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Trailblazer 2
Status: Retired 1973. First Launch: 1961-12-14. Last Launch: 1973-12-06. Number: 16 . Payload: 18 kg (39 lb). Thrust: 547.00 kN (122,970 lbf). Gross mass: 6,100 kg (13,400 lb). Height: 15.70 m (51.50 ft). Diameter: 0.79 m (2.59 ft). Span: 3.38 m (11.07 ft). Apogee: 300 km (180 mi).
The Trailblazer 2 continued the work of NASA's Trailblazer 1 in taking re-entry test payloads high into space, then ramming them back down into the atmosphere. However the earlier version had a very small payload, meaning only ground observations could be made of the re-entry. The Trailblazer-2 was much more powerful, meaning instrumentation in the vehicle could send data to the ground. The first two stages of the rocket would take the upper stage package to an altitude of 300 km. The upper two stages would then fire, driving the 18 kg payload into the atmosphere at 6.1 km/sec.
The rocket was also used for further 'artificial meteorite' experiments. 0.7-0.8 gram steel pellets or chunks of explosive would be accelerated by a fifth stage and a shaped charge to up to 11.9 km/sec. The meteorite trails thus created were observed from the ground and gave astronomers a calibrated basis for inferring the size of natural meteorites from the trails they created.
Payload: 18 kg (39 lb) to a 300 km altitude.
More at: Trailblazer 2.
Family: test vehicle. Country: USA. Launch Sites: Wallops Island. Stages: Altair 1, Cygnus 15, TX-77, 1.5KS35000, Castor 1. Agency: NASA Langley.
1961 December 14 - . 07:09 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
- Trailblazer IIa re-entry vehicle test flight - .
Nation: USA.
Agency: NASA.
Apogee: 157 km (97 mi).
NASA fired a four-stage solid-fuel Trailblazer rocket from Wallops Station, Virginia, in the first of a series of reentry tests. Two stages boosted the rocket to 167 miles; then the other two drove the nose cone down through the atmosphere at 14,000 miles per hour.
1962 May 6 - . 05:41 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
1963 - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
- Trailblazer IId re-entry vehicle test flight - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA. Apogee: 300 km (180 mi).
1965 May 1 - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
- Ultraviolet reentry experiment Re-entry vehicle test - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA. Apogee: 300 km (180 mi).
1965 June 27 - . 05:24 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
1966 Feb - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
1966 March 18 - . 01:15 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
1966 October 26 - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
1967 February 14 - . 05:52 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
1967 June 18 - . 20:32 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
1967 Oct - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
1968 Nov - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
1969 June 18 - . 01:56 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
1970 November 21 - . 23:56 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
1972 July 28 - . 18:59 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
1973 December 6 - . 17:59 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 2.
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