Altair IIIA
Altair IIIA is the exact solid fourth-stage motor used in Scout G-1 and Scout D-1 configurations, retained separately from other Altair variants. NASA's Scout G-1 characteristics identify a 25.4 kN average-thrust motor with a nominal burn time of 29 seconds. NASA's historical Scout table identifies United Technology Center as the fourth-stage propulsion contractor; no exact canonical AeroVia company record is available for that historical boundary, so developer and manufacturer links remain empty. NASA records the final Scout launch on 5 August 1994, so this Scout-specific motor designation is marked retired without generalizing that status to every Altair derivative.
Identity
- Aliases
- Altair 3AScout-G fourth-stage Altair IIIA
- Domains
- spaceflight
- Identity Level
- variant
- Kind
- solid-rocket-motor
- Name
- Altair IIIA
- Status
- retired
Details
- Description
- Altair IIIA is the exact solid fourth-stage motor used in Scout G-1 and Scout D-1 configurations, retained separately from other Altair variants. NASA's Scout G-1 characteristics identify a 25.4 kN average-thrust motor with a nominal burn time of 29 seconds. NASA's historical Scout table identifies United Technology Center as the fourth-stage propulsion contractor; no exact canonical AeroVia company record is available for that historical boundary, so developer and manufacturer links remain empty. NASA records the final Scout launch on 5 August 1994, so this Scout-specific motor designation is marked retired without generalizing that status to every Altair derivative.
- Propellants
- solid composite propellant
- Rocket Specs
- Burn Time S
- 29
- Sea Level Thrust Kn
- 25.4
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 1, 2026 at 15:52:17 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 21, 2026 at 01:13:42 UTC
Other
- Sources
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-01
- Note
- NASA's U.S. launch-vehicle table lists Scout stage 4 as Altair IIIA and identifies the all-solid four-stage Scout stack.
- Publisher
- NASA
- Title
- Aeronautics and Space Report of the President, 1981
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-01
- Note
- The NASA Scout-G-1 report describes the four-stage all-solid vehicle and its tandem propulsion-motor arrangement.
- Publisher
- NASA Technical Reports Server
- Title
- NASA News: Scout-G-1 launch vehicle
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-20
- Note
- NASA's Scout G1 characteristics table identifies Altair IIIA as the solid fourth-stage motor and reports 25.4 kN average thrust and a 29-second nominal burn time.
- Publisher
- NASA
- Title
- NASA Historical Data Book, Volume VII — Scout G1 characteristics
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-20
- Note
- NASA's 1994 release identifies the 5 August 1994 flight as the final Scout launch, supporting retired lifecycle treatment for this Scout-specific motor designation.
- Publisher
- NASA
- Title
- Scout launch vehicle to retire after 34 years of service