CASTOR IVA

CASTOR IVA is a retired, flight-proven fixed-nozzle solid strap-on motor variant in Northrop Grumman's CASTOR family. The CASTOR Motor Series catalog describes its early-1980s development for NASA, HTPB-propellant performance improvement for Delta II, and use as four strap-on motors on Atlas IIAS; it records -03 and -04 canted-nozzle configurations. The catalog gives a 40.1-inch diameter, 363.4-inch length, 120,880 lbf (about 537.7 kN) maximum vacuum thrust, 265.3 seconds specific impulse, 55.2 seconds burn time, 5,967,840 lbf-sec total impulse, and TP-H8299 HTPB polymer with 20% aluminum. The newer product catalog records seven static-fire tests, 313 motors flown, and out-of-production status; exact Atlas IIAS installations remain represented on vehicle-family records.