Altair (rocket stage)
Solid-fuel rocket
The Altair was a solid-fuel rocket with a filament-wound fibre-reinforced epoxy resin casing, initially developed for use as the third stage of Vanguard rockets in 1959. It was manufactured by Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL) as the X-248. It was also sometimes called the Burner 1.
01Altair
The X-248 was one of two third-stage designs used during Project Vanguard. Early launches used a stage developed by the Grand Central Rocket Company, but the last used the X-248 which enabled the Vanguard to launch more massive payload.
The X-248 was used as the second stage of some early Thor flights. These vehicles were designated "Thor-LV2D Burner-1".
Altairs were used as the third stage of early Delta rockets.
The fourth stage of the Scout-X rocket used the "Altair-1A" stage, powered by a X-248A engine.
This initial variant could produce 13.7 kN (3,070 lbf) of thrust, and had a diameter of 43.18 cm (17.00 in).
02Altair 2
The Altair 2 (X-258) Thiokol (Star 25, TE-M-184-3) solid rocket engine first flew in 1963 and was the kick stage motor for Delta D, Scout A, Scout X-4, and Atlas-D OV1 as part of the Orbiting Vehicle satellites. It was retired in 1973.
03Altair 3
The Altair 3 (FW-4S) solid rocket engine first flew in 1968 and was used on the Atlas-E/F OV1 as part of the OV1 upper stage. It was also used as the second stage of the ASM-135 ASAT anti-satellite missile. It was proposed as the fourth stage for Advanced Scout. The FW-4S motor is similar to Thiokol Star 20 (TE-M-640), and both are designated by NASA as Altair IIIA.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Altair (rocket stage)”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Altair X248-A2 rocket stage.jpg by Smithsonian Institution, Public domain
- Vanguard rocket cutaway view.png by NASA, Public domain
- ScoutB annotated.svg by GW_Simulations, Attribution
- Scout rocket general arrangement.png by NASA, Public domain
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