Athena

Nomenclature

The Athena launch vehicle family was originally developed at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company. Because they were the only space launch vehicles built by Lockheed, they were referred to as the Lockheed Launch Vehicles (LLV 1 and 2). After Lockheed merged with Martin Marietta in 1995, the vehicles were renamed Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicles (LMLV 1 and 2). Because Lockheed Martin also builds the Atlas and Titan launch vehicles, the name was not fully appropriate. Following the first successful launch in 1997, the vehicles were renamed Athena I and Athena II. The name changes do not reflect any differences in the launch system.

Cost

In 2002, Lockheed Martin reported the following typical price ranges for Athena launch services: Athena I: $40–45 million Athena II: $45–50 million Athena launch prices have increased significantly in order to cover fixed costs at a flight rate of less than one launch per year.

Availability

Both Athena I and II are operational and available commercially for domestic or international payloads. The first Athena I flight ended in failure in 1995, but Athena I successfully returned to flight in August 1997. Athena II became operational in 1998. The Athena program was reduced to a low level of activity in October 2001 from a lack of demand.