Family of US solid-propellant rocket motors
The
Star
is a family of
US
solid-propellant rocket
motors originally developed by
Thiokol
and used by many space propulsion and launch vehicle
stages
. They are used almost exclusively as an upper stage, often as an
apogee kick motor
.
Three Star 37 stages, and one Star 48 stage,
were launched on solar escape trajectories
; fast enough to leave the Sun's orbit and out into interstellar space, where barring the low chance of colliding with debris, they will travel past other stars in the
Milky Way galaxy
and survive potentially intact for millions of years.
Star 24
[
edit
]
The
Star 24
(TE-M-604) is a solid fuel
apogee kick motor
, first qualified in 1973.
[1]
It burns an 86% solids
carboxyl-terminated polybutadiene (CTPB)
-based composite propellant.
[1]
[2]
- Thiokol Star-24 family
[1]
Name (Thiokol#)
|
Mass (kg)
|
Prop.
mass
fract.
|
Prop.
|
Casing
|
Thrust,
vac.
(kN)
|
Imp.
|
Burn (s)
|
Diam.
(m)
|
Length (m)
|
Remark
|
Total
|
Empty
|
Prop.
|
Spec.
, I
sp
(s)
|
Tot.
(kNs)
|
Star-24 (TE-M-604)
|
218.2
|
18.33
|
199.9
|
0.92
|
Solid
|
Titanium
|
?
|
282.9
|
560.5
|
29.6
|
0.62
|
1.03
|
|
Star-24C (TE-M-604-4)
|
239.3
|
19.73
|
219.5
|
0.92
|
Solid
|
Titanium
|
?
|
282.3
|
613.9
|
28.0
|
0.62
|
1.07
|
|
Star 27
[
edit
]
Star 27
A Star-27 kick motor with nozzle for
IBEX
|
Country of origin
| United States
|
---|
|
The
Star 27
is a solid apogee kick motor, with the 27 representing the approximate diameter of the stage in inches.
[3]
It burns
HTPB
-based composite propellant with an average erosion rate of 0.0011 inches per second (0.028 mm/s).
[4]
[3]
When used on the Pegasus air-launch rocket payloads are capable of leaving Earth orbit.
[3]
A version of the Star 27, designated Star 27H,
[5]
was used in the launch of the
IBEX spacecraft
.
[6]
The spacecraft had a mass of 105 kg by itself and together with its Star 27 motor, 462 kg.
[6]
The Star 27H helped it get to a higher orbit, beyond Earth's magnetosphere.
[6]
Star 37
[
edit
]
The
Star 37
was first used as the engine for the
Thor-Burner
upper stage in 1965. The Burner I used the Thiokol FW-4 (TE 364-1) engine and the Burner 2 used the Thiokol (TE-M-364-2).
[7]
The "-37" designation refers to the approximate diameter of the fuel casing in inches; Thiokol had also manufactured other motors such as the Star-40 and
Star 48
. Internally, Thiokol's designation was TE-M-364 for early versions, TE-M-714 for later ones, and TE-M-783 for a special
HTPB
model used for FLTSATCOM launches.
Subtypes are given one or more letter suffixes after the diameter number, or a trailing number (i.e., "-2") after the internal designation. Not surprisingly, the "T" prefix stands for Thiokol, and the following letter refers to the company division that developed the rocket motor. In this case, "M" refers to the Magna, UT Division. "E" refers to the Elkton, MD division.
The Star 37FM rocket motor was developed and qualified for use as an apogee kick motor on FLTSATCOM. The motor is a replacement for the Star 37E Delta, which has been discontinued. The Nozzle assembly uses a 3D
carbon-carbon
throat and a carbon-
phenolic
exit cone. Maximum propellant weight is 2350 pounds, while the motor has been qualified for propellant off-loading to 2257 pounds.
A
spin-stabilized
or
thrust-vectoring
version of Star 37 is used as the final stage of the
Minotaur V
launch vehicle.
[8]
[9]
The
Pioneer 10
&
11
, and
Voyager 1
&
2
Propulsion Modules used Star 37E motors; each is now on a
similar interstellar trajectory to its companion probe
, and is set to leave the Solar System (except the Pioneer 11 stage, which is thought to have remained in solar orbit
[10]
).
Thiokol Star-37 family
Name (Thiokol#)
|
Mass (kg)
|
Prop.
mass
fract.
|
Prop.
|
Casing
|
Thrust,
vac.
(kN)
|
Imp.
|
Burn (s)
|
Diam.
(m)
|
Length (m)
|
Remark
|
Total
|
Empty
|
Prop.
|
Spec.
, I
sp
(s)
|
Tot.
(kNs)
|
Star-37 (TE-M-364-1)
|
621.2
|
62.7
|
558.4
|
0.899
|
Solid
|
?
|
43.50
|
260.0
|
1584.46
|
42
|
0.93
|
0.80
|
|
Star-37B (TE-M-364-2)
|
718.4
|
64.7
|
653.7
|
0.910
|
Solid
|
?
|
?
|
291.0
|
1858.91
|
?
|
0.93
|
?
|
|
Star-37C (TE-M-364-18)
|
1047.5
|
82.8
|
964.7
|
0.921
|
Solid
|
?
|
?
|
285.5
|
2707.19
|
?
|
0.93
|
?
|
|
Star-37D (TE-M-364-3)
|
718.4
|
64.7
|
653.7
|
0.910
|
Solid
|
?
|
?
|
266.0
|
1858.91
|
?
|
0.93
|
?
|
|
Star-37E (TE-M-364-4)
|
1122.7
|
83.1
|
1039.6
|
0.926
|
Solid
|
?
|
?
|
283.6
|
2910.03
|
?
|
0.93
|
?
|
Discontinued
|
Star-37F (TE-M-364-19)
|
934.1
|
67.3
|
866.8
|
0.928
|
Solid
|
?
|
?
|
286.0
|
2444.46
|
?
|
0.93
|
?
|
Discontinued
|
Star-37FM (TE-M-783)
|
1147.4
|
81.5
|
1065.9
|
0.929
|
HTPB
|
Titanium
|
47.26
|
289.8
|
3051.35
|
63
|
0.93
|
1.69
|
Developed and qualified for use as an apogee kick motor on FLTSATCOM
|
Star-37G (TE-M-364-11)
|
1152.4
|
86.4
|
1065.9
|
0.925
|
Solid
|
?
|
?
|
289.9
|
2988.36
|
?
|
0.93
|
?
|
|
Star-37N (TE-M-364-14)
|
622.9
|
63.5
|
559.3
|
0.898
|
Solid
|
?
|
?
|
290.0
|
1590.24
|
?
|
0.93
|
?
|
|
Star-37S (TE-M-364-15)
|
711.4
|
53.4
|
658.0
|
0.925
|
Solid
|
?
|
?
|
287.3
|
1872.43
|
?
|
0.93
|
?
|
|
Star-37X (TE-M-714-1)
|
1150.0
|
82.8
|
1067.2
|
0.928
|
Solid
|
Titanium
|
51.10
|
295.6
|
3047.69
|
60
|
0.93
|
?
|
|
Star-37XE (TE-M-714-4)
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
Solid
|
Titanium
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
0.93
|
?
|
|
Star-37XF (TE-M-714-6)
|
953.2
|
67.7
|
885.4
|
0.929
|
Solid
|
Titanium
|
?
|
290.0
|
2542.03
|
?
|
0.93
|
?
|
|
Star-37XF (TE-M-714-8)
|
882.5
|
67.1
|
815.4
|
0.924
|
Solid
|
Titanium
|
?
|
291.1
|
2342.74
|
?
|
0.93
|
?
|
|
Star-37XFP (TE-M-714-17/18)
|
955.3
|
71.7
|
883.6
|
0.925
|
HTPB
|
Titanium
|
38.03
|
290.0
|
2537.49
|
67
|
0.93
|
1.50
|
Qualified as the orbit insertion motor for Boeing's Global Positioning Satellite (GPS), and as the apogee motor for the RCA SATCOM Ku-Band satellite.
|
Star-37Y (TE-M-714-2)
|
1152.1
|
80.6
|
1071.4
|
0.930
|
Solid
|
Titanium
|
?
|
297.0
|
3118.20
|
?
|
0.93
|
?
|
|
Star 48
[
edit
]
Star 48
Star-48B rocket motor
|
Country of origin
| United States
|
---|
Date
| 1982 - present
|
---|
Manufacturer
| Thiokol
|
---|
Predecessor
| Star 37
|
---|
|
The
Star 48
is a type of
solid rocket
motor developed primarily by
Thiokol Propulsion
, which was purchased by
Orbital ATK
in 2001.
[11]
In 2018, Orbital ATK in turn was acquired by
Northrop Grumman
.
The "48" designation refers to the approximate diameter of the fuel casing in inches; Thiokol had also manufactured other motors such as the
Star 37
and Star 30. Internally, Thiokol's designation was TE-M-711 for early versions, and TE-M-799 for later ones. Subtypes are given one or more letter suffixes after the diameter number, or a trailing number (i.e., "-2") after the internal designation. The "T" prefix stands for Thiokol, and the following letter refers to the company division that developed the rocket motor. In this case, "E" refers to the Elkton, MD division and the "M" stands for motor.
The most common use of the Star 48 was as the final stage of the
Delta II
launch vehicles. Other launchers such as
ULA
's
Atlas 551
have also incorporated the motor, but with lower frequency. Onboard the
Space Shuttle
, the complete stage (motor plus accessories) was referred to as the
Payload Assist Module
(PAM), as the Shuttle could only take satellites to
low Earth orbit
. Because
geostationary
orbit is much more lucrative, the additional stage was needed for the final leg of the journey. On such missions, the stage was
spin-stabilized
. A turntable, mounted in the shuttle payload bay or atop the previous Delta stage, spun the PAM and payload to approximately 60 rpm prior to release.
Usually after motor burnout and just prior to satellite release the spin is canceled out using a
yo-yo de-spin
technique.
A non-spinning,
thrust-vectoring
version of the Star 48 is available ("Star 48BV"), but much less common. A thrust-vectoring Star 48 is the final stage of the
Minotaur IV+
launch vehicle.
A Star 48B motor used in the 3rd stage of the
New Horizons
probe was the first part of the New Horizons mission to reach
Jupiter
, crossing
Pluto
's orbit in 2015 at a distance of 200 million kilometers.
[12]
It is now set to leave the Solar System, traveling on a
similar interstellar trajectory to its companion probe
for the indefinite future.
In 2013 a Star 48GXV was tested for the
Parker Solar Probe
mission as the upper stage on an
Atlas V
551 vehicle,
[13]
but the development was canceled, in favor of a
Delta IV Heavy
/ Star 48BV combination. The Star 48GXV boasted a carbon composite casing and nozzle, enabling it to operate at triple the chamber pressure of an ordinary Star 48. It also featured electro-mechanical actuators to
gimbal
the nozzle, along with digital flight controls.
[14]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
Liquid
fuel
| Cryogenic
| Hydrolox
(
LH
2
/
LOX
)
|
- China
- Europe
- India
- Japan
- Russia
- USA
|
---|
Methalox
(
CH
4
/
LOX
)
| |
---|
|
---|
Semi-
cryogenic
| Kerolox
(
RP-1
/
LOX
)
|
- China
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- RD-191, 151, 181
- RD-193
- S1.5400
- Spain
- Ukraine
- USA
|
---|
|
---|
Storable
| Hypergolic
(
Aerozine
,
UH 25
,
MMH
, or
UDMH
/
N
2
O
4
,
MON
, or
HNO
3
)
|
- China
- Europe
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- 17D61
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- RD-270
- S5.92
- S5.98M
- Ukraine
- USA
|
---|
|
---|
Other
| |
---|
| |
---|
Solid
fuel
|
- China
- Europe
- India
- Iran
- Israel
- Japan
- USA
|
---|
- * Different versions of the engine use different propellant combinations
- Engines in
italics
are under development
|
Spacecraft engines and motors
|
---|
Liquid fuel
engines
| | |
---|
Solid propellant motors
| |
---|
Related articles
| |
---|