The Scout family of rockets were American launch vehicles designed to place small satellites into orbit around the Earth. The Scout multistage rocket was the first orbital launch vehicle to be entirely composed of solid fuel stages. It was also the only vehicle of that type until the successful launch of the Japanese Lambda 4S in 1970.
41-500: The original Scout (a backronym for Solid Controlled Orbital Utility Test system) was designed in 1957 at the NACA , at Langley center . Scout launch vehicles were used from 1961 until 1994. To enhance reliability the development team opted to use "off the shelf" hardware, originally produced for military programs. According to the NASA fact sheet: "... the first stage motor was a combination of
82-595: A UGM-27 Polaris test motor with a 40-inch diameter, the largest solid motor ever tested at the time. It had a nominal performance rating of 40 seconds duration and 45,000 kgf thrust. It was 19.42 feet (5.92 m) long, 2.6 feet (0.79 m) in diameter. Later versions for Scout D scaled to 1.14 m (45 in) in diameter. Used on the Scout X (Cub Scout) test flight flown April 18, 1960. served as prototype vehicle for eventual Scout rocket. Used on Scout X-1 , RM-89 Blue Scout I , and RM-90 Blue Scout II . Used on
123-530: A specific Impulse of 236 seconds in a vacuum environment. Variations Algol I, I-D, II, II-A, II-BA popular rating was 40KS-115,000 (52,000 kgf for 40 seconds), also known as Senior. They were initially developed as the first-stage of propulsion for the Scout rocket , with the design being based on the UGM-27 Polaris , a submarine-launched ballistic missile developed for the United States Navy at
164-524: A Scout, using a Scout G-1, was on May 8, 1994, from Vandenberg Air Force Base . The payload was the Miniature Sensor Technology Integration Series 2 ( MSTI-2 ) military spacecraft with a mass of 163 kilograms (359 lb). MSTI-2 successfully acquired and tracked a LGM-30 Minuteman missile. The standard Scout launch vehicle was a solid propellant, four-stage booster system, approximately 23 meters (75 ft) in length with
205-517: A distance of 225 000 km (140 000 miles), but again a telemetry failure prevented the reception of scientific data. The fourth and final XRM-91 mission in December 1961 also carried particle detectors, and was the only completely successful flight of the initial Blue Scout Junior program. The Blue Scout Junior was regarded by the USAF as the most useful of the various Blue Scout configurations. It
246-614: A launch weight of 21,499 kilograms (47,397 lb). The Scout A was used for launches of the Transit NNSS series (Transit-O 6 to 19), placing two satellites in orbit at the same time. Twelve flights were conducted between 21 December 1965 and 27 August 1970. It was also used to launch the British Ariel 3 scientific satellite. Standard payload capability was 122 kg into a low-Earth orbit. Stage 1: Algol Stage 2: Castor Stage 3: Antares Stage 4: Altair In
287-491: A spherical NOTS Cetus in a common nose fairing. The XRM-91 also lacked the gyro-stabilization and guidance system of the RM-89 Blue Scout I and RM-90 Blue Scout II, making it a completely unguided rocket. It relied on second-stage fins and two spin motors to achieve a stable flight trajectory. The first launch of an XRM-91 occurred on September 21, 1960, making it actually the first Blue Scout configuration to fly. The flight
328-565: Is a portmanteau of back and acronym . A normal acronym is a word derived from the initial letters of the words of a phrase, such as radar from "radio detection and ranging". By contrast, a backronym is "an acronym deliberately formed from a phrase whose initial letters spell out a particular word or words, either to create a memorable name or as a fanciful explanation of a word's origin". Many fictional espionage organizations are backronyms, such as SPECTRE (special executive for counterintelligence, terrorism, revenge and extortion) from
369-577: Is built by Aerojet (now Aerojet Rocketdyne ) and used on a variety of launch vehicles . It was developed by Aerojet from the earlier Jupiter Senior and the Navy Polaris programs. Upgrades to the Algol motor occurred from 1960 until the retirement of the Scout launch vehicle in 1994. The Algol family use solid propellant fuel with a loaded mass of 10,705 kg, and produces 470.93 kN of thrust. The motor has
410-442: Is probably of Romani origin but commonly believed to be a backronym of "council-housed and violent". Similarly, the distress signal SOS is often believed to be an abbreviation for "save our ship" or "save our souls" but was chosen because it has a simple and unmistakable Morse code representation – three dots, three dashes, and three dots, sent without any pauses between characters. More recent examples include
451-406: Is still orbiting as of 2023. Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "Scout Family" . Gunter's Space Page . Retrieved 2024-06-15 . Backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology . The word
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#1733086344033492-552: The James Bond franchise. For example, the Amber Alert missing-child program was named after Amber Hagerman , a nine-year-old girl who was abducted and murdered in 1996. Officials later publicized the backronym "America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response". An example of a backronym as a mnemonic is the Apgar score , used to assess the health of newborn babies. The rating system
533-585: The Dual Air Density Explorer satellites from Vandenberg. The Scout G-1 flew from 1974 until the Scout's retirement in 1994. It was rated to orbit a 210 kg payload. The USAF Scout program was known as HETS (Hyper Environmental Test System) or System 609A, and the rockets were generally referred to as Blue Scout. The prime contractor for the NASA Scout was LTV, but the Blue Scout prime contractor
574-566: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory . This rocket design started as the Polaris test motor, 31 feet in length with a 40 inches (1.0 m) diameter steel case, and 86,000 lbf of thrust. The eventual UGM-27 Polaris A-1 was larger, 28.5 feet (8.7 m) in length and 54 inches (1.4 m) in diameter. The Algol 1 was first used for a successful suborbital launch of a Scout X-1 rocket on September 2, 1960. The rocket started as
615-726: The Little Joe II Qualification Test Vehicle in 1963. May 13, 1964 – Algol Boosts Little Joe II A-001 flight. An Aerojet-built Algol 1D heavy-duty rocket motor performed successfully for the 36th consecutive time on May 13, 1964, as it carried a NASA Little Joe II spacecraft on the Apollo program A-001 test flight. Averaging 96,650 pounds thrust, the Algol 1D was the largest solid rocket motor flying in non-military space programs. Test hardware on May's successful Apollo test flight included: an unmanned instrumented command module, service module, launch escape system and
656-520: The Scout X-1A . After this single flight, the Scout X-2 with Algol 1-D replaced this prototype. Used with Scout X-2 , Scout X-2M and Little Joe II . Solid rocket stage. 440.00 kN (98,916 lbf) thrust. Mass 10,700 kg (23,600 lb). It was first used on the Scout X-2 on March 29, 1962. It continued to be used on Scout X-2 and Scout X-2M launches (4) until 1963. Algol 1-D was first used on
697-501: The Blue Scout Junior had sufficient impulse to have put a small satellite in low Earth orbit, it was not used as an orbital launch vehicle. The XRM-91 did not resemble the other Scout variants externally, because the usual first Scout stage (an Aerojet General Algol) was not used. Instead, the four-stage Blue Scout Junior used Scout's 2nd and 3rd stages (Castor and Antares) as the first two stages, and added an Aerojet General Alcor and
738-673: The Castor IIA upgrades. The Scout B-1 flew after 1971 and introduced the Altair III upgrades. The Scout D-1 flew in 1972 and introduced the Algol III upgrade. The Scout F-1 flew twice in 1975, and was composed of a Algol-3A first stage, a Castor-2A second stage, a Antares-2B third stage and a Star-20 fourth stage. It successfully launched Small Astronomy Satellite 3 from the San Marco Launch Complex, but failed on launching
779-651: The Jupiter Senior and the Navy Polaris ; the second stage came from the Army MGM-29 Sergeant ; and the third and fourth stage motors were designed by Langley engineers who adapted a version of the Navy Vanguard ." The first successful orbital launch of a Scout, on February 16, 1961, delivered Explorer 9 , a 7 kilograms (15 lb) satellite used for atmospheric density studies, into orbit. The final launch of
820-581: The Little Joe II launch system. Algol engine used on Little Joe II Thrust: 465 kN each Length: 9.1 m Diameter: 1 m Weight full: 10,180 kg Weight empty: 1,900 kg Fuel: solid Burn time: 40 s Status: Retired 1966. Gross mass: 10,700 kg (23,600 lb). Unfuelled mass: 1,200 kg (2,600 lb). Height: 9.40 m (30.8 ft). Diameter: 1.02 m (3.3 ft). Thrust: 440.00 kN (98,910 lbf). Burn time: 44 s. Number: 20. The Algol 2 (Algol II) series
861-577: The XRM-89 Blue Scout I. The first XRM-90 launch occurred on 1961-03-03, followed by a second one on 1961-04-12. Both sub-orbital flights were successful, and measured radiation levels in the Van Allen belts . The second Blue Scout II also carried a micrometeorite sampling experiment, but the recovery of the reentry capsule failed. The third XRM-90 was used by NASA in November 1961 for Mercury-Scout 1 . This
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#1733086344033902-501: The XRM-89 carried a variety of experiments to measure rocket performance and high-altitude fields and particle radiation. The payload was located in a recoverable reentry capsule, but the capsule sank before it could be recovered from the water. The only other XRM-89 launches (in May 1961 and April 1962) were unsuccessful, and the Blue Scout I program was terminated in 1962. The XRM-90 Blue Scout II
943-537: The backronym "everyone deserves a game above reproach". Many United States Congress bills have backronyms as their names; examples include the USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) of 2001, and the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act). Sometimes a backronym is reputed to have been used in
984-482: The brand name Adidas , named after company founder Adolf "Adi" Dassler but falsely believed to be an acronym for "all day I dream about sport," or, alternatively, "all day I dream about soccer." The word Wiki is said to stand for "what I know is", but in fact is derived from the Hawaiian phrase wiki-wiki meaning 'fast'. Yahoo! , sometimes claimed to mean "yet another hierarchical officious oracle", in fact
1025-795: The following motors: Scout's first-stage motor was based on an earlier version of the Navy's Polaris missile motor; the second-stage motor was developed from the Army's Sergeant surface-to-surface missile; and the third- and fourth-stage motors were adapted by NASA's Langley Research Center; Hampton, VA, from the Navy's Vanguard launch vehicle. Unlike the Thor or Atlas-Agena the Scout was non-military and could be sold to foreign customers. The Scout X-1 first flew successfully on 10 October 1960, after an earlier failure in July 1960. The rocket's first stage had four stabilizing fins, and
1066-563: The formation of the original word, and amounts to a false etymology or an urban legend . Acronyms were rare in the English language before the 1930s, and most etymologies of common words or phrases that suggest origin from an acronym are false. Examples include posh , an adjective describing stylish items or members of the upper class. A popular story derives the word as an acronym from "port out, starboard home", referring to 19th-century first-class cabins on ocean liners , which were shaded from
1107-411: The late 1950s, NASA established the Scout program to develop a multistage solid-propellant space booster and research rocket. The U.S. Air Force also participated in the program, but different requirements led to some divergence in the development of NASA and USAF Scouts. The basic NASA Scout configuration, from which all variants were derived, was known as Scout-X1. It was a four-stage rocket, which used
1148-510: The mid-1960s would have been used for deep space missions with a Centaur upper stage , Algol strap-on for liftoff thrust augmentation. It was never flown. CSD solid rocket engine. 564.2 kN. Isp=255s. Gross mass: 11,600 kg (25,600 lb). Unfuelled mass: 1,650 kg (3,640 lb). Height: 9.09 m (29.8 ft). Diameter: 1.01 m (3.3 ft). Thrust: 564.20 kN (126,837 lbf). Specific impulse: 255 s. Specific impulse sea level: 232 s. The Algol II-A
1189-653: The rocket's apogee . NASA used a three-stage Blue Scout Junior configuration (omitting the Cetus 4th stage) as the RAM B. The Italian space research program began in 1959 with the creation of the CRA (Centro Ricerche Aerospaziali) at the University of Rome. Three years later, on 7 September 1962, the university signed a memorandum of understanding with NASA to collaborate on a space research program named San Marco (St. Mark). The Italian launch team
1230-401: The sun on outbound voyages east (e.g. from Britain to India ) and homeward voyages west. The word's actual etymology is unknown, but more likely related to Romani påš xåra ('half-penny') or to Urdu (borrowed from Persian ) safed-pōśh ('white robes'), a term for wealthy people. Another example is the word chav , which is a derogatory term for a working-class youth. This word
1271-414: The vehicle incorporated a gyro-based guidance system for attitude stabilization to keep the rocket on course. Scout X-1A was an American sounding rocket which was flown in 1962. It was a five-stage derivative of the earlier Scout X-1 , with an uprated first stage, and a NOTS-17 upper stage. Scout X-2 was an American expendable launch system and sounding rocket which was flown twice in 1962. It
Scout (rocket family) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-461: Was Ford Aeronutronics. By using different combinations of rocket stages, the USAF created several different Blue Scout configurations. One of these was the XRM-89 Blue Scout I , which was a three-stage vehicle, using Castor 2 and an Antares 1A stages, but omitting the basic Scout's Altair 4th stage. The first launch of an XRM-89 occurred on 1961-01-07, and was mostly successful. On that flight,
1353-510: Was a four-stage rocket, based on the earlier Scout X-1 , introducing the Algol 1D and Antares IIB stage upgrades. On 1962-08-23 a Scout X-2 was used for the first successful launch of a DMSP satellite, lifting off from Point Arguello near Vandenberg Air Force Base . The Scout X-3 flew after 1962 and introduced the Algol IIA upgrade. The Scout X-4 flew after 1963 and introduced Altair 2 upgrade. The Scout A-1 flew in 1973 and introduced
1394-468: Was a rocket of the U.S. Air Force's System 609A Blue Scout family. The XRM-90 was a four-stage rocket, which used the same stages as the basic NASA Scout. It was nevertheless not identical to the latter, because the 4th stage was hidden in a payload fairing with the same diameter as the 3rd stage, and the first stage nozzle used a flared tail skirt between the fins. Externally, the XRM-90 was indistinguishable from
1435-488: Was an attempt to orbit a communications payload for Project Mercury , but the rocket failed after 28 seconds of flight. The USAF subsequently abandoned the XRM-89 Blue Scout I and XRM-90 Blue Scout II vehicles, and shifted to the RM-91/SLV-1B Blue Scout Junior instead. The XRM-91 Blue Scout Junior (sometimes called Journeyman B) was a rocket of the U.S. Air Force's System 609A Blue Scout family. Although
1476-473: Was chosen because Yahoo's founders liked the word's meaning of "rude, unsophisticated, uncouth" (taken from Jonathan Swift 's book Gulliver's Travels ). The distress call " pan-pan " is commonly stated to mean "possible assistance needed", whereas it is in fact derived from the French word panne , meaning 'breakdown'. Algol (rocket stage) The Algol family of solid-fuel rocket stages and boosters
1517-678: Was devised by and named after Virginia Apgar . Ten years after the initial publication, the backronym APGAR was coined in the US as a mnemonic learning aid: appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration. Another example is the American Contract Bridge League's tools to address cheating in online bridge games. EDGAR was originally named for Edgar Kaplan, whose many contributions to the game included groundbreaking efforts to reduce illegal partnership communication. The new EDGAR tools expected to debut in early 2024 have been launched with
1558-516: Was first flown in 1962. It was used a first stage on Scout A, Scout B, Scout X-3, Scout X-4; It was proposed as a strap-on motor for the Titan 3BAS2 variant (cancelled). It was also proposed for the Athena RTX program in 1969, losing to Thiokol .<GAO> B-165488, JAN. 17, 1969. Thrust (sl): 513.300 kN (115,394 lbf; 52,347 kgf). The 3BAS2 configuration of Titan 3B rocket proposed by Martin in
1599-465: Was planned to make radiation and magnetic field measurements at distances of up to 26 700 km (16 600 miles) from earth, and while the rocket did indeed achieve this altitude, the telemetry system failed so that no data was received. The second launch in November ended with a failure during second stage burn. The third flight was to measure particle densities in the Van Allen belts and reached
1640-456: Was trained by NASA. The San Marco project was focused on the launching of scientific satellites by Scout rockets from a mobile rigid platform located close to the equator. This station, composed of 3 oil platforms and two logistical support boats, was installed off the Kenya coast, close to the town of Malindi. The Scout rockets have contributed to several pieces of debris over the years, some of which
1681-723: Was used (in slightly modified form) between 1962 and 1965 by the Air Force as the SLV-1B/C launch vehicle for suborbital scientific payloads. The SLV-1C was also chosen as the rocket for the MER-6A interim ERCS ( Emergency Rocket Communications System ) vehicle; this provided a reliable and survivable emergency communications method for the United States National Command Authority , using a UHF repeater that would transmit pre-recorded messages to all units within line-of-sight of