AJ-60A is a solid rocket booster produced by Aerojet Rocketdyne. Up to 2020 they were used as strap-on boosters on all United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket configurations. They continue to be used on the Atlas V N22 configuration used to launch the Boeing Starliner.[1]
History
The AJ-60A rocket motor was developed between 1999 and 2003 for use on the Atlas V.[2]
On January 19, 2006 the New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto was launched directly into a solar-escape trajectory at 16.26 km/s from Cape Canaveral using an Atlas V version with 5 of these SRBs and Star 48B third stage.[3] New Horizons passed the Moon's orbit in just nine hours.[4][5]
In 2015, ULA announced that the Atlas V will switch to new GEM 63 boosters produced by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. (GEM 63XL, a stretched version of the GEM 63 booster is used on the Vulcan rocket.)[6] The first Atlas V launched with GEM 63 boosters on November 13, 2020.[7]
Design
AJ-60A is a solid fueled rocket burning HTPB-based composite solid propellant.[8] The casing is composed of a graphite-epoxy composite, and the engine throat and nozzle are made of carbon-phenolic composite. As configured for use on Atlas V, the nozzle is fixed at a 3 degree cant away from the attachment point, but Aerojet offers a variant with thrust vectoring capability.[2] The Atlas V configuration also features an inward slanting nosecone, but it is available with a conventional nosecone or none at all for use on other rockets. The stages are designed to be transported by truck.[8]
References
- Stephen Clark. Billion-dollar missile defense satellite ready for launch Monday in Florida Spaceflight Now, May 15, 2021, retrieved August 8, 2024^
- Atlas V Solid Rocket Booster retrieved January 6, 2016^
- Caleb A. Scharf. The Fastest Spacecraft Ever? Scientific American, February 25, 2013, retrieved July 12, 2017^
- Michael Neufeld. First Mission to Pluto: The Difficult Birth of New Horizons Smithsonian, July 10, 2015, retrieved April 21, 2018^
- New Horizons: Mission Overview International Launch Services, January 2006, retrieved April 21, 2018^
- Jason Rhian. ULA selects Orbital ATK's GEM 63/63 XL SRBs for Atlas V and Vulcan boosters Spaceflight Insider, 23 September 2015, retrieved 6 January 2016^
- Northrop Grumman Ships GEM 63 Engines to United Launch Alliance For Atlas V July 2020^
- Atlas V User's Guide 2010 2010, retrieved January 6, 2016^