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Graphite-Epoxy Motor
The Graphite-Epoxy Motor (GEM) is a family of solid rocket boosters first developed in the late 1980s and used from 1990 to the present day. GEM motors are manufactured with carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer casings and a fuel consisting of HTPB-bound ammonium perchlorate composite propellant. GEM is currently produced by Northrop Grumman Space Systems. GEM boosters were previously used on the Delta II, Delta III, and Delta IV launch vehicles, and are currently used on the Atlas V. A new variant, the GEM 63XL, is slated to fly as part of the Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle no earlier than the 1st quarter of 2023. Variants Active GEM 63 The GEM 63 was developed by Orbital ATK as a low-cost drop-in replacement for the Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-60A solid rocket booster used on the Atlas V. Its overall dimensions are very similar to that of the motor it replaces. The Atlas V first flew with the GEM 63 in 2020 on the NROL-101 launch. The booster offers higher performance at about half ...
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Hercules Inc
Hercules, Inc. was a chemical and munitions manufacturing company based in Wilmington, Delaware, United States, incorporated in 1912 as the Hercules Powder Company following the breakup of the DuPont explosives monopoly by the U.S. Circuit Court in 1911. Hercules Powder Company became Hercules, Inc. in 1966, operating under this name until 2008, when it was merged into Ashland Inc. An earlier Hercules Powder Company was formed in 1882 by DuPont and Laflin & Rand Powder Company. This company was dissolved on June 30, 1904. Hercules was one of the major producers of smokeless powder for warfare in the United States during the 20th century. At the time of its spin-off, the DuPont Corp. retained the processes and patents for the production of "single-base" nitrocellulose gunpowders, whereas Hercules was given the patents and processes for the production of "double-base" gunpowders that combined nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine. History A special formulation of dynamite wa ...
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Vulcan Centaur
Vulcan Centaur is a two-stage-to-orbit, heavy-lift launch vehicle that is under development by the United Launch Alliance (ULA) since 2014 with an initial flight expected in early 2023. It is principally designed to meet launch demands for the U.S. government's National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program for use by the United States Space Force and U.S. intelligence agencies for national security satellite launches. The maiden flight is slated to launch Astrobotic Technology's ''Peregrine'' lunar lander for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program and Kuiper Systems' Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2, no earlier than 2023, after multiple delays from the initially planned first flight in 2019. Description Vulcan is ULA's first new launch vehicle design; it adapts and evolves technologies that were developed for the Atlas V and Delta IV rockets of the USAF's EELV program. The first-stage propellant tanks have the same diameter as the Delta IV Common Booster Core ...
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Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 17
Space Launch Complex 17 (SLC-17), previously designated Launch Complex 17 (LC-17), was a launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida used for Thor and Delta launch vehicles launches between 1958 and 2011. It was built in 1956 for use with the PGM-17 Thor missile, the first operational ballistic missile in the arsenal of the United States. More recently the launch complex has been used for vehicles in the Delta launch vehicle family, derived from the Thor missile, to launch probes to the Moon and planets, solar observatories and weather satellites. SLC-17 features two expendable launch vehicle (ELV) launch pads, 17A and 17B. The pads were operated by the 45th Space Wing and have supported more than 300 Department of Defense, NASA and commercial missile and rocket launches. Following the last military launch, in August 2009, SLC-17A was withdrawn from use, and LC-17B was transferred to NASA (SLC-17B) for two remaining launches. Pad 17A supported its first T ...
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Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the station is the primary launch site for the Space Force's Eastern RangeCAST 1999, p. 1-12. with three launch pads currently active (Space Launch Complexes 37B, 40, and 41). The facility is south-southeast of NASA's Kennedy Space Center on adjacent Merritt Island, with the two linked by bridges and causeways. The Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Skid Strip provides a runway close to the launch complexes for military airlift aircraft delivering heavy and outsized payloads to the Cape. A number of American space exploration pioneers were launched from CCSFS, including the first U.S. Earth satellite (1958), first U.S. astronaut (1961), first U.S. astronaut in orbit (1962), first two-man U.S. spacecraft (1965), first U.S. unmanned lunar land ...
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Self-destruct
A self-destruct is a mechanism that can cause an object to destroy itself or render itself inoperable after a predefined set of circumstances has occurred. Self-destruct mechanisms are typically found on devices and systems where malfunction could endanger large numbers of people. Uses Land mines Some types of modern land mines are designed to self-destruct, or chemically render themselves inert after a period of weeks or months to reduce the likelihood of friendly casualties during the conflict or civilian casualties after the conflict's end. The Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), amended in 1996, requires that anti-personnel land mines deactivate and self-destruct, and sets standards for both. Landmines currently used by the United States military are designed to self-destruct after between 4 hours and 15 days depending upon the type. The landmines have a battery and when the battery dies, the land mine self-destructs. The self-des ...
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Koreasat 1
Koreasat 1 was a South Korean communications satellite launched by a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, United States. Owned by KT Corporation. One of the boosters of the Delta II rocket failed to separate from the first stage of the spacecraft, placing it 5,000 km short of its planned GTO apogee. The satellite had to use up 7.5 years worth of its 12-year lifetime fuel supply to make up the deficiency, shortening Koreasat 1's expected life to about 4.5 years. In order to extend its lifetime, it gave up north–south station-keeping operating in "inclined mode." In the end, the satellite managed to function for 10 years. The satellite was equipped with a Star 30 solid apogee motor. It carried of fuel for the apogee motor and of hydrazine propellant. It was eventually positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 116° E operated it at 47.5° E where it was focused on Hungary. The satellite went out of service on December 16, 2005, and was moved to the ...
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Anti-ballistic Missile
An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to counter ballistic missiles (missile defense). Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear weapon, nuclear, Chemical weapon, chemical, Bioagent, biological, or conventional weapon, conventional warheads in a ballistics, ballistic flight trajectory. The term "anti-ballistic missile" is a generic term conveying a system designed to intercept and destroy any type of ballistic threat; however, it is commonly used for systems specifically designed to counter intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Current counter-ICBM systems There are a limited number of systems worldwide that can intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles: * The Russian A-135 anti-ballistic missile system (renamed in 2017 to A-235) is used for the defense of Moscow. It became operational in 1995 and was preceded by the A-35 anti-ballistic missile system. The system uses ABM-4 Gorgon, Gorgon and Gazelle (missile), Gazelle missiles pre ...
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Ground-Based Midcourse Defense
Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) is the United States' anti-ballistic missile system for intercepting incoming warheads in space, during the midcourse phase of ballistic trajectory flight. It is a major component of the American missile defense strategy to counter ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) carrying nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads. The system is deployed in military bases in the states of Alaska and California; in 2018 comprising 44 interceptors and spanning 15 time zones with sensors on land, at sea, and in orbit. In 2019, a missile defense review requested that 20 additional ground-based interceptors be based in Alaska. GMD is administered by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), while the operational control and execution is provided by the U.S. Army, and support functions are provided by the U.S. Air Force. Previously known as National Missile Defense (NMD), the name was changed in 2002 to different ...
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Delta II GEM 40 Booster
Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also refer to: Places Canada * Delta, British Columbia ** Delta (electoral district), a federal electoral district ** Delta (provincial electoral district) * Delta, Ontario United States * Mississippi Delta * Delta, Alabama * Delta Junction, Alaska * Delta, Colorado * Delta, Illinois * Delta, Iowa * Delta, Kentucky * Delta, Louisiana * Delta, Missouri * Delta, North Carolina * Delta, Ohio * Delta, Pennsylvania * Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, California * Delta, Utah * Delta, Wisconsin, a town * Delta (community), Wisconsin * Delta County (other) Elsewhere * Delta Island, Antarctica * Delta Stream, Antarctica * Delta, Minas Gerais, Brazil * Nile Delta, Egypt * Delta, Thessaloniki, Greece * Delta State, Nigeria * Delta, Ast ...
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OmegA
Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value of 800. The word literally means "great O" (''ō mega'', mega meaning "great"), as opposed to omicron, which means "little O" (''o mikron'', micron meaning "little"). In phonetic terms, the Ancient Greek Ω represented a long open-mid back rounded vowel , comparable to the "aw" of the English word ''raw'' in dialects without the cot–caught merger, in contrast to omicron which represented the close-mid back rounded vowel , and the digraph ''ου'' which represented the long close-mid back rounded vowel . In Modern Greek, both omega and omicron represent the mid back rounded vowel or . The letter omega is transliterated into a Latin-script alphabet as ''ō'' or simply ''o''. As the final letter in the Greek alphabet, omega is often used t ...
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Thrust Vectoring
Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the vehicle. In rocketry and ballistic missiles that fly outside the atmosphere, aerodynamic control surfaces are ineffective, so thrust vectoring is the primary means of attitude control. Exhaust vanes and gimbaled engines were used in the 1930s by Robert Goddard. For aircraft, the method was originally envisaged to provide upward vertical thrust as a means to give aircraft vertical (VTOL) or short (STOL) takeoff and landing ability. Subsequently, it was realized that using vectored thrust in combat situations enabled aircraft to perform various maneuvers not available to conventional-engined planes. To perform turns, aircraft that use no thrust vectoring must rely on aerodynamic control surfaces only, such as ailerons or elevator; aircraft ...
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United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance (ULA), legally United Launch Alliance, LLC, is an American spacecraft launch service provider that manufactures and operates a number of rocket vehicles that are capable of launching spacecraft into orbits around Earth, and to other bodies in the Solar System and beyond. The company, which is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Defense, Space & Security, was formed in December 2006. Launch customers of the United Launch Alliance include the Department of Defense (DoD), NASA, and other organizations. ULA provides launch services using expendable launch systems Delta IV Heavy and Atlas V, and until 2018 the medium-lift Delta II. The Atlas, Delta IV Heavy and the recently retired Delta IV launch systems have launched payloads including weather, telecommunications, and national security satellites, scientific probes and orbiters. ULA also launches commercial satellites. , the company is developing the Vulcan Centaur, a successor to the ...
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