Bold Orion

Bold Orion
Bold Orion, with B-47 launch aircraft
Type	Air-launched ballistic missile
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1958–1959
Used by	United States Air Force
Production history
Designed	1958
Manufacturer	Martin Aircraft
Number built	12
Specifications (Two-stage version)
Length	37 feet (11 m)
Diameter	2 feet 7 inches (0.79 m)
Engine	First stage, Thiokol TX-20 Sergeant; 1,500 lbf (6.66 kN) Second stage, ABL X-248 Altair; 2,800 lbf (12.45 kN)
Propellant	Solid fuel
Operational range	1,100 miles (1,800 km)
Launch platform	B-47 Stratojet

The Bold Orion missile, also known as Weapons System 199B (WS-199B), was a prototype air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) developed by Martin Aircraft during the 1950s. Developed in both one- and two-stage designs, the missile was moderately successful in testing, and helped pave the way for development of the GAM-87 Skybolt ALBM. In addition, the Bold Orion was used in early anti-satellite weapons testing, performing the first interception of a satellite by a missile.

The Bold Orion missile was developed as part of Weapons System 199, initiated by the United States Air Force (USAF) in response to the U.S. Navy's Polaris program, with funding authorised by the United States Congress in 1957. The purpose of WS-199 was the development of technology that would be used in new strategic weapons for the USAF's Strategic Air Command, not to deliver operational weapons; a primary emphasis was on proving the feasibility of an air-launched ballistic missile.

The designation WS-199B was assigned to the project that, under a contract awarded in 1958 to Martin Aircraft, would become the Bold Orion missile. The design of Bold Orion was simple, using parts developed for other missile systems to reduce the cost and development time of the project. The initial Bold Orion configuration was a single-stage vehicle, using a Thiokol TX-20 Sergeant solid-fuel rocket. Following initial testing, the Bold Orion configuration was altered to become a two-stage vehicle, an Allegany Ballistics Laboratory Altair upper stage being added to the missile.

Having been given top priority by the Air Force, the first flight test of the Bold Orion missile was conducted on May 26, 1958, from a Boeing B-47 Stratojet carrier aircraft, which launched the Bold Orion vehicle at the apex of a high-speed, high-angle climb. The zoom climb tactic, combined with the thrust from the rocket motor of the missile itself, allowed the missile to achieve its maximum range, or, alternatively, to reach space.