Orion 50S
Orion 50S is the air-ignited, fixed-nozzle solid motor identified by Northrop Grumman for the first stage of the Pegasus Standard lineage. Current Northrop propulsion materials list 50.2-inch diameter, 74.9-second burn time, 126,641 lbf maximum vacuum thrust, 292.25-second effective specific impulse, and QDL-1 HTPB polymer propellant with 19% aluminum. This record uses active for current catalog and product-line support without asserting current Pegasus production; historical developer attribution remains unresolved.
Identity
- Aliases
- Orion 50 SPegasus Stage 1 Orion 50S
- Domains
- spaceflight
- Identity Level
- model
- Kind
- solid-rocket-motor
- Name
- Orion 50S
- Status
- active
Details
- Description
- Orion 50S is the air-ignited, fixed-nozzle solid motor identified by Northrop Grumman for the first stage of the Pegasus Standard lineage. Current Northrop propulsion materials list 50.2-inch diameter, 74.9-second burn time, 126,641 lbf maximum vacuum thrust, 292.25-second effective specific impulse, and QDL-1 HTPB polymer propellant with 19% aluminum. This record uses active for current catalog and product-line support without asserting current Pegasus production; historical developer attribution remains unresolved.
- Manufacturers
- Propellants
- solid composite propellantQDL-1 HTPB polymer with 19% aluminum
- Rocket Specs
- Burn Time S
- 74.9
- Vacuum Specific Impulse S
- 292.25
- Vacuum Thrust Kn
- 563.327
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 1, 2026 at 15:44:07 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 21, 2026 at 00:00:05 UTC
Other
- Sources
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-01
- Note
- NASA launch-vehicle table identifies Pegasus Standard as a three-stage vehicle with one Orion 50S first-stage motor, one Orion 50 second-stage motor, and one Orion 38 third-stage motor.
- Publisher
- NASA
- Title
- Aeronautics and Space Report of the President, 1998
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-01
- Note
- Northrop Grumman Orion series chart distinguishes Orion 50S from Orion 50 and maps the S suffix to the first-stage motor position.
- Publisher
- Northrop Grumman
- Title
- Orion Motor Series
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-20
- Note
- Current Northrop Grumman propulsion catalog identifies exact Orion 50S performance: 50.2-inch diameter, 74.9-second burn time, 126,641 lbf maximum vacuum thrust, 292.25-second effective specific impulse, and QDL-1 HTPB polymer propellant with 19% aluminum.
- Publisher
- Northrop Grumman
- Title
- Propulsion Products Catalog
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-20
- Note
- Current Northrop Grumman commercial rocket-motors page presents the Orion product line as part of the company space propulsion portfolio; used for current product-line context, not as proof of current Pegasus production.
- Publisher
- Northrop Grumman
- Title
- Commercial Rocket Motors