Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles|
Appendix 4: Undesignated Vehicles
|Copyright © 2004 Andreas Parsch|
The Loki-Wasp (Weather-Atmospheric Sounding Projectile) was the U.S. Navy's version of the Loki-Dart sounding rocket. In 1955, the Navy required a low-cost rocket for routine measurements of winds at altitudes of about 30-45 km (100000-150000 ft). The initial Loki-Wasp version was essentially identical to the basic Loki-Dart, and consisted of a stock Loki rocket motor and a chaff-filled dart. It was launched from a helical rail launcher mounted on a 5-inch gun barrel, and first flew in February 1956.
|Photo: via Ordway/Wakeford|
Later versions used higher-performance rocket motors (named Loki II, and very similar in performance to the motor used in the USAF's XRM-82/PWN-1A) and alternate dart payloads, like a radiosonde transmitting temperature and pressure measurements. A variant known as HASP (High Altitude Sounding Projectile) was launched directly from a 5-inch gun barrel. To stabilize the HASP during firing, the dart's small fins were fitted with "bore riders", which guided the rocket along the rifled barrel and thereby also imparted a spin. The bore riders fell free as soon as the dart exited the gun barrel.
Note: Data given by several sources show slight variations. Figures given below may therefore be inaccurate!
Data for Loki-Wasp:
|Loki booster||Loki II booster|
|Length||2.63 m (8 ft 7.5 in); dart: 1.02 m (40 in)|
|Diameter||Booster: 7.62 cm (3 in); dart: 3.49 cm (1.375 in)|
|Finspan||Booster: 12.7 cm (5 in); dart: 8.6 cm (3.4 in)|
|Weight||11 kg (24 lb)||13 kg (29 lb)|
|Speed||4800 km/h (3000 mph)||5950 km/h (3700 mph)|
|Altitude||35 km (22 miles)||56 km (35 miles)|
|Propulsion||Solid-propellant rocket; 13.5 kN (3040 lb) for 0.8 s||Solid-propellant rocket; 9.1 kN (2040 lb) for 1.9 s|
 Peter Alway: "Rockets of the World", Saturn Press, 1999
 Frederick I. Ordway III, Ronald C. Wakeford: "International Missile and Spacecraft Guide", McGraw-Hill, 1960
 Jonathan McDowell: Launch Vehicles Database
Back to Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 4