The ASP, a Single-Stage Solid Propellant Sounding Rocket
CHARLES M. ZIMNEY 1
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Cooper D e v e l o p m e n t C o r p . , M o n r o v i a , Calif.
T h e A S P is a s i n g l e - s t a g e solid p r o p e l l a n t s o u n d i n g
r o c k e t 6V2 in* i n d i a m a n d 12 ft l o n g . I t is c a p a b l e of t r a n s p o r t i n g a 550 cu i n . p a y l o a d w e i g h i n g 25 l b t o a n a l t i t u d e
of 200,000 ft. W h e n l a u c h e d f r o m sea level, b u r n o u t velocities of t h e o r d e r of 5700 fps h a v e b e e n e x p e r i e n c e d . At
W h i t e S a n d s P r o v i n g G r o u n d , as a s t a g e d vehicle e m p l o y i n g a N i k e b o o s t e r as t h e first s t a g e , t h e A S P is c a p a b l e
of r e a c h i n g 850,000 ft. I n a d d i t i o n t o i t s c a p a b i l i t i e s as a
s o u n d i n g vehicle, t h e A S P c a n also b e u t i l i z e d as a n a e r o d y n a m i c t e s t vehicle e i t h e r as a s i n g l e - s t a g e , a m u l t i p l e s t a g e , or a c l u s t e r e d v e h i c l e . F i f t y - o n e flight t e s t s h a v e
b e e n m a d e w i t h a p e r f e c t r e l i a b i l i t y r e c o r d of 100 p e r c e n t
successful firings.
T
HE ASP, a single-stage solid propellant rocket, was designed and built by the Cooper Development Corp., as
prime contractor under NObs 72000 for the Bureau of Ships.
Since our program was part of Operation RedwTing, no discussion will be offered relative to the telemetering system, instrumentation, or ground receiving equipment. The Naval
Radiological Defense Laboratory was the cognizant technical
agency for the Government.
The Cooper Development Corp. as prime contractor was
responsible for the over-all program, including the design of
the basic vehicle, the external ballistics, the instrumentation,
the field test program, the acquisition of data, and the final
data reduction. The development of the propellant was subcontracted to the Grand Central Rocket Co., Redlands, Calif.
Since the motor also served as part of the rocket airframe, the
Cooper Development Corp. included as part of its responsibility the design, the development, and the fabrication of the
motor case; Grand Central had the responsibility for the internal ballistics, the propellant loading, and the static firing.
D e s c r i p t i o n of Vehicle
The configuration of the basic ASP rocket consists of three
major subassemblies: the ogive, or telemetering head; the
rocket airframe, or rocket motor case; and the fin and after
skirt assembly. The ASP's basic dimensions are shown in Fig.
1. The ogive is threaded to the forward end of the rocket airframe and the fins are roll pinned to the after skirt which in
turn is roll pinned to the after end of the rocket airframe. To
induce roll during burning, the after closure of the fins also
serves as a spinneron.
DOCKET AIRFRAME \ MOTOR CASE
NOZZLE
TAIL SKIRT
MOUNTING KING
MOTOR CASE £
ROCKET AIRFRAME
NOZZLE
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ORING
OGIVE MOUNTING RING
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Fig. 2 The ASP propulsion unit
The ASP propulsion unit as shown in Fig. 2 was fabricated
from two deep-drawn tubular sections, butt welded together.
Two rings were welded to each half of the case prior to welding
them together. The forward rings served as attachment
points for the ogive and motor head closure. The after rings
provided the attachment for the tail skirt and nozzle. In addition, sixteen tabs were wrelded to the motor case to provide
lateral stabilization of the fins. The motor was made pressure tight at the head end by means of an O-ring seal, whereas
the nozzle utilized a conical seat. The case and closure were
fabricated from 4130 and heat treated to 180,000 to 200,000 psi
ultimate tensile strength. The nozzle wras made from a 1020
tubular swaging wdth a graphite insert at the throat section.
The propellant is GCE.C 201-C, an ammonium perchloratepolysulfide rubber-type propellant similar to JPL 131. The
motor burns for approximately 6.0 sec, producing an average
thrust of 5850 lb at sea level at 80 F. The total impulse under
the same conditions is 31,000 lb seconds. The specific impulse is approximately 211 and the impulse to motor weight
ratio is approximately 162.
The fins consist of a welded tubular chrome moly frame
covered with a mild steel skin which is riveted to the frame.
The fins were roil pinned to the after skirt as shown in Fig. 3.
The frame consists of 1/2 in. square steel tubing with a longeron
running full length at the fin root with four short spars to
carry the bending loads. The frame is slotted at two points
along the base to receive the tabs on the airframe for lateral
stabilization to eliminate flutter. Each fin is fitted to two
tabs on the skirt assembly. The primary bending and torsion
loads are transferred to a ring in the skirt assembly by means
ANTENNA-
SPINNERON
RING — r
Fig. 1
Presented at the ARS 11th Annual Meeting, New York, N. Y.,
Nov. 26-29, 1956.
1
Chief Engineer.
274
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The ASP
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Fig. 3
AIRFRAME
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ASP fin assembly
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7
91LD INSULATORZ
THERMAL INSULATION BLANKET
Downloaded by UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN on October 16, 2014 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/8.12724
Fig. 4 Instrumentation head
of these skirt tabs. The two forward tabs on the motor are
designed to take only shear, since their primary purpose is to
stabilize the fin.
The telemetering head consists of five components: the
antenna, the insulator, the ogive, the thermal barrier, and the
telemetering and instrumentation mounting structure as shown
in Fig. 4. The antenna is a quarter-wave spike antenna which
was threaded to a 91LD Fiberglas insulator. A conical fairing
of mild steel was silver brazed to the antenna spike which was
of heat treated 4130. The 91LD insulator was likewise
threaded to the ogive. The ogive proper consisted of a mild
steel spinning to which a diaphragm-type fitting was welded
at the forward end and a heavy ring welded aft. The after
ring was externally threaded to make the joint and internally machined to hold the telemetering mounting structure.
The telemetering mounting structure is held in place with a
tapered Truarc ring. The ogive spinning was made by
rolling flat sheet into a cone, seam welding the joint, and
spinning the cone after dressing down the weld. To protect
the instrumentation from the heat resulting from aerodynamic heating, a thermal insulation blanket was cemented
to the ogive wall. The net volume of this design available
for instrumentation is approximately 550 cu in.
The ASP is launched by means of a monorail launcher
consisting of a channel strongback with a flat bar stock rail.
The missile is supported by two skids which fit over the rail
as shown in Fig. 5. The missile is attached to the after shoe
by means of a brass shear bolt. The missile is attached to the
forward shoe by a hook, such that a combination of gravitational and aerodynamic forces remove the shoe from the
body when clear of the launcher. Zero tipoff is achieved by
stopping the after shoe and, as the missile slips off the
after shoe, the forward shoe drops clear of the launcher. The
forward shoe is relieved to clear the stopper block and facilitate loading.
Performance
The ASP has been flight tested at the Naval Air Missile
Test Center, Pt. Mugu, Calif., and the Naval Ordnance
Missile Test Facility, White Sands Proving Ground, New
Mex. When fired at initial launch angle of 30 deg, burnout
velocities of the order of 5350 fps have been obtained with sea
level firings at Pt. Mugu and of the order of 5700 fps for a
launching elevation of 4000 ft at White Sands Proving Ground.
Based on results obtained from flight test data, it has been
calculated that the summit altitude for a vertical firing from
sea level would be in excess of 200,000 ft. These data are for
the basic ASP configuration with a payload of 25 lb. The
launching weight of these vehicles was 245 lb and the burnout
weight 95 lb.
Four rounds were fired at Pt. Mugu; three at a quadrant
elevation of 30 deg and one at a quadrant elevation of 75 deg.
The purpose of these tests was to prove out the system under
most critical conditions from the standpoint of telemetering
reception and environment resulting from aerodynamic heating. Inclement weather on the coast of California necessitated continuance of the flight test program at White Sands.
Five rounds were successfully fired at White Sands. All
M A R C H 1957
Fig. 6 ASP ready for launching
of the rounds were fired at a quadrant elevation of 30 deg
for ballistic data. One round fired at White Sands was recovered.
Forty-one missiles were fired at the Pacific Proving Ground
and to date not a single flight failure has been experienced.
In addition, thirty rounds were static fired at temperatures
varying between 30 F and 130 F without experiencing a single
failure. Therefore, we have had 80 successful firings with a
100 per cent reliability record.
Applications
The ASP is adaptable to a variety of purposes. As a
single-stage vehicle, it is capable of summit altitudes of
200,000 ft with a 25-lb payload and 170,000 ft with a 50-lb
payload when fired from sea level. When fired from a 4000-ft
elevation, the comparable summit altitudes are 240,000 ft
and 200,000 ft, respectively. WTien used as a Rockoon, i.e.,
a balloon-launched rocket, the ASP will reach 640,000 ft with
25 lb and 500,000 ft with 50 lb.
The ASP can also be used as an aerodynamic test vehicle,
as a single-stage vehicle, as a multiple-stage vehicle, or even a
clustered vehicle.
As a two-stage unit, employing a Nike booster similar to
to the Deacon-Nike or Cajun-Nike, the ASP has an altitude
capability of 850,000 ft with a 25-lb payload.
Tactically, the ASP can be used as a high performance airto-air or ground-to-air missile with the addition of guidance.
Perhaps, some day, the ASP may even be the last stage of a
satellite vehicle.
275