RM-90 Blue Scout II

RM-90 Blue Scout II

Function Expendable launch system
Sounding rocket
Manufacturer Vought
Country of origin United States
Size
Height 24 metres (79 ft)
Diameter 1.02 metres (3 ft 4 in)
Mass 16,874 kilograms (37,201 lb)
Stages Four
Capacity
Payload to LEO 30 kilograms (66 lb)
Associated rockets
Family Scout
Launch history
Status Retired
Launch sites Canaveral LC-18B
Total launches 3
Successes 2
Failures 1
First flight 1961-03-03
Last flight 1961-11-01
First stage - Algol 1B
Engines 1 solid
Thrust 471 kilonewtons (106,000 lbf)
Specific impulse 236 sec
Burn time 40 seconds
Fuel Solid
Second stage - Castor 1A
Engines 1 solid
Thrust 286 kilonewtons (64,000 lbf)
Specific impulse 247 sec
Burn time 27 seconds
Fuel Solid
Third stage - Antares 1A
Engines 1 X-254
Thrust 60 kilonewtons (13,000 lbf)
Specific impulse 256 sec
Burn time 39 seconds
Fuel Solid
Fourth stage - Altair 1A
Engines 1 X-248A
Thrust 14 kilonewtons (3,100 lbf)
Specific impulse 255 sec
Burn time 40 seconds
Fuel Solid

The RM-90 Blue Scout II was an American sounding rocket and expendable launch system which was flown three times during 1961. It was used for two HETS test flights, and the launch of the Mercury-Scout 1 satellite for NASA. It was a member of the Scout family of rockets.

The Blue Scout II was a military version of the NASA-operated Scout X-1. All three launches occurred from Launch Complex 18B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the same launch pad used for the Blue Scout I. The first two launches were successfully conducted on 3 March and 12 April 1961 respectively. They both carried HETS A2 plasma research experiments on suborbital trajectories. The third launch was conducted on 1 November, with the Mercury-Scout 1 satellite for NASA, which was intended to reach low Earth orbit. The launch failed after the rocket went out of control, and was destroyed by the range safety officer 43 seconds after liftoff.

References

    • Wade, Mark. "Scout". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
    • Krebs, Gunter. "Scout". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
    • McDowell, Jonathan. "Scout". Orbital & Suborbital Launch Database. Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
    • Heyman, Jos; Parsch, Andreas (2007-07-09). "LTV SLV-1 Scout". Appendix 3: Space Vehicles. Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.