Home - Search - Browse - Alphabetic Index: 0- 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9
A- B- C- D- E- F- G- H- I- J- K- L- M- N- O- P- Q- R- S- T- U- V- W- X- Y- Z

---

Astrobee 1500

---

Astrobee 1500

Status: Retired 1969. First Launch: 1961-03-08. Last Launch: 1969-10-15. Number: 10 . Thrust: 566.00 kN (127,241 lbf). Gross mass: 5,200 kg (11,400 lb). Height: 10.40 m (34.10 ft). Diameter: 0.79 m (2.59 ft). Apogee: 2,000 km (1,200 mi).

From NASA SOUNDING ROCKETS, 1958-1968 - A Historical Summary, NASA SP-4401, 1971, by William R. Corliss

The Astrobee 1500 was first used by NASA in 1962. It was intended to be a replacement for the large Argo D-8 Journeyman rocket, which NASA used for big payloads and high altitudes. A replacement was necessary because the Journeyman first stage, the Sergeant motor, was becoming increasingly hard to get. Built by Aerojet, the Astrobee 1500 consisted of an Aerojet 100 (Aerojet Junior) first stage augmented by two Thiokol Recruits, plus an Alcor second stage. Like the Journeyman, the Astrobee 1500 has been used only sparingly in NASA's programs, it being unnecessarily big and expensive for most purposes.

• Ionosphere mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: USAF CRL. Apogee: 431 km (267 mi).

• Test / geodetic mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: USAF CRL. Apogee: 10 km (6 mi).

• Project CAMBRIDGE Geodetic mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: USAF CRL. Apogee: 2,190 km (1,360 mi).

• Magnetosphere mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: Sandia. Apogee: 1.00 km (0.60 mi).

• Test mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Greenbelt. Apogee: 72 km (44 mi).

• Test mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA. Apogee: 1,950 km (1,210 mi).

• Solar radio frequencies mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA. Apogee: 2,380 km (1,470 mi).

• Radio astronomy mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA. Apogee: 1,500 km (900 mi).

• Ionosphere mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA. Apogee: 1,250 km (770 mi).

• RAE-B Test Radio astronomy mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA. Apogee: 2,575 km (1,600 mi).