RM-90 Blue Scout II

	Blue Scout II rocket
Function	Expendable launch system; Sounding rocket
Manufacturer	Vought
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	24 metres (79 ft)
Diameter	1.02 metres (3 ft 4 in)
Mass	16,874 kilograms (37,201 lb)
Stages	Four
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	30 kilograms (66 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Scout
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Canaveral LC-18B
Total launches	3
Success(es)	2
Failure(s)	1
First flight	1961-03-03
Last flight	1961-11-01
First stage – Algol 1B
Powered by	1 solid
Maximum thrust	471 kilonewtons (106,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	236 sec
Burn time	40 seconds
Propellant	Solid
Second stage – Castor 2
Powered by	1 TX-354-3
Maximum thrust	286 kilonewtons (64,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	247 sec
Burn time	27 seconds
Propellant	Solid
Third stage – Antares 1A
Powered by	1 X-254
Maximum thrust	60 kilonewtons (13,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	256 sec
Burn time	39 seconds
Propellant	Solid
Fourth stage – Altair 1A
Powered by	1 X-248A
Maximum thrust	14 kilonewtons (3,100 lbf)
Specific impulse	255 sec
Burn time	40 seconds
Propellant	Solid
	[edit on Wikidata]

The RM-90 Blue Scout II was an American sounding rocket and expendable launch system which was flown three times during 1961.^[1]^[2]^[3] It was a member of the Scout family of rockets.^[4] Blue Scout II was a military version of the NASA-operated Scout X-1, with adjustments to the payload fairings, engine nozzles and fins.^[1]^[3]

Blue Scout II had a total length of 21.65 m and a finspan of 2.84 m.

It was capable of sending a 30 kg payload to a 300 km orbit at 28.00 degrees.^[1] It was a four stage vehicle, with the following engines:^[1]^[2]^[3]^[5]

Stage 1: Algol 1B, solid propellant;

Stage 2: Castor 2 (TX-354-3), solid propellant;

Stage 3: Antares 1A (Star 31/X-254), solid propellant;

Stage 4: Altair 1A (X-248), solid propellant.

Blue Scout II was used for two HETS test flights, and the launch of the Mercury-Scout 1 satellite for NASA.^[1]^[2]^[6] This rocket and RM-89 Blue Scout I were replaced by Blue Scout Junior.^[3]

Blue Scout II parameters

Parameter	1st Stage	2nd Stage	3rd Stage	4th Stage
Gross Mass	10,705 kg	4,424 kg	1,225 kg	238 kg
Empty Mass	1,900 kg	695 kg	294 kg	30 kg
Thrust	470 kN	259 kN	60.5 kN	12.4 kN
Isp	214 s (2.10 kNs/kg)	262 s (2.57 kNs/kg)	256 s (2.51 kNs/kg)	256 s (2.51 kNs/kg)
Burn time	40 s	37 s	39 s	38 s
Length	9.12 m	6.04 m	3.38 m	1.83 m
Diameter	1.01 m	0.79 m	0.78 m	0.46 m
Engine:	Aerojet General Algol 1	Thiokol XM33 (TX-354-3) Castor 2	Allegany Ballistics Lab X-254 Antares 1A	Allegany Ballistics Lab X-248 Altair 1
Propellant	Solid	Solid	Solid	Solid

Launches

All three Blue Scout II launches occurred from Launch Complex 18B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the same launch pad used for the Blue Scout I.^[1]^[2]

The first two launches were successfully conducted on 3 March and 12 April 1961 respectively, using vehicles D-4 and D-5.^[1]^[2]^[7] They both carried HETS A2 plasma research experiments on suborbital trajectories.

The third launch was conducted on 1 November, using vehicle D-8, with the Mercury-Scout 1 satellite for NASA, which was intended to reach low Earth orbit.^[6] The launch failed after the rocket went out of control, and was destroyed by the range safety officer 43 seconds after liftoff.^[1]^[2]

Date	Serial	Agency	Orbit	Mission Description
1961 March 3	D-4	USAF	Suborbital, 2540 km apogee^[7]	HETS A2-1 plasma mission
1961 April 12	D-5	USAF	Suborbital, 1931 km apogee^[7]	HETS A2-2 plasma mission
1961 November 1	D-8	USAF	373 km × 643 km, 32.5° (planned)^[6]	Mercury-Scout 1 (failure)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Mark, Mark. "Blue Scout II". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gunter, Krebs. "Blue Scout-2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Parsch, Andreas (2003). "Ford RM-90 Blue Scout II". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles - Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
^ Krebs, Gunter. "Scout (Algol-1, -2 based)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
^ "Antares 1A". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Mercury-Scout 1 (MS 1, MNTV 1)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
^ ^a ^b ^c McDowell, Jonathan. "Orbital & Suborbital Launch Database - Scout". Jonathan's Space Page. Archived from the original on 2020-08-11.

[:0-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Mark, Mark. "Blue Scout II". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2024-09-28.

[:1-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gunter, Krebs. "Blue Scout-2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-09-28.

[:2-3] Parsch, Andreas (2003). "Ford RM-90 Blue Scout II". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles - Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones. Retrieved 2024-09-28.

[4] Krebs, Gunter. "Scout (Algol-1, -2 based)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-09-28.

[5] "Antares 1A". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2024-09-28.

[:3-6] "Mercury-Scout 1 (MS 1, MNTV 1)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-09-28.

[:4-7] McDowell, Jonathan. "Orbital & Suborbital Launch Database - Scout". Jonathan's Space Page. Archived from the original on 2020-08-11.

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v t e Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Ariane 6 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H-IIA H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 7 7A 8 11 11H LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased RS1^† Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega C Vulcan Centaur Zhuque 2
In development	Antares 330 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Deca Epsilon S Eris Gravity-2 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 12 Miura 5 MLV Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 NGLV Nova OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zhuque 3 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able^† Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard Vega original VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 1^†
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
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