page_title: 6555th Aerospace Test Group
section_title: Titan 34D (1980–1989)
hierarchical_section_title: 6555th Aerospace Test Group / History / Space launch operations / Titan 34D (1980–1989)
caption_attribution_description: English: First TITAN 34D Launch Vehicle at Complex 40 - 1980
context_page_description: The 6555th Aerospace Test Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Eastern Space and Missile Center and stationed at Patrick AFB, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 October 1990.
  Prior to the activation of the Air Force Space Command, the unit was responsible for the development of USAF missiles, both tactical surface-to-surface; CIM-10 Bomarc Interceptor; SM-62 Snark Intercontinental Cruise Missile; Intercontinental ballistic missile and heavy launch rockets used for military for satellite deployment. The unit played a key role in the civilian NASA Project Mercury, Project Gemini and Project Apollo manned space programs along with military Space Shuttle flights.
  The mission of the unit today is performed by the 45th Space Wing.
context_section_description: As the last Titan IIIC thundered skyward, Martin Marietta and the Test Group were completing their second year of preparations for the Titan 34D's first launch. The effort began in earnest when the first Titan 34D core vehicle (D-01) arrived at the Cape in March 1980. Baseline CSTs were completed in September 1980, and, apart from a brief roundtrip ride to the SMAB on 11 November, the core vehicle remained in storage at the VIB until 18 May 1981.
  The core vehicle was accepted in August 1981, and it was moved to the SMAB on 18 January 1982. The Titan 34D's operational IUS (IUS-2) arrived at the Cape on 22 December 1981. It was taken to the SMAB, and its assembly was completed there on 8 June 1982. Though the IUS' preplanned acceptance testing was completed on 19 August, its formal acceptance was delayed pending additional tests required by Space Division. The IUS was mated to the launch vehicle on 1 September 1982, and it was mated to the vehicle's DSCS II/III payload on 29 September. Acceptance testing was completed on 2 October, and the vehicle was prepared for launch.
  Launch Vehicle D-01's first Launch CST was aborted on 20 October 1982, but its second Launch CST was completed successfully on 21 October. The countdown was picked up smoothly on 29 October at 2055Z (Greenwich Mean Time), and the first TITAN 34D lifted off Complex 40 at 0405:01Z on 30 October 1982. The Titan's flight was virtually flawless, and the IUS placed both DSCS satellites into near-perfect equatorial orbits. With the completion of this first highly successful launch operation, the Cape moved solidly into the Titan 34D era.
  All Titan 34D launch operations at Vandenberg and the Cape were suspended following the Titan 34D-9 launch failure in April 1986, but it would be wrong to conclude that the suspension allowed the 6555th Aerospace Test Group and the Air Force's Titan contractors to lapse into a period of inactivity. On the contrary, the space launch recovery effort and TITAN IV program initiatives kept the Test Group's agenda full. The Test Group supervised the initial recovery effort at the Cape. As part of that program, a Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) X-Ray facility was constructed in the ITL Area for the purpose of inspecting Titan solid rockets for flaws in propellant, restrictors, insulation and podding compounds. Construction of the NDT facility began on 1 October 1986, and solid rocket motor testing was conducted there as part of the Titan 34D recovery effort from 23 December 1986 through 12 June 1987.
  The last Titan 34D launched from the Cape had an extensive processing history between the time it first arrived at the Cape (e.g., 19 August 1981) and the time it was erected for the final time on Transporter No. 3 in Cell No. 1 on 13 December 1988.  The transtage was erected on the core vehicle on 28 March 1989. The Acceptance CST was completed successfully on 23 June 1989. Core Vehicle D-2 was moved to the SMAB for solid rocket mating on 2 July, and Launch Vehicle D-2 was moved out to Complex 40 on 5 July 1989. The vehicle was mated to a classified payload and prepared for launch. Though the first Launch CST failed on 21 August, the Launch CST on 27 August was completely successful. A balky Mobile Service Tower delayed pre-launch activities on 4 September, but a 22-minute-long user hold brought operations up to speed at T minus 30 minutes. After the countdown resumed at 0524Z, it proceeded without incident to vehicle lift-off at 0554:01Z on 4 September 1989.
caption: First Titan 34D at Complex 40, 1980
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