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STARS

Launch vehicle · USA

Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.

American test vehicle. Three stage target vehicle for anti-ballistic missile tests, consisting of a surplus Polaris A3 SLBM (A3P first stage + X-260 second stage) and an Orbus 1 third stage.

Sandia National Laboratories began development of the vehicle in 1985 as an alternative to existing test vehicles using Minuteman 1 surplus rocket stages. The STARS I configuration could boost as single simulated warhead. STARS II added the ODES (Operations and Deployment Experiments Simulator) fourth stage, which simulated the post-boost vehicle of an ICBM and could dispense decoys or multiple simulated warheads.

Maximum range: 5,500 km (3,400 mi).

More at: STARS.

Country
USA
Agency
Lockheed

Chronology

16 events

1993 February 26

20:45 GMT - . Launch Site: Barking Sands. Launch Complex: Barking Sands LC42. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • FTU-1 test - . Nation: USA. Agency: USA SDC. Apogee: 900 km (550 mi).

1993 August 25

10:00 GMT - . Launch Site: Barking Sands. Launch Complex: Barking Sands LC42. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • Zodiac Beauchamp Target mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: USA SDC. Apogee: 900 km (550 mi).

1994 July 22

Launch Site: Barking Sands. Launch Complex: Barking Sands LC42. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • ODES - . Nation: USA. Agency: USA SDC. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

1996 August 31

15:41 GMT - . Launch Site: Barking Sands. Launch Complex: Barking Sands LC42. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • ODES/MSX MDT-2 Target mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: USA SDC. Apogee: 909 km (564 mi).

2001 November 9

18:12 GMT - . Launch Site: Kodiak. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS. FAILURE: Failure.
  • BMDO Radar Target mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: USA SMDC. Apogee: 10 km (6 mi).

2004 December 15

04:45 GMT - . Launch Site: Kodiak. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • IFT-13c Target mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: USA SMDC. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi). Target for ballistic missile defence intercept test. Launch successful, but anti-ballistic missile that was to intercept it never left silo. Impacted in Pacific Ocean. Delayed from January, August, November, December 9 and 12.

2005 February 14

06:22 GMT - . Launch Site: Kodiak. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • IFT-14 Target - . Nation: USA. Agency: USA SMDC. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

2006 February 23

16:09 GMT - . Launch Site: Kodiak. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • GMD FT04-1 Target - . Nation: USA. Agency: USA SMDC. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

2006 September 1

17:22 GMT - . Launch Site: Kodiak. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • GMD FTG-02 Target - . Nation: USA. Agency: USA SMDC. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

2007 May 25

14:15 GMT - . Launch Site: Kodiak. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS. FAILURE: Failure.
  • GMD FTG-03 Target - . Nation: USA. Agency: USA SMDC. Apogee: 40 km (24 mi).

2007 September 28

20:01 GMT - . Launch Site: Kodiak. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • GMD FTG-03a Target - . Nation: USA. Agency: USA SMDC. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

2008 July 18

21:47 GMT - . Launch Site: Kodiak. Launch Complex: Kodiak. Launch Pad: LP2. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • GMD FTX-03 Target - . Nation: USA. Agency: SMDC. Type: ABM Target. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

2008 December 5

20:04 GMT - . Launch Site: Kodiak. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • MDA FTG-05 Target - . Nation: USA. Type: ABM Target.

2011 November 17

11:30 GMT - . Launch Site: Barking Sands. Launch Complex: Barking Sands LC42. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • AHW Flight 1A - . Nation: USA. Type: ABM Target. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi). Advanced Hypersonic Weapon test. The boost-glide vehicle reentered the atmosphere over the Pacific and flew a long hypersonic glide trajectory to the Kwajalein Island impact area..

2014 August 25

08:25 GMT - . Launch Site: Kodiak. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • AHW FT2 - . Nation: USA. Apogee: 1.00 km (0.60 mi). Military hypersonic glide test failure. This was a US Army mission from a converted Polaris missile launched from Kodiak, Alaska. The missile went off course and was destroyed shortly after launch..

2017 October 30

Launch Site: Barking Sands. Launch Complex: Barking Sands LC42. LV Family: Polaris. Launch Vehicle: STARS.
  • CPS FE-1 - . Nation: USA. Type: ABM Target. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi). Test mission. Impacted Kwajalein..