The Aerobee rocket was one of the United States' most produced and productive sounding rockets. Developed by the Aerojet Corporation,the Aerobee was designed to combine the altitude and launching capability of the V-2 with the cost effectiveness and mass production of the WAC Corporal. More than 1000 Aerobees were launched between 1947 and 1985,returning vast amounts of astronomical,physical,aeronomical,and biomedical data.
Salto di Quirra is a restricted weapons testing range and rocket launch site near Perdasdefogu on the island of Sardinia. It is the largest military range in Italy,composed of 12,000 hectares of land owned by the Italian Ministry of Defence and one of the largest in operation within the European Union. Birth defects and cancer in the area have been blamed on weaponry used at the site.
Cajun Dart is the designation of an American sounding rocket. The Cajun Dart was used 87 times between 1964 and 1970. The Cajun rocket motor was developed from Deacon.
Nike Iroquois is the designation of a two-stage American sounding rocket. The Nike Iroquois was launched 213 times between 1964 and 1978. The maximum flight height of the Nike Iroquois amounts to 290 km (950,000 ft),the takeoff thrust 48,800 lbf (217 kN),the takeoff weight 700 kg and the length 8.00 m.
The Nike-Cajun was a two-stage sounding rocket built by combining a Nike base stage with a Cajun upper stage. The Nike-Cajun was known as a CAN for Cajun And Nike. The Cajun was developed from the Deacon rocket. It retained the external size,shape and configuration of the Deacon but had 36 percent greater impulse than the Deacon due to improved propellant. It was launched 714 times between 1956 and 1976 and was the most frequently used sounding rocket of the western world. The Nike Cajun had a launch weight of 698 kg (1538 lb),a payload of 23 kg (51 lb),a launch thrust of 246 kN (55,300 lbf) and a maximum altitude of 120 km (394,000 ft). It had a diameter of 42 cm and a length of 7.70 m. The maximum speed of the Nike-Cajun was 6,760 km/h.
Arcas was the designation of an American sounding rocket,developed by the Atlantic Research Corp.,Alexandria,Va.
The first orbital flight of an artificial satellite,Sputnik 1,was launched in October 1957,by the Soviet Union. In November,the second orbital flight took place. The Soviet Union launched the first animal to orbit the Earth,a dog,Laika,who died in orbit a few hours after launch.
Rehbar is a series of sounding rockets launched into the upper atmosphere by Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). Rehbar-I was the first rocket launched by SUPARCO,on 7 June 1962. Rehbar-I was a two-staged solid fuel rocket.
The RM-90 Blue Scout II was an American sounding rocket and expendable launch system which was flown three times during 1961. It was a member of the Scout family of rockets. Blue Scout II was a military version of the NASA-operated Scout X-1,with adjustments to the payload fairings,engine nozzles and fins.
The MQR-16A Gunrunner was an unguided rocket developed by Atlantic Research during the 1960s. Designed with low cost as a priority,the MQR-16A was intended to act as a target drone for use in the development of man-portable surface-to-air missiles,and as a training target for the missile operators. Proving successful,the rocket served in the United States military until the 1980s.
The XMQR-13A Ballistic Missile Target System (BMTS) was an unguided target rocket developed by the United States Army during the 1960s,intended for use in the development of missile defense systems. Utilising off-the-shelf parts in four different configurations,the BMTS was utilised in a series of launches in the late 1960s supporting tests of several missile systems.
The Creative Research On Weapons or Crow program was an experimental missile project developed by the United States Navy's Naval Air Missile Test Center during the late 1950s. Intended to evaluate the solid-fueled integral rocket/ramjet (SFIRR) method of propulsion as well as solid-fueled ramjet engines,flight tests were conducted during the early 1960s with mixed success.
Terasca,or Terrier-ASROC-Cajun,was an American three-stage sounding rocket developed and launched by the United States Navy. Derived from a combination of the Terrier,ASROC and Cajun rockets,three launches were attempted during 1959,but only one was successful.
The Cajun was an American sounding rocket developed during the 1950s. It was extensively used for scientific experiments by NASA and the United States military between 1956 and 1976.
The Nike stage or Nike booster,a solid fuel rocket motor,was developed by Hercules Aerospace for use as the first stage of the Nike Ajax and Nike Hercules missiles as part of Project Nike.
The Exos,originally designated RM-86 and later PWN-4,was a sounding rocket developed by the University of Michigan and NACA for use by the United States Air Force.
The XPWN-9A Kangaroo was a project to develop a sounding rocket intended for use by the United States Navy. Using an unconventional design,flight tests were unsuccessful,and it was not put into production.
The Gorgon III –given the military designations KA3N,KU3N,CTV-N-6 and RTV-N-4 –was a rocket-powered air-to-air missile developed by the United States Navy near the end of World War II. With the end of the war,the program was changed to that of a research vehicle for missile control systems;both single and twin-rocket-powered versions were built and tested.
Jaguar was a three-stage sounding rocket developed by the United States Air Force in the early 1960s. Designed for air launch to allow soundings from remote areas without infrastructure,it was only launched twice before the project was abandoned.
The Republic SD-4 Swallow was an early high-speed reconnaissance drone developed by Republic Aviation for the United States Army. Intended for use by the U.S. Army Signal Corps to target tactical ballistic missiles,it was cancelled before the first prototype could be completed,and did not see operational service.
