The Nike stage or Nike
booster, a
solid fuel
Solid fuel refers to various forms of solid material that can be burnt to release energy, providing heat and light through the process of combustion. Solid fuels can be contrasted with liquid fuels and gaseous fuels. Common examples of solid fu ...
rocket motor, was developed by
Hercules Aerospace for use as the first stage of the
Nike Ajax (M5 motor) and
Nike Hercules (M5E1 and M88 motor) missiles as part of
Project Nike.
It was subsequently employed in a variety of missiles and multi-stage sounding rockets, becoming one of the most popular and reliable rocket stages, not only in the United States, but also in several other countries around the world.
Sounding rockets based on Nike Booster
*The
Nike Deacon has a ceiling of 189 km, a takeoff thrust of 217 kN, a takeoff weight of 710 kg, a diameter of 0.42 m and a length of 7.74 m.
* The
Nike Javelin was launched 34 times between 1964 and 1978. The maximum
flight
Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...
altitude of the Nike Javelin was 130 km, the takeoff thrust 217 kN, takeoff weight 900 kg, 0.42 m and length 8.20 m.
* The
Nike Malemute consists of a Nike starting stage and a
Malemute upper stage. It has a ceiling of , a takeoff thrust of , a takeoff weight of , a diameter of and a length of .
*The
Nike Orion has a Nike base stage, taken from
U.S. Army surplus stocks, and an
Orion upper stage. The Nike Orion is long. There are two stages of boosters; the first is 41.9 cm (16.5), and the second is . It has a launch weight of , a launch thrust of 217 kN (48,800 lbf) and a ceiling of 140 km (460,000 ft).
The first Nike-Orion rocket was launched on February 26, 1977, and had more than 175 launches through the 2000s.
*The
Nike Recruit has an apogee of 5 km, a liftoff thrust of 217 kN, a total mass of 1100 kg and a total length of 8.00 m.
* The
Nike Tomahawk has a Nike rocket as the first stage, and a
Tomahawk
A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Native Americans in the United States, Indian peoples and nations of North America, traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft.
Etymology
The name comes from Powhatan langu ...
rocket as the second. The Nike Tomahawk has a ceiling of 230
statute miles (370 km), a payload capacity of , a launch thrust of 49,000
pounds of force (217
kN), a launch weight of , a diameter of and a length of . The Nike Tomahawk was launched 395 times between June 25, 1963, and November 27, 1995. One of its launches was in 1966 on the beach in
Cassino
Cassino () is a ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone at the southern end of the region of Lazio. It's the last city of the Valle Latina, Latin Valley.
It is located at the foot of Monte Cairo near the confluence of the Gari (river), Gari and ...
,
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
.
* The
Nike Viper consists of a Nike starting stage and a Viper upper stage. The Nike Viper has a ceiling of 80 km, a takeoff thrust of 217 kN (48,800 lbf), a takeoff weight of 600 kg and a length of 8.00 m.
Below is a list of sounding rockets based on Nike, Nike-Nike or Nike upper stage combinations:
See also
*
Nike Smoke rocket
References
External links
U.S. Naval Research Lab. - Nike Booster
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum - Fins, Set of Four, Rocket, Nike Booster, Nike-Cajun
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Rocket stages