astronomy

Star (rocket stage)

Star (rocket stage) is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Star (rocket stage) rather than just read about it. In short: 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 upper stages, often as apogee kick motors.

Key takeaways

Star (rocket stage) belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Star (rocket stage) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Star (rocket stage) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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 upper stages, often as apogee kick motors. The number designations refer to the approximate diameter of the fuel casing in inches. 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 13 The Star 13 (TE-M-458) is a solid fuel apogee kick motor. It was used on NASA's Anchored Interplanetary Monitoring Platform satellites. Several other versions were developed. Star 13D (TE-M-375) was used on the Syncom 1, Star 13A (TE-M-516) on LES 1/2, Aurora (P67-1), Orbiscal (P68-1), Lincoln Calibration Sphere 4, S3-2, Solrad 11A/B, SPX plume generator package, Freja, Meteor and Equator-S, Star 13C (TE-M-345-11/12) on AMSAT P3A and Star 13B (TE-M-763) on AMPTE-CCE payloads.

Star 17 The Star 17 (TE-M-479) is a solid fuel apogee kick motor, first launched in 1963. It was used for payloads such as Radio Astronomy Explorer, SOLRAD and S3 satellites. The Star 17A (TE-M-521-5) version was used for orbit circularization on Skynet 1, NATO 1, IMP-H and IMP-J satellites.

Star 20 (Altair 3A) The Star 20 (TE-M-640) is a solid fuel apogee kick motor, also known as Altair-3A. It was used as a second stage on an Atlas-E/F vehicle launching Stacksat. The TE-M-640 motor is similar to Altair 3 (FW-4S), and both are designated by NASA as Altair IIIA.

Star 24 The Star 24 (TE-M-604) is a solid fuel apogee kick motor, first qualified in 1973. It burns an 86% solids carboxyl-terminated polybutadiene (CTPB)-based composite propellant. The "24" designation refers to the approximate diameter of the Titanium fuel casing in inches.

Star 26 The Star 26 (Burner 2A or TE-M-442) is an upper stage motor used in Burner II stage of the Sandia Strypi IV vehicle introduced in 1965. The Star 26B (TE-M-442-1) variant was used on the Thor-LV2F Burner-2A launcher. Star 26C (TE-M-442-2) was used on the DOT sounding rocket.

Star 27

The Star 27 is a solid apogee kick motor, with the 27 representing the approximate diameter of the stage in inches. It burns HTPB-based composite propellant with an average erosion rate of 0.0011 inches per second (0.028 mm/s). It as used as a second stage on a version of the Atlas E/F rocket, launching the Solwind and Geosat satellites. When used on the Pegasus air-launch rocket payloads are capable of leaving Earth orbit. A version of the Star 27, designated the Star 27H, was used in the launch of the IBEX spacecraft. The spacecraft had a mass of 105 kg by itself and together with its Star 27H motor, 462 kg. The Star 27H helped it get to a higher orbit, beyond Earth's magnetosphere.

Star 30 The Star 30 (TE-M-700-2) is a solid fuel motor, with the 30 representing the approximate diameter of the stage in inches. Different versions (A, B, C, E and BP) were used as an apogee motor for satellites such as G-STAR, Skynet 4, Koreasat or the HS-376 satellite bus. Star 30E was used by the small ORBEX orbital launcher. A Star 30 booster was also used on the CONTOUR comet probe.

Star 31 (Antares 1A) The Star 31 (also known as Antares 1A or X-254) is a solid fuel motor, with the 31 representing the approximate diameter of the stage in inches. It had a thrust of 60.50 kN and a mass of 1225 kg. It was used as a stage on the WASP missile, Scout X, Scout X-1, Blue Scout Junior, Blue Scout I, Blue Scout II, Scout X-1A and RAM B.

Star 37

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 engine and the Burner II used the Thiokol TE-M-364-2. The "-37" designation refers to the approximate diameter of the titanium 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 2,350 pounds (1,070 kg), while the motor has been qualified for propellant off-loading to 2,257 pounds (1,024 kg). A spin-stabilized (Star 37FM) or thrust-vectoring (Star 37FMV) version of Star 37 is used as the final stage of the Minotaur V launch vehicle. 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).

Star 48

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Star (rocket stage)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Star (rocket stage) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Star (rocket stage) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Star (rocket stage) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Star (rocket stage)

In research: Star (rocket stage) appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Star (rocket stage) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Star (rocket stage) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Alliant Techsystems, Rocket stages, Solid-fuel rockets, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Star (rocket stage) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Star (rocket stage) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Star (rocket stage) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Star (rocket stage) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Star (rocket stage) in simple terms?

Why does Star (rocket stage) matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Star (rocket stage)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Star (rocket stage).