Thor-Burner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Fact sheet
Thor-Burner
Thor-Burner rocket
Function	Expendable launch system
Manufacturer	Douglas
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	23m (75 ft)
Diameter	2.44m (8 ft)
Mass	50,000kg (110,000 lb)
Stages	2-3
Launch History
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Vandenberg AFB, LC-4300, LE-6, SLC-10W
Total launches	24
Successes	22
Failures	2
Maiden flight	20 May 1965
Last flight	19 February 1976

The Thor-Burner was an American expendable launch system, a member of the Thor family. It consisted of a Thor missile, with one or two Burner upper stages. It was used between 1965 and 1976, to orbit a number of satellites, most commonly DMSP weather satellites. Twenty-four were launched, of which two failed. Each launch cost 11.890 million 1985 US Dollars. It weighed 51,810 kg and was 24 metres tall.

The Burner II used with the Thor-Burner was the first solid-fuel upper-stage vehicle used for general space applications that had full control and guidance capability. The first Burner II flight was on 1966-09-15.^[1]