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57-495: 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. The Star 13 ( TE-M-458 ) is a solid fuel apogee kick motor . It

114-511: A 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. 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. The Star 26 (Burner 2A or TE-M-442)

171-497: A LGM-30 Minuteman missile. The standard Scout launch vehicle was a solid propellant, four-stage booster system, approximately 23 meters (75 ft) in length with a launch weight of 21,499 kilograms (47,397 lb). The Scout A was used for launches of the Transit NNSS series (Transit-O 6 to 19), placing two satellites in orbit at the same time. Twelve flights were conducted between 21 December 1965 and 27 August 1970. It

228-569: A hyperbolic trajectory around the Sun and eventually leave the Solar System. Ulysses is now switched off as its RTG power supply has run down, and so is uncontactable and cannot be tracked or guided in any way since 2009. Its exact trajectory is therefore unknowable as factors such as solar radiation pressure could significantly alter its encounter path. Blue Scout Junior The Scout family of rockets were American launch vehicles designed to place small satellites into orbit around

285-518: A Scout, on February 16, 1961, delivered Explorer 9 , a 7 kilograms (15 lb) satellite used for atmospheric density studies, into orbit. The final launch of a Scout, using a Scout G-1, was on May 8, 1994, from Vandenberg Air Force Base . The payload was the Miniature Sensor Technology Integration Series 2 ( MSTI-2 ) military spacecraft with a mass of 163 kilograms (359 lb). MSTI-2 successfully acquired and tracked

342-517: A distance of 225 000 km (140 000 miles), but again a telemetry failure prevented the reception of scientific data. The fourth and final XRM-91 mission in December 1961 also carried particle detectors, and was the only completely successful flight of the initial Blue Scout Junior program. The Blue Scout Junior was regarded by the USAF as the most useful of the various Blue Scout configurations. It

399-496: A higher orbit, beyond Earth's magnetosphere. 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 PB) 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 ORBEX small orbital launcher. A Star 30 booster

456-664: 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 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 27 motor, 462 kg. The Star 27H helped it get to

513-449: 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

570-491: A spherical NOTS Cetus in a common nose fairing. The XRM-91 also lacked the gyro-stabilization and guidance system of the RM-89 Blue Scout I and RM-90 Blue Scout II, making it a completely unguided rocket. It relied on second-stage fins and two spin motors to achieve a stable flight trajectory. The first launch of an XRM-91 occurred on September 21, 1960, making it actually the first Blue Scout configuration to fly. The flight

627-402: 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. 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

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684-576: Is a solid fuel motor, with the 63 representing the approximate diameter of the stage in inches. Different versions exist: Star-63D (used on PAM-D2 ) , Star-63DV and Star-63F . It was used to launch payloads from the Space Shuttle , and as stage on the Titan 34D and Delta 7925 rockets. List of artificial objects leaving the Solar System#Propulsion stages Several space probes and

741-720: Is a 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. 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

798-513: Is highly advantageous to use as a boost the orbital speed of the Earth around the Sun, which is 29.78 km/s. By later passing near a planet, a probe can gain extra speed from a gravity assist . Every planetary probe was placed into its escape trajectory by a multistage rocket , the last stage of which ends up on nearly the same trajectory as the probe it launched. Because these stages cannot be actively guided, their trajectories are now different from

855-518: Is thought to be in solar orbit because its encounter with Jupiter would not have resulted in escape from the Solar System. Pioneer 11 gained the required velocity to escape the Solar System in its subsequent encounter with Saturn. On January 19, 2006, the New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto was launched directly into a solar-escape trajectory at 16.26 kilometers per second (58,536 km/h; 36,373 mph) from Cape Canaveral using an Atlas V and

912-554: 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). The Star 48 is a type of solid rocket motor developed primarily by Thiokol Propulsion , which

969-604: The Common Core Booster , Centaur upper stage, and Star 48B third stage. New Horizons passed the Moon's orbit in just nine hours. The subsequent encounter with Jupiter only increased its velocity, and enabled the probe to arrive at Pluto three years earlier than without this encounter. Thus the only objects to date to be launched directly into a solar escape trajectory were the New Horizons spacecraft, its third stage, and

1026-636: The Dual Air Density Explorer satellites from Vandenberg. The Scout G-1 flew from 1974 until the Scout's retirement in 1994. It was rated to orbit a 210 kg payload. The USAF Scout program was known as HETS (Hyper Environmental Test System) or System 609A, and the rockets were generally referred to as Blue Scout. The prime contractor for the NASA Scout was LTV, but the Blue Scout prime contractor

1083-521: The Main Sequence existence of the Sun's life, billions of years hence. One estimated timescale as to the likelihood of the Pioneer or Voyager spacecraft colliding with a star (or stellar remnant) is 10 (100 quintillion) years. They are very unlikely, however, to gain enough velocity to escape the Milky Way galaxy (or its future merger with the Andromeda galaxy ) into intergalactic space . In 1990,

1140-516: 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. 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

1197-468: The solar probe Ulysses was launched towards Jupiter in order to reach a high-inclination heliocentric orbit over the Sun's poles; the spacecraft was shut down in 2008. Ulysses is currently in a 79° inclination orbit around the Sun with its apoapsis crossing the orbit of Jupiter. In November 2098, it will have another close fly-by with Jupiter, crossing between the orbits of Europa and Ganymede . After this slingshot maneuver, it will possibly enter

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1254-456: The upper stages of their launch vehicles are leaving the Solar System , all of which were launched by NASA . Three of the probes, Voyager 1 , Voyager 2 , and New Horizons are still functioning and are regularly contacted by radio communication, while Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 are now derelict. In addition to these spacecraft, some upper stages and de-spin weights are leaving

1311-636: The Army's Sergeant surface-to-surface missile; and the third- and fourth-stage motors were adapted by NASA's Langley Research Center; Hampton, VA, from the Navy's Vanguard launch vehicle. Unlike the Thor or Atlas-Agena the Scout was non-military and could be sold to foreign customers. The Scout X-1 first flew successfully on 10 October 1960, after an earlier failure in July 1960. The rocket's first stage had four stabilizing fins, and

1368-501: The Blue Scout Junior had sufficient impulse to have put a small satellite in low Earth orbit, it was not used as an orbital launch vehicle. The XRM-91 did not resemble the other Scout variants externally, because the usual first Scout stage (an Aerojet General Algol) was not used. Instead, the four-stage Blue Scout Junior used Scout's 2nd and 3rd stages (Castor and Antares) as the first two stages, and added an Aerojet General Alcor and

1425-677: The Castor IIA upgrades. The Scout B-1 flew after 1971 and introduced the Altair III upgrades. The Scout D-1 flew in 1972 and introduced the Algol III upgrade. The Scout F-1 flew twice in 1975, and was composed of a Algol-3A first stage, a Castor-2A second stage, a Antares-2B third stage and a Star-20 fourth stage. It successfully launched Small Astronomy Satellite 3 from the San Marco Launch Complex, but failed on launching

1482-558: The Earth. The Scout multistage rocket was the first orbital launch vehicle to be entirely composed of solid fuel stages. It was also the only vehicle of that type until the successful launch of the Japanese Lambda 4S in 1970. The original Scout (a backronym for Solid Controlled Orbital Utility Test system) was designed in 1957 at the NACA , at Langley center . Scout launch vehicles were used from 1961 until 1994. To enhance reliability

1539-561: 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 or thrust-vectoring version of Star 37

1596-525: The Solar System and coast into interstellar space . Although other probes were launched first, Voyager 1 has achieved a higher speed and overtaken all others. Voyager 1 overtook Voyager 2 a few months after launch, on December 19, 1977. It overtook Pioneer 11 in 1981, and then Pioneer 10 —becoming the probe farthest from the Sun—on February 17, 1998. Voyager 2 is moving faster than all other probes launched before it; it overtook Pioneer 11 in

1653-446: The Solar System, assuming they continue on their trajectories. These objects are leaving the Solar System because their velocity and direction are taking them away from the Sun, and at their distance from the Sun, its gravitational pull is not sufficient to pull these objects back or into orbit. They are not impervious to the gravitational pull of the Sun and are being slowed, but are still traveling in excess of escape velocity to leave

1710-423: The Sun from its surface is 618 km/s (1,380,000 mph), and drops down to 42.1 km/s (94,000 mph) at Earth's distance from the Sun (1 AU ), and 4.21 km/s (9,400 mph) at a distance of 100 AU. In order to leave the Solar System, the probe needs to reach the local escape velocity. Escape velocity from the sun without the influence of Earth is 42.1 km/s. In order to reach this speed, it

1767-577: The XRM-89 Blue Scout I. The first XRM-90 launch occurred on 1961-03-03, followed by a second one on 1961-04-12. Both sub-orbital flights were successful, and measured radiation levels in the Van Allen belts . The second Blue Scout II also carried a micrometeorite sampling experiment, but the recovery of the reentry capsule failed. The third XRM-90 was used by NASA in November 1961 for Mercury-Scout 1 . This

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1824-501: The XRM-89 carried a variety of experiments to measure rocket performance and high-altitude fields and particle radiation. The payload was located in a recoverable reentry capsule, but the capsule sank before it could be recovered from the water. The only other XRM-89 launches (in May 1961 and April 1962) were unsuccessful, and the Blue Scout I program was terminated in 1962. The XRM-90 Blue Scout II

1881-725: The development team opted to use "off the shelf" hardware, originally produced for military programs. According to the NASA fact sheet: "... the first stage motor was a combination of the Jupiter Senior and the Navy Polaris ; the second stage came from the Army MGM-29 Sergeant ; and the third and fourth stage motors were designed by Langley engineers who adapted a version of the Navy Vanguard ." The first successful orbital launch of

1938-504: 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

1995-511: The late 1980s and then Pioneer 10 — becoming the second-farthest spacecraft from the Sun — on July 18, 2023. Depending on how the " Pioneer anomaly " affects it, New Horizons will also probably pass the Pioneer probes, but will need many years to do so. It will overtake Pioneer 11 in 2143, and will overtake Pioneer 10 in 2314, but will never overtake the Voyagers . To put the distances in

2052-536: 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

2109-441: The probes they launched (the probes having been guided with small thrusters that allowed course changes). However, in cases where the spacecraft acquired escape velocity because of a gravity assist , the stages may not have a similar course and there is the extremely remote possibility that they collided with something. The stages on an escape trajectory are: In addition, two small yo-yo de-spin weights on wires were used to reduce

2166-405: The program, but different requirements led to some divergence in the development of NASA and USAF Scouts. The basic NASA Scout configuration, from which all variants were derived, was known as Scout-X1. It was a four-stage rocket, which used the following motors: Scout's first-stage motor was based on an earlier version of the Navy's Polaris missile motor; the second-stage motor was developed from

2223-654: The rocket's apogee . NASA used a three-stage Blue Scout Junior configuration (omitting the Cetus 4th stage) as the RAM B. The Italian space research program began in 1959 with the creation of the CRA (Centro Ricerche Aerospaziali) at the University of Rome. Three years later, on 7 September 1962, the university signed a memorandum of understanding with NASA to collaborate on a space research program named San Marco (St. Mark). The Italian launch team

2280-455: 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

2337-491: The spin of the New Horizons probe prior to its release from the third-stage rocket. Once the spin rate was lowered, these masses and the wires were released, and so are also on an escape trajectory out of the Solar System. None of the above objects are trackable – they have no power or radio antennas, spin uncontrollably, and are too small to be detected. Their exact positions are unknowable beyond their projected Solar System escape trajectories. The third stage of Pioneer 11

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2394-402: The table in context, Pluto 's average distance ( semi-major axis ) is about 40 AU. Note: Data above as of November 21, 2024. Source: JPL, NASA SSD Simulator, and for New Horizons. Solar escape velocity is a function of distance (r) from the Sun's center, given by where the product G M sun is the heliocentric gravitational parameter . The initial speed required to escape

2451-507: The two de-spin masses. The New Horizons Centaur (second) stage is not escaping; it is in a 2.83-year heliocentric (solar) orbit. The Pioneer 10 and 11 , and Voyager 1 and 2 Centaur (second) stages are also in heliocentric orbits. Given the huge emptiness of interstellar space, all the objects listed here are likely to continue into deep space in timelines that, barring the exceptionally unlikely chance of their colliding with (or being collected by) another object, could outlast even

2508-415: The vehicle incorporated a gyro-based guidance system for attitude stabilization to keep the rocket on course. Scout X-1A was an American sounding rocket which was flown in 1962. It was a five-stage derivative of the earlier Scout X-1 , with an uprated first stage, and a NOTS-17 upper stage. Scout X-2 was an American expendable launch system and sounding rocket which was flown twice in 1962. It

2565-461: Was Ford Aeronutronics. By using different combinations of rocket stages, the USAF created several different Blue Scout configurations. One of these was the XRM-89 Blue Scout I , which was a three-stage vehicle, using Castor 2 and an Antares 1A stages, but omitting the basic Scout's Altair 4th stage. The first launch of an XRM-89 occurred on 1961-01-07, and was mostly successful. On that flight,

2622-563: Was a four-stage rocket, based on the earlier Scout X-1 , introducing the Algol 1D and Antares IIB stage upgrades. On 1962-08-23 a Scout X-2 was used for the first successful launch of a DMSP satellite, lifting off from Point Arguello near Vandenberg Air Force Base . The Scout X-3 flew after 1962 and introduced the Algol IIA upgrade. The Scout X-4 flew after 1963 and introduced Altair 2 upgrade. The Scout A-1 flew in 1973 and introduced

2679-468: Was a rocket of the U.S. Air Force's System 609A Blue Scout family. The XRM-90 was a four-stage rocket, which used the same stages as the basic NASA Scout. It was nevertheless not identical to the latter, because the 4th stage was hidden in a payload fairing with the same diameter as the 3rd stage, and the first stage nozzle used a flared tail skirt between the fins. Externally, the XRM-90 was indistinguishable from

2736-449: Was also used on the CONTOUR comet probe. 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 stages of WASP , Scout X , Scout X-1 , Blue Scout Junior , Blue Scout I , Blue Scout II , Scout X-1A and RAM B. The Star 37

2793-460: Was also used to launch the British Ariel 3 scientific satellite. Standard payload capability was 122 kg into a low-Earth orbit. Stage 1: Algol Stage 2: Castor Stage 3: Antares Stage 4: Altair In the late 1950s, NASA established the Scout program to develop a multistage solid-propellant space booster and research rocket. The U.S. Air Force also participated in

2850-489: Was an attempt to orbit a communications payload for Project Mercury , but the rocket failed after 28 seconds of flight. The USAF subsequently abandoned the XRM-89 Blue Scout I and XRM-90 Blue Scout II vehicles, and shifted to the RM-91/SLV-1B Blue Scout Junior instead. The XRM-91 Blue Scout Junior (sometimes called Journeyman B) was a rocket of the U.S. Air Force's System 609A Blue Scout family. Although

2907-722: 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 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

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2964-465: Was planned to make radiation and magnetic field measurements at distances of up to 26 700 km (16 600 miles) from earth, and while the rocket did indeed achieve this altitude, the telemetry system failed so that no data was received. The second launch in November ended with a failure during second stage burn. The third flight was to measure particle densities in the Van Allen belts and reached

3021-465: Was purchased by Orbital ATK in 2001. 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

3078-505: Was tested for the Parker Solar Probe mission as the upper stage on an Atlas V 551 vehicle, 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. The Star 63

3135-456: Was trained by NASA. The San Marco project was focused on the launching of scientific satellites by Scout rockets from a mobile rigid platform located close to the equator. This station, composed of 3 oil platforms and two logistical support boats, was installed off the Kenya coast, close to the town of Malindi. The Scout rockets have contributed to several pieces of debris over the years, some of which

3192-723: Was used (in slightly modified form) between 1962 and 1965 by the Air Force as the SLV-1B/C launch vehicle for suborbital scientific payloads. The SLV-1C was also chosen as the rocket for the MER-6A interim ERCS ( Emergency Rocket Communications System ) vehicle; this provided a reliable and survivable emergency communications method for the United States National Command Authority , using a UHF repeater that would transmit pre-recorded messages to all units within line-of-sight of

3249-528: 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 C ( TE-M-345-11/12 ) on AMSAT P3A and Star B ( TE-M-763 ) on AMPTE-CCE payloads. The Star 17 ( TE-M-479 )

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