Orion is the designation of a small American sounding rocket. The Orion has a length of 5.60 meters, a diameter of 0.35 m, a launch weight of 400 kg, a launch thrust of 7 kN and a ceiling of 85 kilometers. The Orion, built by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility, is also used as an upper stage of sounding rockets, usually paired with a Terrier missile as the first stage,[2][3][4] although Nike, Taurus and VS-30 rockets are also used.[5]

Orion
One of the first Orion rockets (HAWK at the time) shortly after launch.
Functionsounding rocket[1]
ManufacturerNASA
Country of originUnited States
Size
Height5.60 m
Diameter0.35 m
Mass
  • 400 kg
Stages1
Launch history
Launch sitesWallops, White Sands, Poker Flat, Andoya, Esrange, Barreira do Inferno
First stage
Thrust7 kN

Two Orion versions exist:[5]

The sounding rocket is launched from Wallops Flight Facility, White Sands, Poker Flat Rocket Range, Andoya Rocket Range, Esrange and Barreira do Inferno.[2][6][5]

Incidents

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A lightning storm over the Wallops launch pad on 9 June 1987 ignited a NASA Orion rocket and 2 other sounding rockets. The Orion flew horizontally about 300 feet into the ocean. The sounding rockets rose to around 15,000 feet altitude, then fell about 2 miles from the launch pad. No persons were hurt in the incident.[7]

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References

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  1. ^ International Astronautical Federation; United Nations. Office for Outer Space Affairs; International Institute of Space Law (2007). Highlights in Space 2006: Progress in Space Science, Technology and Applications, International Cooperation and Space Law. United Nations Publications. pp. 58–. ISBN 978-92-1-101147-0.
  2. ^ a b Wade, Mark. "Orion Sounding Rocket". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  3. ^ "Terrier-Improved Orion (41.XXX)" (PDF).
  4. ^ Staff, SpaceNews. "NASA Sounding Rocket Tests New Technologies". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  5. ^ a b c "Orion". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  6. ^ Cowing, Keith (2023-02-18). "NASA Launches Two Sounding Rockets For Tech Research". SpaceRef. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  7. ^ Patricia Tanner, Update, Air & Space/Smithsonian, Vol. 2 No. 3 (August/September 1987), p. 21