Engineering:Burner (rocket stage)
The Burner, Burner II, and Burner IIA rocket stages have been used as upper stages of launch vehicles such as the Thor-Burner and Delta since 1965. The Burner 1 stage was also called the Altair stage and was derived from the fourth stage of the Scout launch vehicle.[1] The Burner 2 stage was powered by a Star 37 solid rocket motor.
In September 1965, Air Force Space Systems Division announced the development of a new, low cost upper stage called Burner II. It was intended as the smallest maneuverable upper stage in the Air Force inventory. In June 1967, the first Thor/Burner II vehicle successfully launched a pair of satellites to orbit. In June 1969, the Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO) began development of the Burner IIA configuration which would offer a tandem motor injection capability and almost twice the capability of Burner II.[2] In June 1971, the last of the Burner II missions was launched from Vandenberg by a Thor/Burner II launch vehicle and carried an SESP-1 space environmental satellite.[3]
In addition to use on Delta family rockets, Burner 2 stages have been used on both Atlas and Titan rockets.[4] Atlas E/F vehicles were configured with a Burner II/IIA stage and launched in 1968 and 1972. The first launch failed with the second delivering a radiation research payload for the Space Test Program (P72-1 Radsat) using Burner IIA.[5]
In the mid-1970s Burner II was also studied for use as an upper stage in combination with the Space Shuttle. NASA managers choose other solutions for missions where upper stages were required.[6]
References
- ↑ Launius, Roger D.; Dennis R. Jenkins (2002). To Reach the High Frontier: A History of U.S. Launch Vehicles. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 186–213. ISBN 0813127211. https://books.google.com/books?id=mUNS96ZHyNUC.
- ↑ Space and Missile Systems Organization, A Chronology, 1954-1979 (Report). Defense Technical Information Center. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA369676.pdf. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
- ↑ White, J. Terry (June 4, 2012). "Thor Burner II Finale". White Eagle Aerospace. https://www.whiteeagleaerospace.com/thor-burner-ii-finale/.
- ↑ "Star 37". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/stages/star37.htm.
- ↑ Powell, J.W.; Richards, G.R. (1991). "The Atlas E/F Launch Vehicle - An Unsung Workhorse". Journal of the British Interplanetary Society 44: 229–240. Bibcode: 1991JBIS...44..229P. https://www.atlasmissilesilo.com/Documents/AZ-D-O-999-99-ZZ-00005_Atlas_E_F_LaunchVehicle_UnsungWorkhorse.pdf.
- ↑ Weyers, Vernon J.; Sagerman, Gary D.; Borsody, Janos; Lubick, Robert J. (June 1974). Comparative Evaluation of Existing Expendable Upper Stages for Space Shuttle (Report). NASA NTRS. p. 9. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19740022194/downloads/19740022194.pdf. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
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