Nike-Cajun

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The Nike-Cajun was a two-stage sounding rocket built by combining a Nike base stage with a Cajun upper stage. It was launched 714 times between 1956 and 1976 and was the most frequently used sounding rocket of the western world. The Nike Cajun had a launch weight of 698 kg (1539 lb), a payload of 23 kg (51 lb), a launch thrust of 246 kN (55,300 lbf) and a maximum altitude of 120 km (394,000 ft). It had a diameter of 42 cm (1 ft 4½ in) and a length of 7.70 m (25 ft 3 in). The fuel time of the Nike amounted to 3 seconds, those the Cajun 2.8 seconds. The maximum speed of the Nike-Cajun was 4,200 mph (6760 km/h).

The Cajun stage of this rocket was named for the Cajun people of south Louisiana because one of the rocket's designers, J. G. Thibodaux, was a Cajun.

[edit] External link

• http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/nikcajun.htm