Nike (rocket stage)

American solid fuel rocket stage Early Booster Missile Nike I (three fin model). The Nike stage or Nike booster, a solid fuel rocket motor, was developed by Hercules Aerospace for use as the first stage of the Nike Ajax (M5 motor) and Nike Hercules (M5E1 and M88 motor) missiles as part of Project Nike. 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. Sounding rockets based on Nike Booster A Nike Orion rocket in flight 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. 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. The Nike Malemute consists of a Nike starting stage and a Malemute upper stage. It has a ceiling of 500 km (310 mi), a takeoff thrust of 48,800 lbf (217 kN), a takeoff weight of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb), a diameter of 0.42 m (17 in) and a length of 8.60 metr