NASA launched three Terrier-Oriole suborbital rockets for the U.S. Department of Defense early Tuesday morning from the Wallops Flight Facility. The event was supposed to take place Monday but weather problems caused the delay.
Not a lot of information is available about the launch. In accordance with the request made by DoD project managers, no real-time status updates about the launch were released. The event was also not shown live online nor was the activity officially tracked on social media sites. The Wallops visitor center was closed as well as the launch was not available for public viewing. NASA did, however, provide a visibility diagram for the launch, detailing in which areas the rockets may be seen and how visible they will be once they are up in the air.
The next launch out of the Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va., is a Terrier-Improved Malemute suborbital sounding rocket on March 27. The rocket is scheduled to carry a RockSat-X payload filled with experiments developed by university students.
The Terrier-Oriole rockets used at the Wallops launch feature a two-stage, unguided system stabilized by a fin. The rocket takes its name from the fact that it is uses a Terrier first stage booster as well as an Oriole rocket motor for second-stage propulsion. Four fins are equally spaced on the Terrier motor while the Oriole motor features four fins attached to the aft end. The Oriole's fins are also arranged in cruciform for stability. The Terrier motor is 18 inches in diameter and 155 inches long, with a 14-inch interstage adapter for drag separation after burnout. The Oriole motor, on the other hand, is also 155 inches long but is 22 inches in diameter.
Depending on how much altitude must be met, the rocket system is capable of carrying 800 to 1,500 pounds in payload. It has a main diameter of 22 inches and is fitted with a 19-degree nose cone plus a capacitive discharge system for ignition. Depending on purpose, separation systems may be installed to separate the motor from the payload during ascent.
In October 2014, the Wallops Flight Facility suffered significant damage as Orbital Science's Antares rocket exploded mere seconds after launching. The Cygnus spacecraft atop the rocket was en route to bring supplies to the International Space Station. Fortunately, cargo on the spacecraft was mostly food, noncritical equipment and a few science experiments. No one was hurt in that incident.
