Nike Malemute
Encyclopedia
Nike Malemute is the designation of a two-stage American sounding rocket
, consisting of a Nike
starting stage and a Malemute
upper stage. The Nike Malemute has a ceiling of 500 km (320 mi), a takeoff thrust of 48,800 lbf (217 kN), a takeoff weight of 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs), a diameter of 0.42 m (17 in) and a length of 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in).
Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
, consisting of a Nike
Project Nike
Project Nike was a U.S. Army project, proposed in May 1945 by Bell Laboratories, to develop a line-of-sight anti-aircraft missile system. The project delivered the United States' first operational anti-aircraft missile system, the Nike Ajax, in 1953...
starting stage and a Malemute
Malemute
Malemute is the designation of an American sounding rocket. The Malemute has a maximum flight altitude of 165 km, a liftoff thrust of 57.00 kN, a total mass of 100 kg, a diameter of 0.41 m and a total length of 2.40 m.-External links:*...
upper stage. The Nike Malemute has a ceiling of 500 km (320 mi), a takeoff thrust of 48,800 lbf (217 kN), a takeoff weight of 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs), a diameter of 0.42 m (17 in) and a length of 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in).