Conestoga 1620
Launch vehicle · USA
Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.
American all-solid orbital launch vehicle. Four stage vehicle consisting of 4 x Castor 4B + 2 x Castor 4B + 1 x Castor 4B + 1 x Star 48V
LEO Payload: 900 kg (1,980 lb).
More at: Conestoga 1620.
Related
- Family
- all-solid, LCLVs, low cost, orbital launch vehicle
- Country
- USA
- Spacecraft
- Meteor (USA)
- Launch Sites
- Wallops Island, Wallops Island LA0A
- Stages
- Castor 4B engine, Star 48V
- Agency
- EER.
- Meteor - .
- Nation
- USA
- Agency
- EER
- Apogee
- 10 km (6 mi). At T+44.4 seconds the vehicle started a turn to the south and pitched down. The ISDS destruct system commanded the destruct packages at T+46.202 seconds. The ISDS failed to operate on two Castor 4 stage 1 motors but operated on the other four. At T+47.67 sec the ISDS destroyed a non-burning Castor 4B motor. The third stage Castor 4B and fourth stage Star 48 were not destroyed and impacted in the ocean. Cause of the failure was identified as the flight control system attempting to respond to noise being received on a data line, resulting in early depletion of hydraulic control steering fluid on stage 1 motor 6