A rockoon (from ''
rocket
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
'' and ''
balloon
A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light so ...
'') is a
solid fuel
Solid fuel refers to various forms of solid material that can be burnt to release energy, providing heat and light through the process of combustion. Solid fuels can be contrasted with liquid fuels and gaseous fuels. Common examples of solid fuels ...
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 used to ...
that, rather than being immediately lit while on the ground, is first carried into the
upper atmosphere Upper atmosphere is a collective term that refers to various layers of the atmosphere of the Earth above the troposphere and corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets, and includes:
* The mesosphere, which on Earth lies between the ...
by a gas-filled balloon, then separated from the balloon and ignited. This allows the rocket to achieve a higher altitude, as the rocket does not have to move under power through the lower and thicker layers of the atmosphere.
The original concept was developed by Cmdr. Lee Lewis, Cmdr. G. Halvorson, S. F. Singer, and
James A. Van Allen during the
Aerobee
The Aerobee rocket was one of the United States' most produced and productive sounding rockets. Developed by the Aerojet Corporation, the Aerobee was designed to combine the altitude and launching capability of the V-2 with the cost effective ...
rocket firing cruise of the
U.S.S. ''Norton Sound'' on March 1, 1949.
A serious disadvantage is that unpiloted balloons cannot be steered, and consequently the location from which the rocket is launched can be uncertain. Therefore, a large area for the fall of the rocket is required for safety reasons.
Early atmospheric research
''Time'' magazine reported in 1959: "Van Allen's 'Rockoons' could not be fired in Iowa for fear that the spent rockets would strike an Iowan or his house." Van Allen convinced the
U.S. Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...
to let him fire his rockoons from the icebreaker
''Eastwind'' that was bound for
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
. "The first balloon rose properly to 70,000 ft., but the rocket hanging under it did not fire. The second Rockoon behaved in the same maddening way. On the theory that extreme cold at high altitude might have stopped the clockwork supposed to ignite the rockets, Van Allen heated cans of orange juice snuggled them into the third Rockoon's gondola and wrapped the whole business in insulation. The rocket fired."
![Rockoon Van Allen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Rockoon_Van_Allen.jpg)
The
Office of Naval Research
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...
(USA ONR) used the
Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
in some of its Rockoon launches, lofting the Loki to high altitudes on a helium balloon before firing, for upper atmosphere research.
The first Rockoon launch of the Loki I occurred on Jul 1 1955 from shipboard off the coast of Greenland.
During July–October 1955 instrumented Loki I and
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 churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
rockets were successfully balloon launched (Rockoons) from shipboard off the coast of
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
in cosmic-ray studies by The University of Iowa research group. Army Ordnance supplied JPL-developed Loki rockets and ONR sponsored the project.
The first attempt of the Deacon Rockoon on Aug 21 1952 06:25 GMT from the
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
80.1 N x 68.5 W was a failure.
However, success came on Aug 9 1953 in the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, Launch Site 11 Launch Point 10 74.38 N x 71.93 W, at 05:54 GMT.
This was quickly followed by another success on Aug 30 1953 20:46 GMT, at Atlantic Ocean Launch Site 11 Launch Point 13 53.13 N, 54.75 W.
[
In September 1957, as part of the U.S. contributions for the ]International Geophysical Year
The International Geophysical Year (IGY; french: Année géophysique internationale) was an international scientific project that lasted from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific ...
, thirty-six Rockoons (balloon-launched rockets) were launched from Navy icebreaker U.S.S. Glacier in Atlantic, Pacific, and Antarctic areas ranging from 75° N. to 72° S. latitude, as part of the scientific program headed by James A. Van Allen and Lawrence J. Cahill of The University of Iowa. These were the first known upper atmosphere rocket soundings in the Antarctic area. Launched from IGY Rockoon Launch Site 2, Atlantic Ocean; Latitude: 0.83° N, Longitude: 0.99° W.
Recent usage
More recently, the JP Aerospace
JP Aerospace is an American company that aims to achieve affordable access to space. Their main activities include high-atmospheric lighter-than-air flights carrying cameras or miniature experiments called PongSats and minicubes. They are also eng ...
company has developed and used rockoons as part of its space access plans. Additionally, Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
, the University of Alabama in Huntsville
The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is a public research university in Huntsville, Alabama. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and comprises nine colleges: arts, humanities & social science ...
, and Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
(Purdue Orbital) have started programs to develop rockoons and significant work has been recently done by Leo Aerospace based in Los Angeles and a Romanian space company, ARCASPACE. The Spanish company Zero2infinity
Zero 2 Infinity (0II∞, sometimes rendered as Zero2Infinity) is a private Spanish company developing high-altitude balloons intended to provide access to near space and low Earth orbit using a balloon-borne pod and a balloon-borne launch vehi ...
plans to launch a toroid shaped rocket from a balloon called Bloostar
Zero 2 Infinity (0II∞, sometimes rendered as Zero2Infinity) is a private Spanish company developing high-altitude balloons intended to provide access to near space and low Earth orbit using a balloon-borne pod and a balloon-borne launcher.
...
in 2018 to carry micro satellites to low Earth orbit. UK base company, B2Space is developing the concept to launch small satellites into low Earth orbit. The American company Deimos-One
Deimos-One is an American spaceflight technology development company working on an AI powered, autonomous UAV rocket system to move payloads to space. As of January 2021, the company has completed a successful prototype test flight, reaching an ...
is developing an AI assisted concept to launch rockets and carry satellites to low Earth orbit.
See also
* Air launch to orbit
Air launch to orbit (ALTO) is the method of launching smaller rockets at altitude from a heavier conventional horizontal-takeoff
aircraft, to carry satellites to low Earth orbit. It is a follow-on development of air launches of experimental air ...
* CU Spaceflight
CU Spaceflight is a student-run society at Cambridge University. It is founded with the aim of achieving access to space, with minimal financial expenses. The society is supported by the Cambridge-MIT Institute.[Da Vinci Project
The Da Vinci Project was a privately funded, volunteer-staffed attempt to launch a reusable crewed suborbital spacecraft. It was formed in 1996 specifically to be a contender for the Ansari X Prize for the first non-governmental reusable crewed s ...]
* JP Aerospace
JP Aerospace is an American company that aims to achieve affordable access to space. Their main activities include high-atmospheric lighter-than-air flights carrying cameras or miniature experiments called PongSats and minicubes. They are also eng ...
* Non-rocket spacelaunch
Non-rocket spacelaunch refers to theoretical concepts for launch into space where much of the speed and altitude needed to achieve orbit is provided by a propulsion technique that is not subject to the limits of the rocket equation. Although al ...
* Zero2infinity
Zero 2 Infinity (0II∞, sometimes rendered as Zero2Infinity) is a private Spanish company developing high-altitude balloons intended to provide access to near space and low Earth orbit using a balloon-borne pod and a balloon-borne launch vehi ...
's Bloostar
* Deimos-One's Vulcan
* The Space Perspective
References
Sources
*
*
External links
{{wiktionary, rockoon
Details of Rockoon launches made in 1956 from the USS COLONIAL in the Pacific Ocean
Stratocat website
Stratocat website
* ttp://www.harcspace.com/ High Altitude Research Corporation
1953 in spaceflight
Rocket propulsion
Spaceflight