#launch test

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Starship: Latest Updates, Development & Future Plans

Inside a Historic Moment: Starship’s 10th Flight Test Achieves Full Success Olá, Entusiasta !A SpaceX alcançou nesta terça-feira (26) um dos mais importantes marcos no desenvolvimento do seu sistema de transporte espacial Starship/Super Heavy. No décimo voo de teste, realizado a partir da base de lançamentos da empresa em Boca Chica, no sul do Texas, o veículo conseguiu, pela primeira vez…

Starship: Latest Updates, Development & Future Plans

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 The Scout Rocket Testing Phase

Today's post was written by Grace DiAgostino, Student Trainee at the National Archives at Philadelphia.

The Development and Design Phase of the Scout Launch Vehicle Program took place from 1957 to 1962. Langley awarded LTV, a private rocket motor vendor named Ling-Temco-Vought that was based out of Dallas, Texas, the development contract for the Scout in 1959. To keep cost down, the Scout Program Office opted to use off-the-shelf hardware and existing solid rocket motors, which they purchased from LTV. This marked the beginning of a collaborative effort to produce a relatively inexpensive, reliable, solid fuel vehicle that could be used for NASA and DOD [Department of Defense] payloads.

The first launch of a Scout rocket vehicle occurred in July of 1960. Between the time of the first launch and March 1962, the Scout Program Office completed nine rocket launches, only six of which were executed successfully. The Scout Rocket Program aimed to develop a dependable rocket for the U.S. Space Program, and the Scout scientists set a reliability goal of 90 percent at the beginning of the program. With only six successful launches out of nine attempts, the success rate of 67 percent fell far below the desired goal of a 90 percent success rate.

After examining operating procedures, the Scout Rocket Program Office reconfigured the entire structure of the program in an attempt to increase reliability in September 1963. In collaboration with LTV’s office, Scout developed new procedures for quality and reliability testing of parts at the LTV Plant in Dallas. As a part of these new procedures, Scout and LTV established a configuration control board which would test the rocket parts before they were transported to Langley for launch testing.

Between the beginning of the Recertification Program in 1963 and 1989, the Scout Rocket Program launched 89 vehicles, 85 of which were successful. Having exceeded the initial 90 percent goal with a 96 percent launch success rate, the scientists at the Scout Program Office were thrilled with the success of the Recertification Program.

Want to know more about the Scout Rocket Program? Visit our exhibit on Google Cultural Institute: https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/exhibit/nasa-s-unsung-hero-the-scout-launch-vehicle-program/twISgejPzIk_KQ.

Citation:  Office Records of the Solid Controlled Orbital Utility Test (SCOUT) Project, 1956 - 1995; National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Langley Research Center, 1958 - 1996; Record Group 255: Records of the National Aeronautics Space Administration; National Archives at Philadelphia; (Record Entry ID: PH-6684) (NAID: 616672).