Engineering:Antares 2

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Antares X-259 rocket stage
Project FIRE Velocity Package diagram, with the Antares X-259 visible.

Antares 2 (X-259) was an American solid rocket engine stage and engine built by Hercules/ABL / Thiokol.[1][2][3] It was used from the mid-1960s to 1995, in the Scout and Strypi family of rockets,[4][5] and on the Project FIRE Velocity Packages.[6] It burned solid propellant – the stage was also the engine's fuel chamber - and was used about 96 times.[1]

Details

Basic details of the X-259 engine:[1]

  • Thrust: 93.10 kN (20,930 lbf)
  • Gross mass: 1,400 kg (3,100 lb)
  • Unfuelled mass: 300 kg (660 lb)
  • Specific impulse: 293 s.
  • Specific impulse sea level: 233 s.
  • Burn time: 36 s.
  • Height: 2.9 m (9.5 ft)
  • Diameter: 0.78 m (2.6 ft)

Variants

There were various variants:[1][4]

  • Antares 2 was used on Scout X-2 1C, B 2A, B-1 F, D-1 F and D; Strypi Tomahawk, XI and IX; SPARTA and Athena H
  • Antares 2A was used on Scout-X2, X2B, X2M, X3, X3A, X3C, X3M, X4, X4A, X5C, A, A1, B, B1, C, and D1; and Project FIRE;
  • Antares 2B was used on Scout-A2, B2, E1 and Scout-F1.

References