Burner (rocket stage)
{{Short description|Rocket stage which can be used as a space tug}}
File:Atlas-F Burner-2 (Radcat and Radsat).jpg
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.
Burner I
The Burner I stage (also called the Altair stage) was derived from the fourth stage of the Scout launch vehicle, and was powered by a Star 37 solid rocket motor (Thiokol TE 364-1).{{cite book |title=To Reach the High Frontier: A History of U.S. Launch Vehicles |last=Launius |first=Roger D. |author2=Dennis R. Jenkins |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |date=2002 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mUNS96ZHyNUC |pages=186–213|isbn=0813127211 }}http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/thor.htm Global Security
Burner II
In September 1965, Air Force Space Systems Division announced the development of a new, low cost upper stage called Burner II, powered by Thiokol TE-M-364-2 engine. 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 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.{{cite web |last=White |first=J. Terry |date=June 4, 2012 |title=Thor Burner II Finale |url=https://www.whiteeagleaerospace.com/thor-burner-ii-finale/ |access-date=December 3, 2022 |publisher=White Eagle Aerospace}}
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.{{cite report |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19740022194/downloads/19740022194.pdf |title=Comparative Evaluation of Existing Expendable Upper Stages for Space Shuttle |last1=Weyers |first1=Vernon J. |last2=Sagerman |first2=Gary D. |date=June 1974 |publisher=NASA NTRS |page=9 |last3=Borsody |first3=Janos |last4=Lubick |first4=Robert J. |access-date=December 3, 2022}}
Burner IIA
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.{{cite report|title=Space and Missile Systems Organization, A Chronology, 1954-1979|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA369676.pdf|publisher=Defense Technical Information Center|access-date=December 3, 2022}}
In addition to use on Delta family rockets, Burner II stages have been used on both Atlas and Titan rockets.{{cite web |url=http://www.astronautix.com/stages/star37.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016062148/http://www.astronautix.com/stages/star37.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 16, 2008 |title=Star 37 |publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica}} 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.{{cite journal|title=The Atlas E/F Launch Vehicle - An Unsung Workhorse|first1=J.W. |last1=Powell|first2=G.R. |last2=Richards|url=https://www.atlasmissilesilo.com/Documents/AZ-D-O-999-99-ZZ-00005_Atlas_E_F_LaunchVehicle_UnsungWorkhorse.pdf|journal=Journal of the British Interplanetary Society|volume=44|pages=229–240|date=1991|bibcode=1991JBIS...44..229P }}
References
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{{Upper stages}}
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