User:LizArchive/Wolfram Aerospace

Wolfram Aerospace is an American private aerospace firm and research organisation based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Wolfram Aerospace develops launch vehicles, rockets and satellites.

History
Wolfram Aerospace was founded in 1986 by Thom K Henson, occupying a building in Charlotte, North Carolina. On 15 June 1998, Wolfram Aerospace went public, valuing the company at $12.2 billion dollars. 40% of shares were set to be available, with the other 60% being kept by Thom K Henson.

Atlas Programme
Initially, Wolfram Aerospace was founded as a scientific corporation focusing on building various satellites and spacecraft used for research. In order to receive funding, Wolfram Aerospace partnered with various space agencies around the world. So far, six spacecraft have been built to date.

Rockets
Wolfram Aerospace launched its first rocket programme in June 1998. Known as Tungsten-3250A (W-3250A), the expendable rocket featured three fuel cells and is one of the largest developed.

Atlas Programme
Wolfram Aerospace launched its Atlas Programme in 1987. To date, six Atlas programmes have been launched with a success rate of 100%.

The first four Atlas launches were to Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter - the closest planets to Earth. Atlas 5 transited the Asteroid Belt, arriving at Vesta in February 1995 and then Ceres in August 1998. Atlas 6 is a Saturnian mission that launched in July 1998.

Tungsten-3250A
In June 1998, Wolfram Aerospace officially announced the existence of the Tungsten-3250A rocket. The rocket consists up of a central fuel cell with two additional ones operating as liquid rocket boosters mounted to the side.

Out of the four pre-built prototypes, the first two prototypes were written off during the testing period. W-3250A-1 exploded on lift off due to a failure of the o-ring seals. W-3250A-2 exploded at V+213 seconds after the left fuel tank spontaneously exploded, causing the rocket to lose directional control and thrust. W-3250A-2 crashed into the Pacific Ocean. The third prototype, W-3250A-3, is set for launch on 6 August 1998.

Operations
At lift off, all three fuel cells operate at 100%. Between V+38 and V+44 seconds, the centre fuel cell gradually reduces to 55% thrust for fuel conservation. Between V+148 and V+235 seconds, the two side-mounted fuel cells reduce their thrust output from 100% to 75% gradually before running out of fuel at V+236 seconds. Simultaneously, the centre fuel cell throttles up to 100% by V+245 before gradually declining to 90% by V+320. At V+328, the centre fuel cell is exhausted of fuel.