# Altair

> family of American solid-propellant upper stages

**Wikidata**: [Q285596](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q285596)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altair_(rocket_stage))  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/altair-q285596

## Summary
Altair is a family of American solid-propellant upper stages used as rocket stages and space tugs. It comprises multiple solid-propellant variants (Altair 1, 1A, 2A, 3 and STAR 25) manufactured by Allegany Ballistics Laboratory and is also known by aliases such as Altair booster and Burner 1.

## Key Facts
- Altair is a family of American solid-propellant upper stages (rocket family and solid-propellant rocket subclass).  
- Manufacturer: Allegany Ballistics Laboratory.  
- Country of origin: United States.  
- Instance types: classified as a rocket family and as a space tug (spacecraft vehicle designed to move payloads between orbits or to interplanetary trajectories).  
- Major variants/parts: Altair 1, Altair 1A, Altair 2A, Altair 3, and STAR 25 (listed among its parts).  
- Common aliases: Altair booster; Altair (rocket stage); Burner 1; Burner I.  
- Followed by (successor): Burner 2.  
- Freebase identifier: /m/047b747.  
- Wikipedia title: "Altair (rocket stage)"; available in at least English, Indonesian, and Portuguese (wikipedia_languages: en, id, pt).  
- Wikidata short description: "family of American solid-propellant upper stages."  
- Sitelink count (aggregated links): 3.

## FAQs
### Q: What is Altair?
A: Altair is a family of American solid-propellant upper rocket stages used as space tug stages to move payloads between orbits or to interplanetary trajectories.

### Q: Who manufactured the Altair stages?
A: The Altair family was manufactured by Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in the United States.

### Q: What variants are included in the Altair family?
A: Documented variants/parts include Altair 1, Altair 1A, Altair 2A, Altair 3, and STAR 25.

### Q: Is Altair known by other names?
A: Yes. Aliases include Altair booster, Altair (rocket stage), Burner 1, and Burner I.

### Q: What succeeded Altair?
A: The Altair family was followed by the Burner 2 upper stage.

## Why It Matters
Altair represents a family-level approach to providing upper-stage propulsion using solid propellant, enabling modularity and variant specialization for mission needs. As an upper stage and classed space tug, Altair stages perform the critical role of imparting final velocity and trajectory changes after primary launch vehicles have placed payloads into initial or reference orbits. This capability is essential for transferring payloads to higher orbits, precise orbital insertion, or sending payloads onto interplanetary trajectories. The existence of multiple Altair variants (including STAR 25 and several numbered Altair stages) demonstrates an evolutionary approach to upper-stage design within U.S. solid-propellant technology. Manufactured by Allegany Ballistics Laboratory, the Altair family occupies a place in the lineage of American upper-stage hardware and was succeeded operationally by Burner 2, indicating its role in mid-20th/late-20th-century upper-stage development (as represented in available classification data).

## Notable For
- Being a U.S. family of solid-propellant upper stages specifically classified as both rocket stages and space tugs.  
- Inclusion of multiple distinct variants (Altair 1, 1A, 2A, 3 and STAR 25) under a single family designation.  
- Manufactured by Allegany Ballistics Laboratory, a named U.S. producer of the stages.  
- Known by multiple aliases including Burner 1, linking it to naming conventions for early upper stages.  
- Documented successor relationship: the Altair family was followed by the Burner 2 upper stage.

## Body

### Overview
- Altair is described as a family of American solid-propellant upper stages.  
- It functions as a rocket stage and is subclassed as a space tug and a solid-propellant rocket.

### Classification and Role
- Instance of: rocket family.  
- Subclass of: space tug (a spacecraft vehicle designed to move payloads from a reference orbit to a target orbit, or to an interplanetary trajectory) and solid-propellant rocket.  
- Role: upper-stage propulsion for orbital transfer and trajectory insertion.

### Variants and Parts
- Documented parts/variants:
  - Altair 1
  - Altair 1A
  - Altair 2A
  - Altair 3
  - STAR 25
  - Q124110151 (listed among parts in available structured data)
- These variants indicate multiple design iterations within the Altair family.

### Manufacturer and Origin
- Manufacturer: Allegany Ballistics Laboratory.  
- Country of origin: United States.

### Lineage and Relationships
- Aliases: Altair booster; Altair (rocket stage); Burner 1; Burner I.  
- Followed by (successor): Burner 2.  
- The family is linked to other upper-stage classes as part of a broader set of U.S. solid upper-stage developments.

### Identifiers and Links
- Freebase ID: /m/047b747.  
- Wikipedia title: "Altair (rocket stage)" (languages noted: en, id, pt).  
- Wikidata description: "family of American solid-propellant upper stages."  
- Sitelink_count (from aggregated data): 3.

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