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 the only vehicle of that type until the successful launch of the Japanese Lambda 4S in 1970. The original Scout (a backronym for Solid Controlled Orbital Utility Test system) was designed in 1957 at the NACA, 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 fact sheet:
"... the first stage motor was a combination of the Jupiter Senior and the Navy Polaris; the second stage came from the Army MGM-29 Sergeant; and the third and fourth stage motors were designed by Langley engineers who adapted a version of the Navy Vanguard."
The first successful orbital launch of a Scout, on February 16, 1961, delivered Explorer 9, a 7 kilograms (15 lb) 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. The payload was the Miniature Sensor Technology Integration Series 2 (MSTI-2) military spacecraft with a mass of 163 kilograms (359 lb). MSTI-2 successfully acquired and tracked a LGM-30 Minuteman missile. The standard Scout launch vehicle was a solid propellant, four-stage booster system, approximately 23 meters (75 ft) in length with a launch weight of 21,499 kilograms (47,397 lb).
Scout A The Scout A was used for launches of the Transit NNSS series (Transit-O 6 to 19), 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 the British Ariel 3 scientific satellite. Standard payload capability was 122 kg into a low-Earth orbit.
Parameters
Thrust at liftoff: 513.40 kN (52,352 kgf) Mass at launch: 17,850 kg Diameter: 1.01 m Length: 25.00 m Stage 1: Algol
Derived from Polaris 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 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 Algol 2nd stage: Thiokol XM33 Castor 3rd stage: Allegany Ballistics Laboratory X-254 Antares 4th stage: Allegany Ballistics Laboratory X-248 Altair 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 launch vehicle. Unlike the Thor or Atlas-Agena the Scout was non-military and could be sold to foreign customers. The Scout X-1 first flew successfully on 10 October 1960, 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.
Satellites orbited
San Marco 1, 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 satellites would use Scout rockets. Italy owned San Marco platform launched in 1967-1984 Scout rockets only. AEREOS and AEROS B atmospheric research Ariel 3, the first satellite designed and constructed in the United Kingdom, and four other Ariel satellites (Ariel 2, 4, 5 and 6) including first satellite for radioastronomy - Ariel 2. Magsat, the first globally complete 3D map of Earth's magnetic fields. Transit 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, ANS was the first Dutch satellite (30 August 1974). (ANS; also known as Astronomische Nederlandse Satelliet) was a space-based X-ray and ultraviolet telescope. 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 ESRO 1 A/B, 2A/B, Miranda ANS 1 San Marco 4, 5 Triad 2 Gravity Probe A 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 X-1A
Scout X-1A was an American sounding rocket which was flown in 1962. It was a five-stage derivative of the earlier Scout X-1, with an uprated first stage, and a NOTS-17 upper stage.
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, introducing the Algol 1D and Antares 2B 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 near Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Scout X-3
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