Scout Launch Vehicle History: The Unsung Hero of Space 1990 NASA

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more at http://scitech.quickfound.net/astro/space_news.html Public domain film from NASA, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied. The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original). http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/Scout.html "Since 1959, NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, has managed one of the nation's most successful and reliable launch vehicles, known as Scout. Scout, an acronym for Solid Controlled Orbital Utility Test system, is a four-stage solid fuel satellite system capable of launching a 385-pound satellite into a 500-mile orbit. There have been 118 Scout launches, and its overall 96 percent success rate has earned this workhorse a spot in the National Air and Space Museum, where it stands beside other veterans of America's space program, such as Jupiter, Aerobee and Vanguard rockets. Scout's honor roll includes 23 satellites launched for international space organizations. Payloads have been launched for the European Space Research Organization, for Germany, for the Netherlands, for France, for Italy, and for the United Kingdom. Through the years, Scout has launched 94 orbital missions, (27 Navy navigational and 67 scientific satellites), seven probe missions and 12 reentry missions. On January 1, 1991, after more than 30 years, NASA Langley transferred the management of the Scout Project to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland... Scout's reliability also stems from standardized procedures and configuration control and from its simple, old-fashioned technology. The vehicle was built with off the shelf hardware. Designers selected from an inventory of solid-fuel rocket motors produced for military programs: the first stage motor was a combination of the Jupiter Senior and the Navy Polaris; the second stage came from the Army Sergeant; and the third and fourth stage motors were designed by Langley engineers who adapted a version of the Navy Vanguard. The heat shield and fins are insulated with cork. The guidance system uses simple gryos that cannot be reprogrammed after launch. But this old-fangled technology makes Scout reliable and predictable. Since its early development, the configuration of Scout has continued to evolve. Each of the motors has been upgraded at least twice, and improvements in rocket engine design have enabled the rocket to carry larger payloads. Even so, the current Scout G-1 configuration is very similar in appearance to that of the original vehicle-a testimony to the soundness of the original design. Scout is 76 feet long, 45 inches in diameter and weighs 48,600 pounds. Its four solid propulsion rockets are joined by transition sections containing guidance, ignition, spin up motors and separation instrumentation necessary for flight. The first stage is the Algol. It is 30 feet long and 45 inches in diameter. The motor burns for an average of 82 seconds with a maximum thrust of 140,000 pounds. At the bottom of this motor are the first stage altitude control jet vanes and fin tips, which steer the vehicle during initial launch. The second stage, Castor, is 20 feet long and 30 inches in diameter. This stage fires for 41 seconds and develops 60,000 pounds of thrust. Stage three rocket motor, the Antares, is 10 feet long and 30 inches in diameter. It burns for 4X seconds at 18,000 pounds of thrust. I he second and third stage control is provided by hydrogen peroxide jets. The fourth stage, Altair, is a mere five feet long and 20 inches in diameter. It burns for 34 seconds and develops 6000 pounds of thrust. Its control is provided by spin stabilization. The heat shield covering the fourth stage and payload section is made of cork and fiberglass laminate. Launch sites for this nation's workhorse are located at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia; at the Western Test Range, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; and at Kenya, Africa." Scout Launch Vehicle Report, 1982, 546 pages: https://archive.org/download/nasa_techdoc_19820073028/19820073028.pdf