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Arcon
Arcon
Arcon was a small sounding rocket developed by the Atlantic Research Corp. (ARC) for Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Ordnance.
The Arcon vehicle was to replace the single-stage Deacon sounding rocket, but was designed as a two-stage vehicle consisting of a fast-burning booster and a slow-burning sustainer stage. Both stages were developed by ARC. Arcon was to deliver a small payload to a height of 100 km.
The first three launches were conducted for NRL, but were not successful. In October 1958, the program was taken over by the newly created NASA, which conducted six more launches, of which only one reached the design altitude of 100 kg.
Due to the lack of success, the Arcon program was terminated in 1959.
| Version | Stage 1 | Stage 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Arcon | 0.4KS3000 | 32KS1000 |
No: Tn Type Date LS Payload
1 1 Arcon 16.07.1958 *F WI NRL-1 2 2 Arcon 21.07.1958 *F WI SEL-1 3 3 Arcon 22.07.1958 *F WI ? 4 4 Arcon 14.05.1959 * WI NASA 2.01GT 5 5 Arcon 15.05.1959 * WI NASA 2.02GT 6 6 Arcon 15.05.1959 *F WI NASA 2.03GT 7 7 Arcon 07.08.1959 *F WI NASA 2.04GT 8 8 Arcon 07.08.1959 *F WI NASA 2.05GT 9 9 Arcon 07.08.1959 *? WI NASA 2.06GT Launch sites: WI = Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia, USA
