The Nike Apache, also known as Argo B-13, was a two-stage sounding rocket developed by Aerolab, later Atlantic Research, for use by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

. It became the standard NASA sounding rocket and was launched over 600 times between 1961 and 1978.

Development

The TE-307-2 Apache rocket motor was developed by

Thiokol Thiokol (variously Thiokol Chemical Corporation(/Company), Morton Thiokol Inc., Cordant Technologies Inc., Thiokol Propulsion, AIC Group, ATK Thiokol, ATK Launch Systems Group; finally Orbital ATK before becoming part of Northrop Grumman) was a ...

as an improvement of its

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

series of rockets; the Apache was similar in appearance to Cajun, but had an improved propellant that allowed for better performance. Combined with a M5 Nike rocket booster for its first stage by Aerolab,Parsch 2004 the Nike-Apache sounding rocket was capable of lifting of instruments to an

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any el ...

of .Corliss 1971, p.82.

Operational history

The first launch of Nike-Apache was conducted by the

on 17 February 1961. Popular due to its low cost (US$6,000) and ability to be fired from many locales, 636 launches were conducted between 1961 and 1978, with the final launch of a Nike-Apache taking place in September 1978. The Nike Apache was used to carry a variety of payloads to study a wide range of topics including radio astronomy, meteorology, aeronomy, atmospheric conditions, plasma physics, and solar physics. NASA flew them from Brazil, Canada, India, Norway, Pakistan, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, all across the US, and off of the converted escort carrier . Nike Apache was the first rocket launched by India from the TERLS ( Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station) of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

in November 1963. The Nike-Apache configuration was also used by one variation of the U.S. Army's MQR-13 BMTS target rocket.Parsch 2002

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * *

External links

Nike-Apache rocket performance handbook
at NASA Technical Reports Server

at Encyclopedia Astronautica {{Nike rockets NASA space launch vehicles Nike (rocket family) Equipment of the United States Air Force