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The Scout family of rockets were American
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 designed to place small
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
s into orbit around the Earth. The Scout
multistage rocket A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket ''stages'', each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A ''tandem'' or ''serial'' stage is mounted on top of another stage; a ''parallel'' stage i ...
was the first orbital launch vehicle to be entirely composed of
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 ...
stages. It was also the only vehicle of that type until the successful launch of the Japanese
Lambda 4S The Lambda 4S or L-4S was an experimental Japanese expendable carrier rocket. It was produced by Nissan and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science and launched five times between 1966 and 1970 with Ohsumi technology demonstration satelli ...
in 1970. The original Scout (an acronym for Solid Controlled Orbital Utility Test system) was designed in 1957 at the
NACA The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...
, 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 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
fact sheet:
"... the first stage motor was a combination of the Jupiter Senior and the Navy
Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
; the second stage came from the Army
MGM-29 Sergeant The MGM-29 Sergeant was an American short-range, solid fuel, surface-to-surface missile developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The missiles were built by Sperry Utah Company. The Sergeant was the third and last in a series of JPL rockets fo ...
; and the third and fourth stage motors were designed by Langley engineers who adapted a version of the Navy
Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...
."
The first successful orbital launch of a Scout, on February 16, 1961, delivered
Explorer 9 Explorer 9, known as S-56A before launch, was a NASA satellite which was launched in February 1961 to study the density and composition of the upper thermosphere and lower exosphere. It was a reflight of the failed Explorer S-56 mission, and ...
, a 7-kg satellite used for atmospheric density studies, into orbit. The final launch of a Scout, using a Scout G-1, was on May 8, 1994, from
Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145), USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in K ...
. The payload was the Miniature Sensor Technology Integration Series 2 (''MSTI-2'') military spacecraft with a mass of . MSTI-2 successfully acquired and tracked a
LGM-30 Minuteman The LGM-30 Minuteman is an American land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in service with the Air Force Global Strike Command. , the LGM-30G Minuteman III version is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States and r ...
missile. The standard Scout launch vehicle was a solid propellant, four-stage booster system, approximately in length with a launch weight of .


Scout A (original version)

The Scout A was used for launches of the Transit NNSS series, 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 a British scientific satellite. Standard payload capability was 122 kg into a low-Earth orbit.


Parameters

*Thrust at liftoff: 513.40 kN (52,352
kgf KGF or ''kgf'' may refer to: *Keratinocyte growth factor *King George's Fields, UK, recreation grounds *Kolar Gold Fields *The IATA code for Sary-Arka Airport, Karaganda, Kazakhstan * ''K.G.F'' (film series), Indian Kannada-language film series * ...
) *Mass at launch: 17,850 kg *Diameter: 1.01 m *Length: 25.00 m Stage 1: ''
Algol ALGOL (; short for "Algorithmic Language") is a family of imperative computer programming languages originally developed in 1958. ALGOL heavily influenced many other languages and was the standard method for algorithm description used by the ...
'' * Derived from
Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
missile * Gross Mass: 11,600 kg * Empty Mass: 1,650 kg * Vacuum thrust: 564.25 kN (57,537 kgf) * Burn time: 47 s * Diameter: 1.01 m * Span: 1.01 m * Length: 9.09 m Stage 2: '' Castor'' * Derived from
Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
missile * Gross Mass: 4,424 kg * Empty Mass: 695 kg * Vacuum thrust: 258.92 kN (26,402 kgf) * Burn time: 37 s * Diameter: 0.79 m * Span: 0.79 m * Length: 6.04 m Stage 3: ''Antares'' * Gross Mass: 1,400 kg * Empty Mass: 300 kg * Vacuum thrust: 93.09 kN (9,493 kgf) * Burn time: 36 s * Diameter: 0.78 m * Span: 0.78 m * Length: 2.90 m Stage 4: ''Altair'' * Gross Mass: 275 kg * Empty Mass: 37 kg * Vacuum thrust: 22.24 kN (2,268 kgf) * Burn time: 28 s * Diameter: 0.64 m * Span: 0.64 m * Length: 2.53 m


Scout-X1 (NASA)

In 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 the following motors: * 1st stage:
Aerojet General 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. I ...
Algol ALGOL (; short for "Algorithmic Language") is a family of imperative computer programming languages originally developed in 1958. ALGOL heavily influenced many other languages and was the standard method for algorithm description used by the ...
* 2nd stage:
Thiokol Thiokol (variously Thiokol Chemical Corporation(/Company), Morton Thiokol Inc., Cordant Technologies Inc., Thiokol Propulsion, AIC Group, ATK Thiokol, ATK Launch Systems Group; finally Orbital ATK before becoming part of Northrop Grumman) was an ...
XM33 Castor * 3rd stage:
Allegany Ballistics Laboratory Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL) located in Rocket Center, West Virginia, is a diverse industrial complex employing some 1,000 people across . The facility is a member of the Federal Laboratory Consortium and is operated by Northrop Grumma ...
X-254 Antares * 4th stage: Allegany Ballistics Laboratory X-248
Altair Altair is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila and the twelfth-brightest star in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Aquilae, which is Latinised from α Aquilae and abbreviated Alpha Aql or ...
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 missile. Unlike the
Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
or
Atlas-Agena The Atlas-Agena was an American expendable launch system derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile. It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets, and was launched 109 times between 1960 and 1978. It was used to launch the first five Mariner uncrewed ...
the Scout was non-military and could be sold to foreign customers.


Satellites orbited

*
San Marco 1 San Marco 1, also known as San Marco A, was the first Italian satellite. Built in-house by the Italian Space Research Commission ( it, Commissione per le Ricerche Spaziali, CRS) on behalf of the National Research Council, it was the first of five ...
, the first Italian satellite (in 1964), launched by an Italian crew. * San Marco 2, the second Italian satellite (in 1967) and first in the world launched from a sea platform. Three more
San Marco San Marco is one of the six sestiere (Venice), sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city as the main place of Venice. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Although the district includes Piazza San Marco, Saint ...
satellites would use Scout rockets. Italy owned
San Marco platform The Luigi Broglio Space Center (BSC) is an Italian-owned spaceport near Malindi, Kenya, named after its founder and Italian space pioneer Luigi Broglio. Developed in the 1960s through a partnership between the Sapienza University of Rome's Aeros ...
launched in 1967-1984 Scout rockets only. * AEREOS and AEROS B atmospheric researchp.12 AEROS *
Ariel 3 Ariel 3 (UK 3 or United Kingdom Research Satellite 3) was a satellite in the Ariel programme, a satellite partnership between the US and UK. Three of the onboard experiments continued research from the first two missions and two experiments were ...
, the first satellite designed and constructed in the United Kingdom, and four other
Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...
satellites( Ariel 2,4,5 and 6) including first satellite for radioastronomy -
Ariel 2 Ariel 2, also known as UK-C, was a British radio astronomy satellite, which was operated by the Science and Engineering Research Council as part of the Ariel programme. It was built in America by Westinghouse Electric, and had a mass at launch of . ...
. *
Magsat Magsat (Magnetic field Satellite, Applications Explorer Mission-C or AEM-C or Explorer 61) was a NASA/USGS (United States Geological Survey) spacecraft, launched on 30 October 1979. The mission was to map the Earth's magnetic field, the satelli ...
, the first globally complete 3D map of Earth's magnetic fields. *
Transit Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1979 film), a 1979 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countries in the world * ''Transit'' (2006 film), a 2006 ...
satellites, a prototype satellite Transit 5A was launched 1962-12-19 by a Scout X-3. On four different flights, Scout rockets placed two Transit satellites in orbit with a single launch. The last of these, on 1988-08-25, launched Transit-O 31 and Transit O-25 on a Scout G rocket. * OFO-A, launched bullfrogs into space for biological experiments (1970) * FR-1, a French satellite used to study VLF propagation (1965) *
Astronomical Netherlands Satellite The Astronomical Netherlands Satellite (ANS; also known as Astronomische Nederlandse Satelliet) was a space-based X-ray and ultraviolet telescope. It was launched into Earth orbit on 30 August 1974 at 14:07:39 UTC in a Scout rocket from Vandenbe ...
, ANS was the first Dutch satellite (30 August 1974). (ANS; also known as Astronomische Nederlandse Satelliet) was a space-based
X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10  picometers to 10  nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
and
ultraviolet telescope Ultraviolet astronomy is the observation of electromagnetic radiation at ultraviolet wavelengths between approximately 10 and 320 nanometres; shorter wavelengths—higher energy photons—are studied by X-ray astronomy and gamma-ray ast ...
. * Miniature Sensor Technology Integration Series 2 (MSTI-2), launched into low earth orbit on 8 May 1994 local time aboard the last NASA SCOUT booster. * Explorer 9,13(S 55),13(S 55a),16,19,20,22,23,24,27,30,37,39,42,45,46,48,52,53,56, and 57 * Uhuru, the first XRay orbital observatory, which confirmed the first black hole detected
Cygnus X-1 Cygnus X-1 (abbreviated Cyg X-1) is a galactic X-ray source in the constellation Cygnus and was the first such source widely accepted to be a black hole. It was discovered in 1964 during a rocket flight and is one of the ...
* ESRO 1 A/B, 2A/B, * Miranda * ANS 1 * San Marco 4,5 * Triad 2 *
Gravity Probe A Gravity Probe A (GP-A) was a space-based experiment to test the equivalence principle, a feature of Einstein's theory of relativity. It was performed jointly by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the National Aeronautics and Space ...
* Triad 3 * Transat * AEM 1,2 * Nova 1 * Nova 2 * HILAT * Nova 3 * ITV 1,2 * Polar Bear * REX 1 * SAMPEX * Radical * DSAP 1 F1,F2,F3,F4,F5 * RFD 1,2. * OTV3 1,2,3,4,5. *


Scout designations

The Scout X-1 first flew successfully on 1960-10-10, after an earlier failure in July 1960. The rocket's first stage had four stabilizing fins, and the vehicle incorporated a gyro-based guidance system for attitude stabilization to keep the rocket on course. Some other Scout designations were: * The
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 ...
which in 1962 introduced 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 Point Arguello (Spanish: ''Punta Argüello'') is a headland on the Gaviota Coast, in Santa Barbara County, California, near the city of Lompoc. The area was first used by the United States Navy in 1959 for the launch of military and sounding r ...
near
Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145), USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in K ...
. * The
Scout X-3 Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...
which in 1963 introduced the Algol IIA upgrade. * The
Scout X-4 Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...
which in 1963 introduced Altair 2 upgrade. * The
Scout A-1 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. ...
and B-1 which in 1965 introduced the Castor IIA and Altair III upgrades, respectively. * The
Scout D-1 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 t ...
which in 1972 introduced the Algol III upgrade. * The Scout G-1 flew from 1974 until the Scout's retirement in 1994. It was rated to orbit a 210 kg payload.


XRM-89 Blue Scout I (USAF)

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 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, 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.


XRM-90 Blue Scout II (USAF)

The XRM-90 Blue Scout II 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 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 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 ...
. This was an attempt to orbit a communications payload for
Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
, 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.


Blue Scout II parameters

* Total length: 21.65 m * Finspan: 2.84 m ; LEO payload * Mass: 30 kg * To: 300 km orbit * Att: 28.0 degrees * Apogee: 2,500 km


XRM-91 Blue Scout Junior / Journeyman B (USAF)

The XRM-91
Blue Scout Junior Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical sp ...
(sometimes called Journeyman B) was a rocket of the U.S. Air Force's System 609A Blue Scout family. Although 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 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 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 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 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 The Emergency Rocket Communications System (ERCS) was designed to provide a reliable and survivable emergency communications method for the United States National Command Authority, using a UHF repeater placed atop a Blue Scout rocket or Minute ...
) vehicle; this provided a reliable and survivable emergency communications method for the
United States National Command Authority National Command Authority (NCA) is a term that was used by the Department of Defense of the United States of America to refer to the ultimate source of lawful military orders. The NCA was first alluded to in a 1960 Department of Defense document. ...
, using a
UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...
repeater that would transmit pre-recorded messages to all units within line-of-sight of the rocket's
apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...
.Parsch, Andreas
Ford MER-6 Blue Scout
''Designation-Systems.net'', 9 July 2007. Accessed 2020-04-30.
NASA used a three-stage Blue Scout Junior configuration (omitting the Cetus 4th stage) as the RAM B.


San Marco Project

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 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.


Launches


See also

*
Comparison of orbital launchers families This article compares different orbital launcher families (although many launchers that are significantly different from other members of the same 'family' have their own separate entries). The article is organized into two tables: the first tabl ...


References

Krebs, Gunter (3/5/2017). "Scout Family". space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved 7/1/17. Check date values in: , access-date=, , date= (help)


External links


Profile
of the Blue Scout Junior

of the Scout series {{Navboxes , title=Articles and topics related to the Scout rocket family , state=collapsed , list1= {{US military rockets {{USAF missiles {{USAF space vehicles {{USAF system codes {{Expendable launch systems {{US launch systems {{Rocket families {{Project Mercury 1960 in spaceflight 1994 in spaceflight Solid-fuel rockets NASA space launch vehicles Rocket families