The Nike-Cajun was a
two-stage
A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket ''stages'', each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A ''tandem'' or ''serial'' stage is mounted on top of another stage; a ''parallel'' stage is ...
sounding rocket
A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are often ...
built by combining a
Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...
base stage with a
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 US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states.
Whi ...
upper stage. The Nike-Cajun was known as a CAN for Cajun And Nike. The Cajun was developed from the
Deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
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 (1 ft 4 in) and a length of 7.70 m (25 ft 3 in). The maximum speed of the Nike-Cajun was .
The Cajun stage of this rocket was named for the
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 US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states.
Whi ...
people of
South Louisiana because one of the rocket's designers, J. G. Thibodaux, was a Cajun.
The Nike-Cajun configuration was also used by one variation of the
MQR-13 BMTS target rocket.
[Parsch 2002]
Engine:
*1st stage: Allegheny Ballistics Lab. X216A2 solid-fueled rocket; 246 kN (55,000 lb) for 3 s
*2nd stage: Thiokol TE-82-1 Cajun solid-fueled rocket; 37 kN (8,300 lb) for 2.8 s
See also
*
Nike-Apache
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 and NASA. It became the standard NASA sounding rocket and was launched over 600 time ...
References
Nike-Cajunat ''
Encyclopedia Astronautica
The ''Encyclopedia Astronautica'' is a reference web site on Space exploration, space travel. The encyclopedia includes 79,433 articles with 13,741 illustrations, a comprehensive catalog of missiles, spacecraft, space technology, astronauts, an ...
''
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External links
University of Michigan/NACA RM-85/PWN-3 Nike-Cajun
Nike (rocket family)
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