- Rockoon
A rockoon (derived from the terms "
rocket " and "balloon ") was an extension to the rocket, which allowed the rocket to achieve further distance. The rockoon was asolid fuel rocket that, rather than being immediately lit while on the ground, was first carried into theupper atmosphere by a gas-filled balloon, and then separated from the balloon when it had reached its maximum height and automatically ignited. This would allow the rocket to achieve a higher altitude, since the rocket did not have to move through the lower thicker air layers.The original concept of "Rockoons" was developed by Cmdr. Lee Lewis, Cmdr. G. Halvorson, S. F. Singer, and
James A. Van Allen during theAerobee rocket firing cruise of the U.S.S. "Norton Sound" onMarch 1 ,1949 .A disadvantage of a rockoon is that balloons cannot be steered and consequently neither the direction the rocket moves in nor the region where it will fall is easily adjustable. Therefore, a large area for the fall of the rocket is required for safety reasons.
As
TIME reported in 1959, “Van Allen’s ‘Rockoons’ could not be fired in Iowa for fear that the spent rockets would strike an Iowan or his house.” So Van Allen convinced theU.S. Coast Guard to let him fire his rockoons from the icebreaker "Eastwind" that was bound forGreenland . “The first balloon rose properly to 70,000 ft., but the rocket hanging under it did not fire. The second Rockoon behaved in the same maddening way. On the theory that extreme cold at high altitude might have stopped the clockwork supposed to ignite the rockets, Van Allen heated cans of orange juice, snuggled them into the third Rockoon’s gondola, and wrapped the whole business in insulation. The rocket fired.”See also
*
Loki (rocket) , last flight in 1957
*JP Aerospace
*CU Spaceflight
*Da Vinci Project External links
* [http://stratocat.com.ar/bases/15e.htm Details of Rockoon launches made in 1956 from the USS COLONIAL in the Pacific Ocean] Stratocat website
* [http://stratocat.com.ar/bases/20e.htm Details of Rockoon launches made between 1952 and 1954 in the Arctic by the USCGC EASTWIND] Stratocat website
* [http://www.harcspace.com High Altitude Research Corporation]References
* [http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/rockoon.htm Astronautix]
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