Burner (rocket stage)

The Burner, Burner II, and Burner IIA rocket stages have been used as upper stages of launch vehicles such as the Thor-Burner and Delta since 1965.

Atlas-F Burner-2 launching Radcat and Radsat on 02.10.1972

Burner I

The Burner I stage (also called the Altair stage) was derived from the fourth stage of the Scout launch vehicle, and was powered by a Star 37 solid rocket motor (Thiokol TE 364-1).^[1][2]

Burner II

In September 1965, Air Force Space Systems Division announced the development of a new, low cost upper stage called Burner II, powered by Thiokol TE-M-364-2 engine.^[2] It was intended as the smallest maneuverable upper stage in the Air Force inventory. In June 1967, the first Thor/Burner II vehicle successfully launched a pair of satellites to orbit.

In June 1971, the last of the Burner II missions was launched from Vandenberg by a Thor/Burner II launch vehicle and carried an SESP-1 space environmental satellite.^[3]

In the mid-1970s Burner II was also studied for use as an upper stage in combination with the Space Shuttle. NASA managers choose other solutions for missions where upper stages were required.^[4]

Burner IIA

In June 1969, the Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO) began development of the Burner IIA configuration which would offer a tandem motor injection capability and almost twice the capability of Burner II.^[5]

In addition to use on Delta family rockets, Burner II stages have been used on both Atlas and Titan rockets.^[6] Atlas E/F vehicles were configured with a Burner II/IIA stage and launched in 1968 and 1972. The first launch failed with the second delivering a radiation research payload for the Space Test Program (P72-1 Radsat) using Burner IIA.^[7]