T+plus 12 minutes. Today's launch marks the 258th flight of the Centaur. This venerable U.S. upper stage is the high-energy, hydrogen-fueled rocket that unlocked access to the moon and every planet in our solar system for robotic explorer spacecraft.
The first operational payloads launched by Centaur were Surveyor missions that sent landers to touch the lunar surface. Mariner missions went to Mars, Venus and Mercury, Pioneer 10 went by Jupiter and Pioneer 11 visited both Jupiter and Saturn, Vikings 1 and 2 launched to Mars, Voyagers 1 and 2 explored the gas giants in our outer solar system, Cassini orbited Saturn, New Horizons flew by Pluto, and more recently the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Curiosity rover, MAVEN orbiter and InSight lander all departed Earth for the red planet thanks to Centaur.
The stage has evolved considerably from its early days, becoming more capable, more powerful and more accurate. It has flown on numerous Atlas and Titan rocket configurations. Besides planetary exploration, Centaur has served as a linchpin in launching communications, weather and military satellites to various Earth orbits for decades.