Thor-Burner

Thor-Burner
	Thor-LV2F Burner-2
Function	Expendable launch system
Manufacturer	Douglas
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	23 m (75 ft)
Diameter	2.44 m (8 ft)
Mass	50,000 kg (110,000 lb)
Stages	2-3
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Vandenberg AFB, LC-4300, LE-6, SLC-10W
Total launches	26
Success(es)	23
Failure(s)	3
First flight	19 Jan 1965
Last flight	19 February 1976
	[edit on Wikidata]

The Thor-Burner was an American expendable launch system, a member of the Thor rocket family.^[1]^[2] It consisted of a Thor missile, with one or two Burner upper stages.^[1]^[2] It was used between 1965 and 1976 to orbit a number of satellites, most commonly Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) weather satellites. ^[3] Twenty-four were launched, of which two failed. It weighed 51,810 kg and was 24 metres tall.

Variants

There are many Thor-Burner variations, according to the type of upper stages used:^[4]

Name	1st stage	2nd stage	3rd stage
Thor-LV2D Burner-1 (MG-18)	DSV-2S	MG-18	-
Thor-LV2D Burner-1 (Altair-3)	DSV-2S	Altair-3 / FW-4S	-
Thor-LV2F Burner-2	DSV-2U	Burner-2 / Star-37B	-
Thor-LV2F Burner-2 Star-13A	DSV-2U	Burner-2 / Star-37B	Star-13A
Thor-LV2F Burner-2A	DSV-2U	Burner-2A #1 / Star-37B	Burner-2A #2 / Star-26B

Burner-1

The first two flights used a solid fuel MG-18 as second stage (Thor-LV2D Burner-1 (MG-18)).

After that an Altair rocket stage (same as the third stage of some Vanguard launch vehicles) was used, equipped by Boeing with 3-axis control (Thor-LV2D Burner-1 (Altair-3)).^[5]^[1]

These combinations were used for six vehicles.^[1] The first was launched on 1965-01-18 and the sixth on 1966-03-30. These were early launches of classified DMSP satellites. Two of these launches failed.^[6]^[1]

Burner-2

The Burner 2 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.^[1]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10] The first Burner-2 flight was on 1966-09-16.^[11]^[1]^[7]

On February 19, 1976, the attempted launch of a DMSP satellite from Vandenberg's SLC-10W went awry when SECO occurred 5 seconds early.^[12] Although the second stage separated and fired properly, the satellite was left in an unusable orbit from which it decayed only one hour after launch. Investigation into the mishap found that the Thor had been loaded an insufficient amount of RJ-1 (a higher grade of kerosene fuel that offered enhanced performance over standard RP-1) for the mission. The amount of LOX on Thor boosters was always the same on every launch, but the amount of kerosene could vary depending on the engine, as different LR-79 engines had slightly different performance levels, and so factory acceptance data was used to determine the fuel load needed for a particular unit. The particular engine used in Thor 182 had thus been loaded with kerosene according to the data sheet provided by Rocketdyne, however the information contained a typo which led to ground crews loading too little propellant for it. However, the postflight investigation also found that, even if the correct propellant load had been carried, the mission would have still failed because the Thor did not have sufficient performance to loft the DMSP into the required orbit. As the DMSP program evolved, the satellites gradually became heavier and more complex. Program planners, aware of this, selected an LR-79 engine which had particularly high performance, but it still turned out to not be enough for the mission. The failure was thus ultimately attributed to poor mission planning.^[13]

Launches

There were twenty six Thor-Burner launches from Vandenberg AFB:^[4]

Date	Serial	Variant	Site	Payload
19.01.1965	224	Thor-LV2D Burner-1 (MG-18)	4300-B6	DSAP-1 F10 (Stage 2 failed to separate from satellite)
18.03.1965	306	Thor-LV2D Burner-1 (MG-18)	4300-B6	DSAP-1 F11
20.05.1965	282	Thor-LV2D Burner-1 (Altair-3)	4300-B6	DSAP-3 F1
10.09.1965	213	Thor-LV2D Burner-1 (Altair-3)	4300-B6	DSAP-2 F1
06.01.1966	251	Thor-LV2D Burner-1 (Altair-3)	4300-B6	DSAP-2 F2 (Stage 2 failed)
31.03.1966	147	Thor-LV2D Burner-1 (Altair-3)	4300-B6	DSAP-2 F3
16.09.1966	167	Thor-LV2F Burner-2	4300-B6	DSAP-4A F1
08.02.1967	169	Thor-LV2F Burner-2	4300-B6	DSAP-4A F2
29.06.1967	171	Thor-LV2F Burner-2 Star-13A	LE-6	Aurora (P67-1) / SECOR 9 (EGRS 9)
23.08.1967	266	Thor-LV2F Burner-2	LE-6	DSAP-4A F3
11.10.1967	268	Thor-LV2F Burner-2	LE-6	DSAP-4A F4
23.05.1968	277	Thor-LV2F Burner-2	SLC-10W	DSAP-4B F1
23.10.1968	173	Thor-LV2F Burner-2	SLC-10W	DSAP-4B F2
23.07.1969	279	Thor-LV2F Burner-2	SLC-10W	DSAP-4B F3
11.02.1970	287	Thor-LV2F Burner-2	SLC-10W	DSAP-5A F1
03.09.1970	288	Thor-LV2F Burner-2	SLC-10W	DSAP-5A F2
17.02.1971	249	Thor-LV2F Burner-2	SLC-10W	DSAP-5A F3 / NRL-PL 170A / NRL-PL 170B / NRL-PL 170C (S70-4)
08.06.1971	210	Thor-LV2F Burner-2	SLC-10W	SESP 1 (P70-1)
14.10.1971	159	Thor-LV2F Burner-2A	SLC-10W	DSAP-5B F1
24.03.1972	153	Thor-LV2F Burner-2A	SLC-10W	DSAP-5B F2
09.11.1972	294	Thor-LV2F Burner-2A	SLC-10W	DSAP-5B F3
17.08.1973	291	Thor-LV2F Burner-2A	SLC-10W	DSAP-5B F4
16.03.1974	207	Thor-LV2F Burner-2A	SLC-10W	DMSP-5B F5
09.08.1974	275	Thor-LV2F Burner-2A	SLC-10W	DMSP-5C F1
24.05.1975	197	Thor-LV2F Burner-2A	SLC-10W	DMSP-5C F2
19.02.1976	182	Thor-LV2F Burner-2A	SLC-10W	DMSP-5C F3 (Thor failed, wrong orbit attained)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Thor with solid-fuel upper stage". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
^ ^a ^b "Thor Burner". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
^ "Thor Burner 1". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
^ ^a ^b "Thor with solid-fuel upper stage". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
^ "Thor with a solid fuel top stage". The Satellite Encyclopedia.
^ "Douglas SLV-2 Thor / Boeing (McDonnell Douglas) SB-3 Delta". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles.
^ ^a ^b "Thor-LV2F Burner-2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
^ "Thor-LV2F Burner-2 Star-13A". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
^ "Thor-LV2F Burner-2A". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
^ "Thor Burner 2". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
^ "History - Jets and Moon Rockets: 1957-1970 - The Boeing Company ... Booster Rockets". Boeing. Archived from the original on 2012-05-11.
^ "Thor Burner 2A". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
^ Eleazer, Wayne (January 19, 2009). "The Space Review: Launch failures: Two Thors, one problem".

[:0-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Thor with solid-fuel upper stage". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-11-29.

[:1-2] "Thor Burner". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-11-29.

[3] "Thor Burner 1". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-11-29.

[:3-4] "Thor with solid-fuel upper stage". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-11-30.

[5] "Thor with a solid fuel top stage". The Satellite Encyclopedia.

[dusrm-6] "Douglas SLV-2 Thor / Boeing (McDonnell Douglas) SB-3 Delta". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles.

[:2-7] "Thor-LV2F Burner-2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-11-29.

[8] "Thor-LV2F Burner-2 Star-13A". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-11-29.

[9] "Thor-LV2F Burner-2A". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-11-29.

[10] "Thor Burner 2". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-11-29.

[11] "History - Jets and Moon Rockets: 1957-1970 - The Boeing Company ... Booster Rockets". Boeing. Archived from the original on 2012-05-11.

[12] "Thor Burner 2A". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-11-29.

[13] Eleazer, Wayne (January 19, 2009). "The Space Review: Launch failures: Two Thors, one problem".

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v t e Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Ariane 6 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H-IIA H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 7 7A 8 11 11H LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased RS1^† Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega C Vulcan Centaur Zhuque 2
In development	Antares 330 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Deca Epsilon S Eris Gravity-2 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 12 Miura 5 MLV Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 NGLV Nova OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zhuque 3 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able^† Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard Vega original VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 1^†
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol ^† indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)

v t e Orbital launch systems developed in the United States
Active	Atlas V**^†† Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Minotaur I IV V C Pegasus XL RS1^† SLS Block 1 Vulcan Centaur
In development	Antares 330 Daytona I MLV New Glenn Neutron Nova Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Starship Terran R
Retired	Antares 110/120/130/230/230+^††† Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able Agena Centaur Conestoga Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" H-I* Juno I Juno II LauncherOne N-I* N-II* Pilot Rocket 3 Saturn I IB V Scout Space Shuttle SPARK Sparta Terran 1 Thor Able Ablestar Agena Burner Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Vanguard
* - Japanese projects using US rockets or stages ** - uses Russian engines ^† - never succeeded ^†† - no new orders accepted ^††† - used Ukrainian first stage