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Solid rocket booster by Aerojet Rocketdyne From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
![]() An AJ-60A booster, without nosecone attached, being fitted to an Atlas V | |
Manufacturer | Aerojet Rocketdyne |
---|---|
Country of origin | USA |
Used on | Atlas V |
General characteristics | |
Height | 17.0 m (669 in) |
Diameter | 1.6 m (62 in) |
Gross mass | 46,697 kg (102,949 lb) |
Engine details | |
Maximum thrust | 1,688.4 kN (379,600 lbf) |
Burn time | 94 seconds |
Propellant | HTPB/AP (APCP) |
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 kilometers per second (58,536 km/h; 36,373 mph) 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 will be used on the upcoming Vulcan rocket.)[6] The first Atlas V launched with GEM 63 boosters on November 13, 2020.[7]
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]