Nike (rocket stage)


The Nike stage or Nike booster, a solid fuel rocket motor, was developed by Hercules Aerospace for use as the first stage of the Nike Ajax and Nike Hercules missiles as part of Project Nike.
It was subsequently employed in a variety of missiles and multi-stage sounding rockets, becoming one of the most popular and reliable rocket stages, not only in the United States, but also in several other countries around the world.

Sounding rockets based on Nike Booster

  • The Nike Deacon has a ceiling of 189 km, a takeoff thrust of 217 kN, a takeoff weight of 710 kg, a diameter of 0.42 m and a length of 7.74 m.
  • The Nike Javelin was launched 34 times between 1964 and 1978. The maximum flight altitude of the Nike Javelin was 130 km, the takeoff thrust 217 kN, takeoff weight 900 kg, 0.42 m and length 8.20 m.
  • The Nike Malemute consists of a Nike starting stage and a Malemute upper stage. It has a ceiling of, a takeoff thrust of, a takeoff weight of, a diameter of and a length of.
  • The Nike Orion has a Nike base stage, taken from U.S. Army surplus stocks, and an Orion upper stage. The Nike Orion is long. There are two stages of boosters; the first is 41.9 cm, and the second is. It has a launch weight of, a launch thrust of 217 kN and a ceiling of 140 km. The first Nike-Orion rocket was launched on February 26, 1977, and had more than 175 launches through the 2000s.
Image:Nike tomahawk.jpg|thumb|A Nike Tomahawk photographed at Wallops Flight Facility.
  • The Nike Recruit has an apogee of 5 km, a liftoff thrust of 217 kN, a total mass of 1100 kg and a total length of 8.00 m.
  • The Nike Tomahawk has a Nike rocket as the first stage, and a Tomahawk rocket as the second. The Nike Tomahawk has a ceiling of 230 statute miles, a payload capacity of, a launch thrust of 49,000 pounds of force, a launch weight of, a diameter of and a length of. The Nike Tomahawk was launched 395 times between June 25, 1963, and November 27, 1995. One of its launches was in 1966 on the beach in Cassino, Rio Grande do Sul|Rio Grande], Brazil.
  • The Nike Viper consists of a Nike starting stage and a Viper upper stage. The Nike Viper has a ceiling of 80 km, a takeoff thrust of 217 kN, a takeoff weight of 600 kg and a length of 8.00 m.
Below is a list of sounding rockets based on Nike, Nike-Nike or Nike upper stage combinations:
Launch VehicleStage 1Stage 2Stage 3Stage 4
NikeNike ---
Nike Nike Nike Nike --
Nike Nike CajunNike Nike Cajun -
Nike Nike DeaconNike Nike Deacon -
Nike Nike HPAGNike Nike HPAG-
Nike Nike RecruitNike Nike Recruit -
Nike Nike T-40Nike Nike T-40-
Nike Nike T-40 T-55Nike Nike T-40T-55
Nike Nike Tri-Deacon T-40Nike Nike 3 × Deacon T-40
Nike Nike TomahawkNike Nike Tomahawk -
Nike Apache Nike Apache --
Nike Asp Nike Asp--
Nike Cajun Nike Cajun (TE-82)--
Nike Cajun Little-DavidNike Cajun (TE-82)Little-David-
Nike Deacon Nike Deacon (X-220)--
Nike Double-LokiNike 2 × Loki--
Nike GenieNike Genie--
Nike HawkNike Hawk--
Nike HydacNike Hydac--
Nike Iroquois Nike Iroquois --
Nike JavelinNike Javelin--
Nike Javelin-3Nike Javelin-3--
Nike MalemuteNike Malemute (TU-758)--
Nike OrionNike Orion (M22E8)--
Nike Improved OrionNike Improved Orion --
Nike RecruitNike Recruit --
Nike T-40 T-55Nike T-40T-55-
Nike TomahawkNike Tomahawk (TE-M-416)--
Nike Viper-1Nike Viper-1--
Nike YardbirdNike Yardbird --
Astrobee-200Nike Alcor--