1952 in spaceflight

The year 1952 was largely one of development and testing for the United States and the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, all branches of the United States, often in partnership with civilian organizations, continued its program of Aerobee sounding rocket research beyond the 100 kilometres (62 mi) boundary of space (as defined by the World Air Sports Federation),[1] and the University of Iowa launched its first series of rockoon flights, demonstrating the validity of the balloon-launched rocket. The launch of Viking 9 at the end of the year represented the pinnacle of contemporary operational rocket design.

1952 in spaceflight

Launch of Viking 9, 15 December 1952
Rockets
Maiden flights	Aerobee RTV-A-1a Aerobee RTV-A-1c Aerobee XASR-SC-2 Viking (second model)
Retirements	V-2

Space exploration highlights

U.S. Navy

In the late spring of 1952, the Naval Research Laboratory team under the management of Milton Rosen prepared to launch the first second-generation Viking rocket, Viking 8, from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The new Viking design was nearly half-again as wide as its precursor, affording the highest fuel-to-weight ratio of any rocket yet developed. The tail fins no longer supported the weight of the rocket, has had previously been the case. Now, the Viking rocket rested on the base of its fuselage. This allowed the tail fins to be made much lighter, one of many ways the Viking was redesigned to carry a heavier tank without weighing more than the first Viking design.

On 6 June 1952, Viking 8 broke loose of its moorings during a static firing test. After it was allowed to fly for 55 seconds in the hope that it would clear the immediate area and thus pose no danger to ground crew, Nat Wagner, head of the "Cutoff group" delivered a command to the rocket to cease its thrust. 65 seconds later, the rocket crashed 4 miles (6.4 km) or 5 miles (8.0 km) downrange to the southeast.[2]^:172–181

With lessons learned from the Viking 8 failure, the successful 9 December static firing of Viking 9 was followed on 15 December by a successful launch from White Sands. The rocket reached an altitude of 135 miles (217 km), roughly the same as that of the first-generation Viking 7, launched in 1950. In addition to cameras that photographed the Earth during flight, Viking 9 carried a full suite of cosmic ray, ultraviolet, and X-ray detectors, including sixteen plates of emulsion gel for tracking the path of individual high energy particles. The experiment package was recovered intact after it had secured measurements high above the Earth's atmosphere.[2]^:185–203

American civilian efforts

1952 saw the first rockoon flights. These balloon-mounted rockets were significantly cheaper than sounding rocket flights: $1800 (equivalent to $14182) per launch versus $25,000 ($196967) for each Aerobee launch and $450,000 ($3545407) for each Viking launch. A series of seven ship-launched tests conducted by a University of Iowa team under James Van Allen achieved considerable success, one flight grazing the edge of space with an apogee of 55 miles (89 km).[3]^:10–18

Vehicle development

U.S. Air Force

Progress remained slow on the Atlas, the nation's first ICBM, the contract for which had been awarded to Consolidated Vultee in January 1951 by the U.S. Air Force's Air Research and Development Command. Conservative development policies and daunting technical problems were the official causes, but the Air Forces's apparent lack of enthusiasm for project, along with the constraint of limited budget and resources, were factors as well. It was not until the first successful H-bomb test at Elugelab in November 1952 that the Atlas, potentially capable of delivering such a weapon, garnered more support.[4]^:59–71

U.S. Army

The Redstone, a surface-to-surface missile capable of delivering nuclear or conventional warheads to a range of 200 miles (320 km), officially received the name "Redstone" on 8 April 1952. Authority for development of the missile had been assigned to Redstone Arsenal in Alabama on 10 July 1951, Chrysler Corporation was tasked to proceed with active work as the prime contractor on the missile by a letter order contract in October 1952 (this contract definitized on 19 June 1953).[5]

American civilian efforts

In part inspired by lectures he gave to the British Interplanetary Society in London the previous year, in 1952, Fred Singer began espousing in both print and public presentations the use of small artificial satellites to conduct scientific observations. This concept was dubbed "MOUSE" (Minimum Orbiting Unmanned Satellite of the Earth) and was dismissed by many as too radical and/or in conflict with human exploration of space.[3]^:73

Soviet Union

In the Soviet Union, rocket development was focused on the R-5 missile, able to carry the same 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) payload as the R-1 and R-2 but over a distance of 1,200 kilometres (750 mi).[6]^:242 The R-5, the conceptual design of which was completed by 30 October 1951,[7]^:97 superseded the ambitious 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) range R-3, which was canceled on 20 October 1951[6]^:275–6

The USSR's "first Soviet strategic rocket," as the R-5 was thenceforth known, was an incremental improvement on the R-1 and R-2 rockets with not only increased range but improved accuracy. Its propellant tanks were integral to the rocket, itself, reducing structural weight and allowing for more fuel.[7]^:99–100 Two of the first ten R-5s produced underwent stand tests through February 1952,[8] and the sleek, cylindrical R-5 would be ready for its first launch March 1953.[7]^:99–100

Also in 1952, the design bureau OKB-486 under Valentin Glushko began developing the RD-105 and RD-106 engines for an even more powerful rocket: the five engine R-6 ICBM. Using an integrated solder-welded configuration, developed by engineer Aleksei Isaev, these LOX/kerosene engines would be more powerful single chamber engines than those used in earlier rockets. Four 539.37 kN (121,260 lb_f) RD-105 would power the R-6's four strap-on engines while a 519.75 kN (116,840 lb_f) RD-106 would power the central booster.[7]^:108–109

That same year, there was also a series of fourteen test launches of the mass-produced version of R-2 missile (range of 600 kilometres (370 mi)[6]^:48–9). Twelve of the missiles reached their targets.[6]^:266 The R-1 also was test-launched seven times.[9]

Launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
January
30 January 20:45	Aerobee RTV-A-1a			Holloman AFB Launch Complex A		ARDC
			ARDC/Utah	Suborbital	Ionospheric	30 January	Launch failure[10]
February
19 February 14:49	Aerobee RTV-A-1c			Holloman AFB Launch Complex A		ARDC
		Airglow	ARDC	Suborbital		19 February	Launch failure[10]
19 February 17:00	Aerobee RTV-N-10			White Sands - Launch Complex 35		U.S. Navy
		Sunfollower / SX Solar / chemical release mission	Naval Research Laboratory	Suborbital	Sky brightness research	19 February	Launch failure
		Apogee: 81 kilometres (50 mi)[10]
29 February 14:40	Aerobee RTV-A-1			Holloman AFB Launch Complex A		ARDC
		Airglow	ARDC	Suborbital	Sky brightness research	29 February	Launch failure
		Apogee: 89.3 kilometres (55.5 mi)[10]
April
22 April 17:28	Aerobee RTV-A-1			Holloman AFB Launch Complex A		ARDC
			ARDC	Suborbital	Ionospheric	22 April	Successful
		Apogee: 112.7 kilometres (70.0 mi)[10]
30 April 13:30	Aerobee RTV-N-10			White Sands - Launch Complex 35		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	UV Astronomy	30 April	Successful
		Apogee: 127.8 kilometres (79.4 mi)[10]
May
1 May 14:59	Aerobee RTV-N-10			White Sands - Launch Complex 35		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	UV Astronomy	1 May	Successful
		Apogee: 91.8 kilometres (57.0 mi)[10]
1 May 15:42	Aerobee RTV-A-1			Holloman AFB Launch Complex A		ARDC
			ARDC	Suborbital	Solar flux Solar ultraviolet mission	1 May	Successful
		Apogee: 91 kilometres (57 mi)[10]
5 May 13:44	Aerobee RTV-N-10			White Sands - Launch Complex 35		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Cosmic radiation, solar radiation research	5 May	Successful
		Apogee: 127 kilometres (79 mi)[10]
15 May 01:15	Aerobee XASR-SC-1			White Sands - Launch Complex 35		US Army
		Sphere	US Army	Suborbital	Aeronomy	8 June	Successful
		Apogee: 76.1 kilometres (47.3 mi)[10]
20 May 16:06	V-2			White Sands Launch Complex 33		US Army
			US Army/Signal Corps Engineering Lab/University of Michigan	Suborbital	Test / photography / aeronomy mission	20 May	Successful
		Project Hermes launch, apogee: 103.7 kilometres (64.4 mi)[11]
21 May 15:15	Aerobee RTV-A-1			Holloman Launch Complex A		USAF
		Aeromed 3	Air Force Systems Command	Suborbital	Biomedical	21 May	Successful
		Carried 2 mice, apogee: 26.1 kilometres (16.2 mi)[10]
June
6 June 17:30	Viking			White Sands White Sands Launch Complex 33		US Navy
		Viking 8 (second model)	Naval Research Laboratory	Suborbital	Solar	6 June	Launch failure
		Accidentally launched during static fire ground test[12]
18 June 17:50	Aerobee RTV-A-1			Holloman AFB Launch Complex A		ARDC
			ARDC	Suborbital	Solar radiation	18 June	Successful
		Apogee: 99.8 kilometres (62.0 mi)[10]
30 June 14:32	Aerobee RTV-A-1			Holloman AFB Launch Complex A		ARDC
		Airglow 1	ARDC	Suborbital	Skyglow	30 June	Successful
		Apogee: 101.4 kilometres (63.0 mi)[10]
August
1 August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 August
		First of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
1 August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 August
		Second of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
1 August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 August
		Third of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
1 August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 August
		Fourth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
1 August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 August
		Fifth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
1 August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 August
		Sixth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
1 August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 August
		Seventh of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
8 August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	8 August	Successful
		Eighth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
20 August	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	20 August	Successful[9]
21 August	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	21 August	Successful[9]
21 August 06:25	Deacon rockoon			USCGC Eastwind (WAGB-279), Arctic Ocean		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Ionospheric	21 August	Partial failure
		Apogee: 11 kilometres (6.8 mi);[14] rocket failed to fire.[3]^:17
22 Aug 07:33	V-2			White Sands Launch Complex 33		US Army
			US Army/NRL/ARDC/National Institute of Health	Suborbital	Test / photography / solar x-ray / aeronomy mission	22 Aug	Successful
		Apogee: 78.2 kilometres (48.6 mi)[11]
24 August 03:34	Deacon rockoon			USCGC Eastwind (WAGB-279), Arctic Ocean		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Ionospheric	24 August	Partial failure
		Apogee: 11 kilometres (6.8 mi);[14] rocket failed to fire, but instrument package worked.[3]^:17
25 August	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	25 August	Successful[9]
26 August 18:53	Aerobee RTV-A-1a			Holloman AFB Launch Complex A		ARDC
		Ionosphere 2	ARDC/Utah	Suborbital	Ionospheric	26 August	Unknown[10]
29 August 00:26	Deacon rockoon			USCGC Eastwind (WAGB-279), Arctic Ocean		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Ionospheric	29 August	Spacecraft failure
		Apogee: 61 kilometres (38 mi);[14] first successful firing of balloon-launched rocket, instruments failed to return data.[3]^:18
29 August 07:36	Deacon rockoon			USCGC Eastwind (WAGB-279), Arctic Ocean		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Ionospheric	29 August	Successful
		Apogee: 60 kilometres (37 mi);[14] instruments returned data.[3]^:18
29 August 18:15	Deacon rockoon			USCGC Eastwind (WAGB-279), Arctic Ocean		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Ionospheric	29 August	Successful
		Apogee: 90 kilometres (56 mi);[14] instruments returned data.[3]^:18
31 August 21:10	Deacon rockoon			USCGC Eastwind (WAGB-279), Arctic Ocean		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Ionospheric	31 August	Successful
		Apogee: 60 kilometres (37 mi);[14] instruments returned data.[3]^:18
September
1 September	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 September
		Ninth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
1 September	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 September
		Tenth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
1 September	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 September
		Eleventh of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
1 September	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 September
		Twelfth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
1 September	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 September
		Thirteenth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
3 September 14:49	Aerobee RTV-N-10			White Sands - Launch Complex 35		US Navy
		Sunfollower	Naval Research Laboratory	Suborbital	Solar ultraviolet and x-ray mission	3 September	Successful
		Apogee: 99 kilometres (62 mi)[10]
4 September 09:17	Deacon rockoon			USCGC Eastwind (WAGB-279), Arctic Ocean		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Ionospheric	4 September	Successful
		Apogee: 11 kilometres (6.8 mi);[14] instruments returned data.[3]^:18
18 September	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	18 September	Successful
		Last of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached target.[13][6]^:266
19 September 15:49	V-2			White Sands Launch Complex 33		US Army
			Signal Corps Engineering Lab/National Institute of Health/University of Michigan	Suborbital	Temperature, composition; cosmic radiation	19 September	Launch failure
		Final flight of V-2, project Hermes launch, apogee: 7 kilometres (4.3 mi)[11]
25 September 03:50	Aerobee XASR-SC-1			White Sands - Launch Complex 35		US Army
		GRENADES	US Army	Suborbital		25 September	Successful
		Apogee: 117.5 kilometres (73.0 mi)[10]
October
10 October 14:24	Aerobee RTV-A-1			Holloman AFB Launch Complex A		ARDC
			ARDC	Suborbital	UV / Opt spectrographs Solar ultraviolet	10 October	Successful
		Apogee: 109.5 kilometres (68.0 mi)[10]
22 October 14:35	Aerobee RTV-A-1			Holloman AFB Launch Complex A		ARDC
		T-day	ARDC	Suborbital	Aeronomy	22 October	Successful
		Apogee: 99.8 kilometres (62.0 mi)[10]
23 October 03:45	Aerobee XASR-SC-2			White Sands - Launch Complex 35		US Army
		GRENADES	US Army	Suborbital	Aeronomy	23 October	Successful
		Apogee: 111.1 kilometres (69.0 mi)[10]
29 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	29 October	Successful[9]
30 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	30 October	Successful[9]
30 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	30 October	Successful[9]
November
6 November 15:56	Aerobee RTV-A-1			Holloman AFB Launch Complex A		ARDC
			ARDC	Suborbital	Sky brightness	6 November	Successful
		Apogee: 75.7 kilometres (47.0 mi)[10]
21 November	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	21 November	Successful[9]
December
11 December 23:47	Aerobee XASR-SC-1			White Sands - Launch Complex 35		US Army
		SPHERE	US Army	Suborbital	Aeronomy	11 December	Successful
		Apogee: 104.6 kilometres (65.0 mi)[10]
12 December 19:38	Aerobee RTV-A-1			Holloman AFB Launch Complex A		ARDC
			ARDC	Suborbital	Solar ultraviolet mission	12 December	Successful
		Apogee: 88.5 kilometres (55.0 mi)[10]
15 December 21:38	Viking (second model)			White Sands Launch Complex 33		US Navy
		Viking 9	NRL	Suborbital	Solar	15 December	Successful
		Apogee: 219 kilometres (136 mi)[12]

Suborbital launch summary

By country

Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Unknown	Remarks
Soviet Union	21	19	2	1	0
United States	27	19	3	4	1

By rocket

3

6

9

12

15

V-2

Viking

Aerobee

Deacon rockoon

R-1

R-2

•   American V-2
•   Viking (second model)
•   Aerobee RTV-N-10
•   Aerobee XASR-SC-1
•   Aerobee XASR-SC-2
•   Aerobee RTV-A-1
•   Aerobee RTV-A-1a
•   Aerobee RTV-A-1c
•   Deacon rockoon
•   R-1
•   R-2

Rocket	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Unknown	Remarks
V-2	United States	3	2	0	1	0	Retired
Viking (second model)	United States	1	1	0	0	0	Maiden flight
Aerobee RTV-N-10	United States	5	5	0	0	0
Aerobee XASR-SC-1	United States	3	3	0	0	0
Aerobee XASR-SC-2	United States	1	1	0	0	0	Maiden flight
Aerobee RTV-A-1	United States	3	3	0	0	0
Aerobee RTV-A-1a	United States	2	0	0	1	1	Maiden flight
Aerobee RTV-A-1c	United States	1	0	0	0	1	Maiden flight
Deacon rockoon	United States	7	4	3	0	0	Maiden flight
R-1	Soviet Union	7	7	0	0	0
R-2	Soviet Union	14	12	2	0	0

References

1. Voosen, Paul (24 July 2018). "Outer space may have just gotten a bit closer". Science. doi:10.1126/science.aau8822. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
2. Milton W. Rosen (1955). The Viking Rocket Story. New York: Harper & Brothers. OCLC 317524549.
3. George Ludwig (2011). Opening Space Research. Washington D.C.: geopress. OCLC 845256256.
4. John L. Chapman (1960). Atlas The Story of a Missile. New York: Harper & Brothers. OCLC 492591218.
5. "Installation History 1950 - 1952". U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command. 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
6. Boris Chertok (June 2006). Rockets and People, Volume II: Creating a Rocket Industry. Washington D.C.: NASA. OCLC 946818748.
7. Asif A. Siddiqi. Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945-1974 (PDF). Washington D.C.: NASA. OCLC 1001823253.
8. Wade, Mark. "R-5". Retrieved 7 January 2021.
9. Wade, Mark. "R-1 8A11". Retrieved 7 January 2021.
10. Wade, Mark. "Aerobee". Retrieved 6 January 2021.
11. Wade, Mark. "1951 Chronology". Retrieved 7 January 2021.
12. Wade, Mark. "Viking Sounding Rocket". Retrieved 7 January 2021.
13. Wade, Mark. "R-2". Retrieved 7 December 2020.
14. Wade, Mark. "Deacon Rockoon". Retrieved 8 January 2021.