Aries (rocket)

Aries is the name of a class derived from the Minuteman ICBM missile, which is used both for high-altitude research as well as for testing of missile defense systems. The Aries rocket consists of the second stage of a disarmed Minuteman -1 rocket, which was provided with additional stabilizing fins. It has a length of 9.20 meters, a diameter of 1.16 meters, a launch mass of 6.3 tons, a takeoff thrust of 200 kN and a peak altitude of 500 km.

An enhanced version uses the starting stage of the RIM -8 Talos antiaircraft missile as the first stage and is under the names Talos Aries or HPB (High Performance Booster ) from 1990 to 1993 a total of six flights have been used.