STARBIRD FACT SHEET

By Cliff Lethbridge

Starbird Launch, Photo Courtesy U.S. Air Force

Classification: Research Rocket

Length: 57 feet

Date of First Cape Canaveral Launch: December 18, 1990

Date of Final Cape Canaveral Launch: May 28, 1993

Number of Cape Canaveral Launches: 3

Starbird was a four-stage, solid fueled rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corporation in support of the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative program. The suborbital rocket was designed to look like a ballistic missile in flight, so that strategic space, air and land-based assets could be tested to see if they could identify potential threats. The rocket had a range of about 300 miles.