Terrier Oriole


Terrier Oriole is an unguided two-stage rocket system which is primarily used by the Goddard Space Flight Center out of the Wallops Flight Facility as a sounding rocket. The system uses a Terrier first-stage booster attached to an Oriole second-stage rocket. The system can carry payloads between up to an altitude of. It is also used to test ballistic missile defense systems, under the name ARAV-B.

Technical details

The Terrier motor is in diameter and long, and it normally uses two "spin motors", both to reduce dispersion and to serve as drag plates. It uses four equally spaced fins which are and canted in such a way as to provide two revolutions per second at Terrier burnout. The weight of the Terrier booster system is.
The Oriole motor is in diameter and long. There is a interstage adapter between the Terrier and Oriole systems, which allows for drag separation following Terrier burnout. The Oriole stage uses four fins in a cruciform configuration, which are canted in order to provide a spin rate of four revolutions per second upon Oriole burnout.
Standard hardware includes a nose cone and capacitive discharge ignition system. Separation systems are available for use in order to separate the payload from the motor during ascent. An ogive nose cone is also available to users, when required.
Terrier-Oriole is used to test ballistic missile defense systems, under the name Aegis Readiness Assessment Vehicle-B. It is much cheaper than other ballistic missile targets.