Nike (rocket stage) explained

The Nike stage or Nike booster, a solid fuel rocket motor, was created by Hercules Aerospace for the Nike Ajax (M5) Nike Hercules (M5E1) (and M88 late in Hercules career).^{[1] [2]} It was developed for use as the first stage of the Nike Ajax and Nike Hercules missiles as part of Project Nike.^[3]

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.^[4]

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.^{[4] [5]}
• The Nike Javelin was launched 34 times between 1964 and 1978. The maximum flight 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.^{[6] [7]}
• The Nike Malemute consists of a Nike starting stage and a Malemute upper stage. It has a ceiling of 500km (300miles), a takeoff thrust of 48800lbf, a takeoff weight of 1000kg (2,000lb), a diameter of 0.42m (01.38feet) and a length of 8.6m (28.2feet).^[8]
• The Nike Orion has a Nike base stage, taken from U.S. Army surplus stocks, and an Orion upper stage. The Nike Orion is 9.01m (29.56feet) long. There are two stages of boosters; the first is 41.9 cm (16.5), and the second is 35.6cm (14inches). It has a launch weight of 1100kg (2,400lb), a launch thrust of 217 kN (48,800 lbf) and a ceiling of 140 km (460,000 ft).^{[9] [2]} 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.^[10]
• The Nike Tomahawk has a Nike rocket as the first stage, and a Tomahawk rocket as the second. The Nike Tomahawk has a ceiling of 230 statute miles (370 km), a payload capacity of 100lb, a launch thrust of 49,000 pounds of force (217 kN), a launch weight of 2200lb, a diameter of 17inches and a length of 35inchesft5inchesin (ftin). The Nike Tomahawk was launched 395 times between June 25, 1963, and November 27, 1995.^{[11] [12]} One of its launches was in 1966 on the beach in Cassino, Rio Grande, Brazil.
• 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.^{[13] [14]}

See also

• Nike Smoke rocket

References

Books

• Book: Corliss, William R.. NASA Sounding Rockets, 1958-1968. 1971. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Washington D.C.. NASA-SP-4401.

External links

• U.S. Naval Research Lab. - Nike Booster
• Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum - Fins, Set of Four, Rocket, Nike Booster, Nike-Cajun
• Encyclopedia Astronautica - Nike

Notes and References

1. Web site: Nike M5 (and M5E1, M88) Scale Data . 28 January 2012 . 2020-09-21 . 2020-09-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200918125915/http://meatballrocketry.com/nike-motor-data/ . live .
2. Web site: Miscellaneous Nike-Boosted Rockets. 2016-03-03. Parsch. Andreas. Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. Appendix 4. 2016-03-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065408/http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app4/nike-xxx.html. live.
3. Web site: Ed Thelen's Nike Missile Web Site. . 2013-04-23 . 2013-04-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130411072407/http://ed-thelen.org/missiles.html#booster . live .
4. Corliss 1972 p. 24
5. https://web.archive.org/web/20161228053051/http://astronautix.com/n/nikedeacon.html Nike-Deacon
6. Corliss 1972 p. 82
7. https://web.archive.org/web/20161026013724/http://www.astronautix.com/n/nikejavelin.html Nike Javelin
8. https://web.archive.org/web/20161228050455/http://astronautix.com/n/nikemalemute.html Encyclopedia Astronautica Nike Malamute Info
9. Web site: Nike Orion . https://web.archive.org/web/20161228012820/http://astronautix.com/n/nikeorion.html . dead . December 28, 2016 . www.astronautix.com . 2019-06-01.
10. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220204505/http://www.astronautix.com/n/nikerecruit.html Article title
11. Corliss 1972 p. 63-64
12. https://web.archive.org/web/20161026033603/http://www.astronautix.com/n/niketomahawk.html Nike Tomahawk
13. https://web.archive.org/web/20161228024734/http://astronautix.com/n/nikeviperi.html Nike Viper I
14. Web site: Nike With Upper Stage. 2016-03-03. Krebs. Gunter. Gunter's Space Page. Nike With Upper Stage. 2016-03-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073549/http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau/nike_su.htm. live.