Sparoair

Sparoair was a family of air-launched sounding rockets developed by the United States Navy in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Based on the Sparrow air-to-air missile, three versions of the rocket were developed;^[1][2][3] all launches were from Point Mugu and although some were successful,^[4][1][2][3] the system did not enter operational service.

Sparoair II on F4D
Function	Sounding rocket
Manufacturer	Naval Missile Center
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	3.68 m (12 ft 1 in)
Diameter	200 mm (8 in)
Mass	143 kg (315 lb)
Stages	Two
Capacity
Payload to 120 km (65 nmi)
Mass	18 kg (40 lb)
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Point Mugu
Total launches	>14
First flight	1960
Last flight	26 May 1966

Versions

Sparoair I and II

Sparoair was developed by the Naval Missile Center, as a two-stage development of the Sparrow III air-to-air missile.^[5][6] Propelled by two Sparrow rocket motors mounted in tandem,^[7] the Sparoair could be launched from F3H (F-3) Demon and F4D (F-6) Skyray fighter aircraft, and was capable of lifting a 40 pounds (18 kg) payload to an apogee of 65 nautical miles (120 km; 75 mi).^[8][6]

The Sparoair I was the original version of the rocket, launched using an ejection system and a lanyard for firing; after that proved unreliable in flight testing, the Sparoair II was developed that utilised a rail launch with ignition prior to release from the aircraft.^[5] Eight launches of Sparoair II vehicles had been conducted by 1961.^[5] Each Sparoair II rocket cost US$6,000.^[6]

Sparoair III

Sparoair III utilised a redesigned second-stage motor, and could be launched from the F-4 Phantom II; however, any aircraft capable of launching the Sparrow III AAM could launch the Sparoair.^[5]

The Sparoair III utilised the aircraft's Low Altitude Bombing System (LABS) circuits to initiate launch; the second stage was ignited via a mechanical device armed by the acceleration of the first stage.^[5]

The first Sparoair III was launched on 8 July 1965; it proved a partial failure as the second stage failed to ignite. The second launch on 26 May 1966 failed after six seconds of second-stage burn when the vehicle exploded.^[5] No further launches were undertaken.^[4]

Version table

The following table summarizes the different configurations:^[4][1][2][3]

Version	Aircraft	Stage 1	Stage 2	First Launch	Last Launch	Number
Sparoair I	F3H (F-3) Demon, F4D (F-6) Skyray	Sparrow	Sparrow	1960	1964-01-18	4
Sparoair II	F3H (F-3) Demon, F4D (F-6) Skyray	Sparrow	Sparrow	1961	1961	>8
Sparoair III	F-4 Phantom II	Sparrow	22.6KS1245	1965-07-08	1966-05-26	2