Astrobee 1500
Launch vehicle · USA
Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.
American sounding rocket. Three stage vehicle consisting of 2 x Recruit + 1 x Aerojet Jr + 1 x Alcor
From NASA SOUNDING ROCKETS, 1958-1968 - A Historical Summary, NASA SP-4401, 1971, by William R. Corliss
The Astrobee 1500 was first used by NASA in 1962. It was intended to be a replacement for the large Argo D-8 Journeyman rocket, which NASA used for big payloads and high altitudes. A replacement was necessary because the Journeyman first stage, the Sergeant motor, was becoming increasingly hard to get. Built by Aerojet, the Astrobee 1500 consisted of an Aerojet 100 (Aerojet Junior) first stage augmented by two Thiokol Recruits, plus an Alcor second stage. Like the Journeyman, the Astrobee 1500 has been used only sparingly in NASA's programs, it being unnecessarily big and expensive for most purposes.
More at: Astrobee 1500.
Related
- Country
- USA
- Launch Sites
- Wallops Island, Vandenberg, Vandenberg LC-A, Eglin, Vandenberg LC-B, Wallops Island LA2
- Stages
- Scanner-1, 1.5KS35000, Alcor
- Agency
- Aerojet
Chronology
10 events
1961 March 8
17:53 GMT - . Launch Site: Eglin. LV Family: Astrobee. Launch Vehicle: Astrobee 1500.1961 August 1
20:18 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg LC-A. LV Family: Astrobee. Launch Vehicle: Astrobee 1500. FAILURE: Failure.1961 December 8
Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg LC-A. LV Family: Astrobee. Launch Vehicle: Astrobee 1500.1962 July 9
Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg LC-B. LV Family: Astrobee. Launch Vehicle: Astrobee 1500. FAILURE: Failure.1963 April 8
11:26 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: Wallops Island LA2. Launch Pad: LA2A. LV Family: Astrobee. Launch Vehicle: Astrobee 1500. FAILURE: Failure.- Test mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Greenbelt. Apogee: 72 km (44 mi).