Talk:Castor-Orbus
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Errors
[edit]There are some errors on this page (which in part references material on my web site). The first launch was indeed a Castor 4A; the Orbus stage was in fact part of the payload, used as a sensor target, so it's not clear that thinking of it as a 'Castor Orbus' rocket is really correct. Source: LEAP Program Environmental Assessment, http://www.dod.gov/pubs/foi/reading_room/501.pdf
The other two launches are not based on the Castor 4 series, but the older and quite different Castor 1 series. Unlike the 1992 launch they were not developed by Orbital Sciences but rather by Sandia, and the rocket type is actually more properly "Strypi XIIR", not "Castor Orbus". They consisted of a Castor 1 first stage with two Recruit strapon motors, and an Orbus 1 second stage. Source: https://wsmrc2vger.wsmr.army.mil/rcc/manuals/322/322.doc
So I don't think it is correct to talk about "Castor-Orbus" sounding rocket in the same sense one talks about a "Nike Apache" sounding rocket. One can talk about uses of a "Castor/Orbus" combination of motors, used in the Strypi XIIR military research rocket.
I apologize for being the source of some of the incorrect information - it was the best available at the time. I suggest this page be deleted, with revised material on the first launch added to the Castor 4B page and on the other two launches to the Strypi page.
I have not yet updated my own page - hope to do so later this year with a comprehensive revision.