The Algol family of

solid-fuel rocket A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants ( fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used in warfare by the Arabs, Chinese, Persian ...

stages Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * S ...

and boosters is built by

Aerojet Aerojet was an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Rancho Cordova, California, with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange and Gainesville in Virginia, and Camden, Arkansas. Aerojet was owned by GenCorp. ...

(now

Aerojet Rocketdyne Aerojet Rocketdyne is an American manufacturer of rocket, Hypersonic flight, hypersonic, and electric propulsive systems for space, defense, civil and commercial applications. Headquartered in Sacramento, California, the company is owned by Aeroj ...

) and used on a variety of

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload (spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad, launch pads, supported by a missile launch contro ...

s. 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 10,705kg, and produces 470.93 kN of thrust. The vehicle also has a

Specific Impulse Specific impulse (usually abbreviated ) is a measure of how efficiently a reaction mass engine (a rocket using propellant or a jet engine using fuel) creates thrust. For engines whose reaction mass is only the fuel they carry, specific impulse i ...

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 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 rocket, solid fuel stages. ...

, with the design being based on the

UGM-27 Polaris The UGM-27 Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fueled nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). As the United States Navy's first SLBM, it served from 1961 to 1980. In the mid-1950s the Navy was involved in the Jupiter missile ...

, a

submarine-launched ballistic missile A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead ...

developed for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

at the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

Algol 1 (XM-68)

; Algol 1 (XM-68) This rocket design started as the Polaris test motor, 31 feet in length with a diameter steel case, and 86,000 lb. of thrust. The eventual

A-1 was larger, in length and in diameter. The Algol 1 was first used for a successful suborbital launch of a

Scout X-1 Scout X-1 was an American expendable launch system and sounding rocket which was flown seven times between August 1960 and October 1961. Four orbital and three suborbital launches were made, with four of the launches resulting in failures. The ...

rocket on September 2, 1960. The rocket started as a

test motor with a 40-inch diameter, the largest solid motor ever tested at the time . It had a nominal performance rating of 45 seconds duration and 45,000 kgf thrust. It was long, in diameter, and had a burn time of 27 seconds. Scaled up to diameter. Later versions for Scout D scaled to ; Algol 1-A Used on the

Scout X Scout X, also known as Cub Scout, was an American rocket which served as a prototype of the Scout, which was launched on a single test flight in 1960. It was used to test the configuration that later Scout rockets would use as well as two of the so ...

(Cub Scout) test flight flown April 18, 1960. served as prototype vehicle for eventual Scout rocket. ;Algol 1-B Used on

RM-89 Blue Scout I The RM-89 Blue Scout I was an American sounding rocket which was flown four times between January 1961 and April 1962. It was used for two HETS test flights, and a flight to investigate atmospheric re-entry. It was a member of the Scout family of ...

, and

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 Hyper Environmental Test System, HETS test flights, and the launch of the Mercury-Scout 1 satellite f ...

. ;Algol 1-C Used on the Scout X-1A. After this single flight, the Scout X-2 with Algol 1-D replaced this prototype. ; Algol 1-D Used with

Scout X-2 Scout X-2 was an American expendable launch system and sounding rocket which was flown twice in 1962. It was a four-stage rocket, based on the earlier Scout X-1, uprated first and third stages. It was a member of the Scout family of rockets. T ...

, Scout X-2M and

Little Joe II Little Joe II was an American rocket used from 1963 to 1966 for five uncrewed tests of the Apollo spacecraft launch escape system (LES), and to verify the performance of the command module parachute recovery system in abort mode. It was name ...

. Solid rocket stage. 440.00 kN (98,916 lbf) thrust. Mass . 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 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

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 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: . Unfuelled mass: . Height: . Diameter: . Thrust: 440.00 kN (98,910 lbf). Burn time: 44 s. Number: 20.

Algol II

The Algol 2 (Algol II) series 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 Thikol. 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 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: . Unfuelled mass: . Height: . Diameter: . Thrust: 564.20 kN (126,837 lbf). Specific impulse: 255 s. Specific impulse sea level: 232 s. The Algol II-A was introduced in 1963 using the Aerojet 40 KS motor. It first flew on Scout-X3 in 1963. The Algol II-B was created after an Algol II-A flight failure, the nozzle was designed and designate the II-B model. It first flew on Scout-X4 The Algol II-C flew on Scout A1 and B1. Scout-A2, -B2, -C and -2 versions planned for Algol II-C were never used.

References

{{Suborbital rocket engines Rocket stages Solid-fuel rockets

Algol 1 (XM-68)

Algol II

See also

References