The Nike-Asp was a Navy sounding rocket, sometimes ship-launched. While the Cajun was selected as the Deacon replacement by the USAF and NACA, the Navy selected the competing Asp motor for its sounding rocket projects. After NASA took over the Navy's sounding rockets, they fired the 30 remaining rockets and then converted to their favoured Nike-Cajun configuration. (Source: www.astronautix.com)
(U.S. Navy Photo courtesy Joel Powell)
Statistics
Manufacturer: Cooper Development Company
Launches: 78
Failures: 13
Success Rate: 83.33%
Length: 7.90 m (25.90 ft)
Diameter: 0.42 m (1.37 ft)
Total Mass: 700 kg (1,540 lb)
Apogee: 220 km (130 mi)
Liftoff Thrust: 217.000 kN (48,783 lbf)
Propellant: Missile - Solid Booster
- Solid
First Launch Date: 1957-09-26
Last Launch Date: 1963-02-18