The Castor-Orbus was a Castor 4
sounding rocket (research rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its flight) that was developed in 1992 by the
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other governmen ...
(OSC) (United States). Launched three times in its five-year-long career from 1992 to 1997, the Castor-Orbus rocket launched successfully only once. It was first launched on October 16, 1992, while its final launch took place on October 4, 1997.
There were two Castor-Orbus models made, Castor-Orbus and Castor-Orbus 1.
Advanced details
Weighing 13.5
ton
Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses.
Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean
* the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds
...
s (13,500 kilograms), the Castor-Orbus had a lift-off thrust of approximately 430
kilonewton
The newton (symbol: N) is the unit of force in the International System of Units (SI). It is defined as 1 kg⋅m/s, the force which gives a mass of 1 kilogram an acceleration of 1 metre per second per second. It is named after Isaac Newton in r ...
s (equivalent to around 96,660
lbf
The pound of force or pound-force (symbol: lbf, sometimes lbf,) is a unit of force used in some systems of measurement, including English Engineering units and the foot–pound–second system.
Pound-force should not be confused with pound-m ...
). The rocket had a core diameter measuring 1.02 metres (3.34 feet), with a total length of exactly 16 metres (52 ft). It had an
apsis
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion.
General description
There are two apsides in any ell ...
(apogee) of over {{convert, 500, km, mi. The family of the Castor-Orbus rocket was Castor 4, which was partially responsible for the Castor-Orbus naming.
Career
The Castor-Orbus rocket was launched three times over almost five years. After the launch of October 4, 1997, the Castor-Orbus was dropped from service.
*The first launch of the Castor-Orbus took place on October 16, 1992, at around 6:30 am. The location of the launch was
Wake Island
Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of T ...
, in the North
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
. This launch proved to be a failure.
*The second launch took place almost five years later, on February 10, 1997, at the
Nevada Test Site
The Nevada National Security Site (N2S2 or NNSS), known as the Nevada Test Site (NTS) until 2010, is a United States Department of Energy (DOE) reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about 65 miles (105 km) northwest of the ...
, in
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
, US. This launch would prove to be the first and last successful launch of the Castor-Orbis.
*The final launch of the Castor-Orbus was not successful. It took place on October 4, 1997, at the Nevada Test Site.
See also
*
List of rockets
There are several different types of rockets. The following articles contain lists of rockets by type:
* List of missiles
* List of orbital launch systems
* List of sounding rockets
* List of military rockets
* List of rocket stages
See also
* C ...
References
Encyclopedia Astronautica
Sounding rockets of the United States