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 Nike Smoke diagram | |
| Function | Sounding missile |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | NASA/Thiokol |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Size | |
| Height | 6 m |
| Width | 0.43 m |
| Mass | 708kg |
| Stages | 1 |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | Wallops Island,Cape Kennedy |
| First flight | May 17, 1962 |
| Carries passengers or cargo | |
| First stage | |
| Engines | Thiokol M5 booster |
| Thrust | 217 kN |
| Burn time | 3.5 seconds |
| Propellant | Solid |
TheNike Smoke was asounding rocket, part of a research project on the behavior of the horizontal winds in the upper atmosphere, developed by NASA in the 1960s based on theNike booster.[1][2] The goal was to obtain more accurate data on the behavior of these winds in order to guide the design of new vehicles particularly theSaturn family of vehicles.[3][4]
Nike Smoke used the release oftitanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) at altitude to create a smoke trail at altitude. The release created a white smoke trail which when photographed from two cameras situated 10–12 miles from the launch site and 90 degrees apart. Comparison of the photographs allowedwinds aloft to be calculated in both direction and velocity.[5]
In the early 1960s, NASA's Nike Smoke project was developed at theLangley Research Center andMarshall Space Flight Center laboratories, to study horizontal wind speed and its influence on rocket flights. TheNike booster was chosen due to its high reliability and availability, as thousands were manufactured to meet the requirements ofProject Nike.[3]
Its cone-shaped tip, with an air intake tube, a tank and an exhaust valve, was specially developed for the mission.
In the tank were placed 37 litres of titanium tetrachloride in order to produce a highly reflective and dense smoke trail, hence its name.[2] This trail extended from an altitude of around 6,000 feet to 75,000 feet.[3] Thetriangulation of this trail provided data much more precise than previous tests made withhigh-altitude balloons.[3]
It was intended to launch about a hundred rockets within a 1-year period from Cape Kennedy, where the launch site was built adjacent toCape Canaveral Air Force Station. The first launch was successfully conducted on May 17, 1962.[6]
From May 1962 until May 1963, a total of 55 Nike Smokes were launched from Cape Kennedy. From July 1963 until January 1965, more than 70 Nike Smokes were launched from their Wallops Island launch site.[7][2] The rocket proved to be an effective and cheap method to study wind patterns at high altitudes.[7]
Nike Smoke continued to be used by NASA in the following years. Before each Apollo launch, a Nike Smoke was launched to allow monitoring of horizontal winds at high altitude, which could eventually even interrupt or delay a launch of that project.
The project's head was Harold Tolefson, along with his engineers Charles Dozier, Robert Henry and Robert Miller.[7]
Before this rocket studies of horizontal winds at high altitudes were carried out using research balloons, with very sparse graphic results where important variations were not recorded
Using Nike Smoke, the procedures for each launch were as follows:[7]
Once the photos were taken, they were processed in laboratories at Langley Research Center and Marshall Space Flight Center.
The results from this type of experiment were ten times more accurate, in all respects, than those obtained from similar experiments using high-altitude balloons . The data obtained from this type of experiment could be used to compare data from different launch vehicle designs and gauge their likely behavior. This was the way in which "virtual" behavior tests were carried out at the time before creating the final product (a new rocket).