aerojet.

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History Transtage was developed in anticipation of a requirement to launch military payloads to geostationary orbit; a contract for development of the stage was issued on 20 August 1962.

Paolo Foradori (2025). 9783319622583, Palgrage Macmillan. ISBN 9783319622583

Transtage used a pressure-fed two-chamber configuration, using Aerozine 50 fuel and nitrogen tetroxide as oxidizer; the thrust chambers were Gimbaled thrust for steering and each produced of thrust. The design specification required up to three restarts during the first six hours of a mission.

J.D. Hunley (2025). 9781585445882, Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 9781585445882

Forty-seven Titan III launches are known to have used Transtage upper stages; of those, three are known to have suffered launch failures. The first launch, boosted by a Titan IIIA, occurred on 1 September 1964; the Transtage failed to pressurize, resulting in premature engine cutoff, and a failure to reach orbit. The second launch, on 10 December, was successful, and all ensuing launches used the Titan IIIC launch vehicle. The last launch of a Transtage was on 4 September 1989, boosted by a Titan 34D rocket.

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See also

• Centaur (rocket stage)
• Inertial Upper Stage
• RM-81 Agena

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