Sandia Laboratories rocket program - A review

A historical review of Sandia Laboratories rocket programs is presented. From the 60 rocket systems developed at Sandia since 1957, 1225 rockets have been launched at 19 sites, worldwide. Typical rockets developed for the nuclear readiness test program are the Terrier-Sandhawk sounding rocket (boosts a 91-kg, 33-cm-diam payload to an altitude of 427 km) and the Strypi II warhead carrier (boosts a 600-kg, 78.7-cm-diam payload to an altitude of 208 km). Rocket systems developed for aerodynamics R&D studies include the Talos-Terrier-Recruit (boosts a 32-kg recoverable reentry vehicle nosetip payload to a velocity of 3200 m/s at an altitude of 4.3 km) and Nike- or Honest John-boosted vehicles to test 3.7- to 7-m-diam heavy duty ribbon parachutes at dynamic pressures up to 190 kN/sq m. Thirteen parachute systems have been developed for over-land or over-water recovery of rocket payloads of 57- to 453-kg mass. Aerodynamic design techniques for vehicle performance, launcher set, dispersion, stability, aeroelasticity, and aerodynamic heating are presented. Current rocket programs are summarized. Launch sites, payloads, and joint rocket programs are discussed.