page_title: Scout (rocket family)
section_title: Parameters
hierarchical_section_title: Scout (rocket family) / Scout A (original version) / Parameters
context_page_description: The Scout family of rockets were American launch vehicles designed to place small satellites into orbit around the Earth. The Scout multistage rocket was the first orbital launch vehicle to be entirely composed of solid fuel stages. It was also the only vehicle of that type until the successful launch of the Lambda 4S in 1970.
  The original Scout was designed in 1957 at the NACA, at Langley center. Scout launch vehicles were used from 1961 until 1994. To enhance reliability the development team opted to use "off the shelf" hardware, originally produced for military programs. According to the NASA fact sheet:
  "... the first stage motor was a combination of the Jupiter Senior and the Navy Polaris; the second stage came from the Army MGM-29 Sergeant; and the third and fourth stage motors were designed by Langley engineers who adapted a version of the Navy Vanguard."
  The first successful orbital launch of a Scout, on February 16, 1961, delivered Explorer 9, a 7-kg satellite used for atmospheric density studies, into orbit.
  The final launch of a Scout, using a Scout G-1, was on May 8, 1994 from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
context_section_description: Thrust at liftoff: 513.40 kN (52,352 kgf)
  Mass at launch: 17,850 kg
  Diameter: 1.01 m
  Length: 25.00 m
  Stage 1: Algol
  Derived from Polaris missile
  Gross Mass: 11,600 kg
  Empty Mass: 1,650 kg
  Vacuum thrust: 564.25 kN (57,537 kgf)
  Burn time: 47 s
  Diameter: 1.01 m
  Span: 1.01 m
  Length: 9.09 m
  Stage 2: Castor
  Derived from Sergeant missile
  Gross Mass: 4,424 kg
  Empty Mass: 695 kg
  Vacuum thrust: 258.92 kN (26,402 kgf)
  Burn time: 37 s
  Diameter: 0.79 m
  Span: 0.79 m
  Length: 6.04 m
  Stage 3: Antares
  Gross Mass: 1,400 kg
  Empty Mass: 300 kg
  Vacuum thrust: 93.09 kN (9,493 kgf)
  Burn time: 36 s
  Diameter: 0.78 m
  Span: 0.78 m
  Length: 2.90 m
  Stage 4: Altair
  Gross Mass: 275 kg
  Empty Mass: 37 kg
  Vacuum thrust: 22.24 kN (2,268 kgf)
  Burn time: 28 s
  Diameter: 0.64 m
  Span: 0.64 m
  Length: 2.53 m
caption: First launch of satellite on Scout X-1 - Explorer 9, Wallops, 16 Feb 1961
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