Nike (rocket stage)

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

• The Nike Deacon has a ceiling of 189km, a takeoff thrust of 217kN, a takeoff weight of 710kg, 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 130km, the takeoff thrust 217kN, takeoff weight 900kg, 0.42m and length 8.20m.
• The Nike Malemute consists of a Nike starting stage and a Malemute upper stage. It has a ceiling of 500km (310mi), a takeoff thrust of 48,800lbf (217kN), a takeoff weight of 1,000kg (2,200lb), a diameter of 0.42m (17in) and a length of 8.60 metres (28feet 3inches).
• The Nike Orion has a Nike base stage, taken from U.S. Army surplus stocks, and an Orion upper stage. The Nike Orion is 9.01 metres (29feet 7inches) long. There are two stages of boosters; the first is 41.9cm (16.5), and the second is 35.6cm (14.0in). It has a launch weight of 1,100 kilograms (2,400 pounds), a launch thrust of 217kN (48,800lbf) and a ceiling of 140km (460,000ft). The first Nike-Orion rocket was launched on February 26, 1977, and had more than 175 launches through the 2000s.

• The Nike Recruit has an apogee of 5km, a liftoff thrust of 217kN, a total mass of 1100kg and a total length of 8.00 m.
• The Nike Tomahawk has a Nike rocket as the first stage, and a Tomahawk rocket as the second. The Nike Tomahawk has a ceiling of 230 statute miles (370km), a payload capacity of 100 pounds (45kg), a launch thrust of 49,000 pounds of force (217 kN), a launch weight of 2,200 pounds (1,000kg), a diameter of 17 inches (0.43m) and a length of 35feet 5inches (10.80m). The Nike Tomahawk was launched 395 times between June 25, 1963, and November 27, 1995. One of its launches was in 1966 on the beach in Cassino, Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The Nike Viper consists of a Nike starting stage and a Viper upper stage. The Nike Viper has a ceiling of 80km, a takeoff thrust of 217kN (48,800lbf), a takeoff weight of 600kg and a length of 8.00 m.

Below is a list of sounding rockets based on Nike, Nike-Nike or Nike upper stage combinations:

See also

• Nike Smoke rocket

External links

• 2013-02-21 at theWayback Machine