Aerojet General X-8
Experimental spin-stabilized rocket for very high altitude research / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Aerojet General X-8 was an unguided, spin-stabilized sounding rocket designed to launch a 150 lb (68 kg) payload to 200,000 feet (61.0 km).[2][3] The X-8 was a version of the prolific Aerobee rocket family.[3][4][5]
X-8 Aerobee | |
---|---|
Aerojet X-8 rocket | |
Role | Upper Atmospheric Research Vehicle, X-plane |
Manufacturer | Aerojet General |
First flight | 2 December 1949[1] |
Primary users | NACA/NASA United States Air Force United States Navy |
Number built | 108 |
Variants | Aerobee |
Towards the end of World War II, the US Army and the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory had developed a meteorological sounding rocket, the WAC Corporal.[6] The U.S. Army had also captured enough parts to assemble perhaps 100 German V-2 guided missiles. The Army determined that its Project Hermes would be extended to assemble and launch a number of the V-2s for military, technological and scientific purposes.[7] Many of the V-2 components were damaged or useless.[8][9] Thus the initial intent of the Army was to launch only 20 missiles.[10]
The Army was to make space available on the V-2s for upper atmosphere research. Due to the limited number of V-2s, originally planned design of several competing sounding rockets continued. Jet Propulsion Laboratory initially favored its WAC Corporal despite its inadequacy.[11] The competing rockets were the Applied Physics Laboratory's Aerobee and the Naval Research Laboratory's Neptune (Viking).[12] The Army determined that it would refurbish and manufacture components as necessary to launch many more V-2s than originally intended, making most available for science.[13]
The Aerobee was developed in response to the need for a sounding rocket to replace the dwindling numbers of V-2s.[14] Design and initial development of the Aerobee occurred between June 1946 and November 1947.[15]
The first Aerobees, the Navy RTV-N-8a1 and Army Signal Corps XASR-SC-1, used the Aerojet XASR-1 2,600 lbf (12 kN) thrust air-pressurized engine. Aerojet's XASR-1 was developed from the 1,500 lbf (7 kN) thrust WAC-1 engine of the WAC Corporal sounding rocket.[16] The USAF RTV-A-1 (X-8), Navy RTV-N-10 and Army XASR-SC-2s used the Aerojet XASR-2 2,600 lbf (12 kN) thrust helium pressurized engine.[17] In 1949 the Air Force instigated the development of a more powerful Aerojet engine to replace the 2,600 lb.-thrust XASR-2. This was the 4,000 lbf (18 kN) thrust helium-pressurized AJ 10-25.[18] The USAF X-8A (RTV-A-1a) and USN RTV-N-10a used the seminal Aerojet AJ-10-25 (Air Force) or AJ-10-24 (Navy).[18][19]
The Army Air Force's Air Research and Development Command, needing its own research programs, initiated Project MX-1011 and ordered 33 AJ-10-25 powered Aerobees as RTV-A-1s.[20][21] That designation was later changed to X-8.[22] Ultimately the rocket was renamed again as RM-84.[23] The number of X-8s flown came to 60 including 28 X-8s (RTV-A-1), 30 X-8As (RTVM-A-1a), 1 X-8B (RTV-A-1b) with a 2,600 lbf (12 kN) thrust XASR-2 chemically pressurized engine, and 1 X-8C (RTV-A-1c) with a 4,000 lbf (18 kN) thrust AJ 10-25s helium pressurized engine with no booster.[24][25] The three X-8D with 4,000 lbf (18 kN) thrust AJ 10-25, were never flown.[26] A Navy experimental launch of a stretched Aerobee, the RTV-N-10b resulted in both services requesting improved Aerobees, known generically as Aerobee-Hi.[27][28]