NASA Use
In the late 1950s, NASA established the Scout program to develop a multistage solid-propellant space booster and research rocket. The U.S. Air Force also participated in the program, but different requirements led to some divergence in the development of NASA and USAF Scouts.
The basic NASA Scout configuration, from which all variants were derived, was known as Scout-X1. It was a four-stage rocket, which used the following motors:
- 1st stage: Aerojet General Algol
- 2nd stage: Thiokol XM33 Castor
- 3rd stage: Allegany Ballistics Laboratory X-254 Antares
- 4th stage: Allegany Ballistics Laboratory X-248 Altair
Scout's first-stage motor was based on an earlier version of the Navy's Polaris missile motor; the second-stage motor was developed from the Army's Sergeant surface-to-surface missile; and the third- and fourth-stage motors were adapted by NASA's Langley Research Center; Hampton, VA, from the Navy's Vanguard missile.
Read more about this topic: Scout (rocket Family)
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