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RM-90 Blue Scout II
The RM-90 Blue Scout II was an American sounding rocket and expendable launch system which was flown three times during 1961. It was used for two HETS test flights, and the launch of the Mercury-Scout 1 satellite for NASA. It was a member of the Scout family of rockets. The Blue Scout II was a military version of the NASA-operated Scout X-1. Launches All three launches occurred from Launch Complex 18B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the same launch pad used for the Blue Scout I. The first two launches were successfully conducted on 3 March and 12 April 1961 respectively, using vehicles D-4 and D-5. They both carried HETS A2 plasma research experiments on suborbital trajectories. The third launch was conducted on 1 November, using vehicle D-8, with the Mercury-Scout 1 satellite for NASA, which was intended to reach low Earth orbit. The launch failed after the rocket went out of control, and was destroyed by the range safety officer In the field of rocket ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury-Scout 1
Mercury-Scout 1, or MS-1, was a United States spacecraft intended to test tracking stations for Project Mercury flights. It grew out of a May 5, 1961 NASA proposal to use Scout rockets to launch small satellites to evaluate the worldwide Mercury Tracking Network in preparation for manned orbital missions. The launch of Mercury-Scout 1 on November 1, 1961 was unsuccessful, and the satellite failed to reach orbit. Background The Mercury Tracking Network was a series of U.S. owned and operated ground stations and tracking ships, positioned around the world under the flightpath of Mercury spacecraft. When the spacecraft came within several hundred miles of a ground station, it could have line-of-sight voice and telemetry communications by HF (shortwave), VHF or UHF radio and C-band and S-band radar. These communications passes would only last a few minutes, until the ground station disappeared over the horizon. Between ground stations, Mercury spacecraft were out of communicatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |