The NOTS-EV-1 Pilot, also known as NOTSNIK was an expendable launch system

Expendable launch system

An expendable launch system is a launch system that uses an expendable launch vehicle to carry a payload into space. The vehicles used in expendable launch systems are designed to be used only once , and their components are not recovered for re-use after launch...

 and anti-satellite weapon

Anti-satellite weapon

Anti-satellite weapons are designed to incapacitate or destroy satellites for strategic military purposes. Currently, only the United States, the former Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China are known to have developed these weapons. On September 13, 1985, the United States destroyed US...

 developed by the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Navy United States Naval Ordnance Test Station

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake

- About : is part of under Commander, Navy Installation Command and is located in the Western Mojave Desert region of California, approximately north of Los Angeles. Occupying three counties – Kern, San Bernardino and Inyo – the installation’s closest neighbors are the cities of Ridgecrest,...

 (NOTS). Ten were launched during July and August 1958, all of which failed. It was the first air-launched rocket to be used for an orbit

Orbit

In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...

al launch attempt, however none were recorded as having reached orbit. Following the first and third orbital launch attempts, a tracking station in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 reported receiving weak signals from the spacecraft, however this was never confirmed, and the launches were not catalogued as having reached orbit. The Pilot rocket was part of Project Pilot.

Two variants of the Pilot rocket were built; the Pilot-1, with battleship

Battleship (rocketry)

In rocketry, a battleship is a non-functional rocket or rocket stage which is used to test configuration and integration of a launch vehicle.The term should not be confused with the term boilerplate, which refers to a non-functional spacecraft....

 second to fifth stages, was used for ground launched atmospheric tests from China Lake, and the Pilot-2, an air-launched version, was used for orbital launch attempts. Orbital launches were conducted from an F-6A Skyray

F4D Skyray

The Douglas F4D Skyray was an American carrier-based supersonic fighter/interceptor built by the Douglas Aircraft Company...

, flying from Point Mugu Naval Air Station

Naval Air Station Point Mugu

Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu or NBVC Point Mugu is a military airbase located in Point Mugu, Ventura County, California, United States. Due to realignment actions which occurred in 2000, the base is now part of Naval Base Ventura County , a consolidated organization that also includes...

, and releasing the rocket over the Santa Barbara Channel Drop Zone. Of the ten launches, four were of Pilot-1s, and the rest Pilot-2s.

Project Pilot was cancelled in August 1958, and replaced by the NOTS-EV-2 Caleb

NOTS-EV-2 Caleb

The NOTS-EV-2 Caleb, also known as NOTS-500, Hi-Hoe and SIP was an expendable launch system, which was later used as a sounding rocket and prototype anti-satellite weapon. It was developed by the United States Navy Naval Ordinance Test Station as a follow-up to the NOTS-EV-1 Pilot, which had been...

. The project remained classified

Classified information

Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...

 until 1994.

Launch history

Date	Configuration	Payload	Function	Cause of failure
1958-07-04	Pilot-1	N/A	Test	Exploded one second after launch
1958-07-18	Pilot-1	N/A	Test	Exploded on launch pad
1958-07-25	Pilot-2	Pilot-1	Test	Unexpected loss of signal
1958-08-12	Pilot-2	Pilot-2	Test	Exploded during first stage ignition
1958-08-16	Pilot-1	N/A	Test	Structural failure 3.2 seconds after launch
1958-08-17	Pilot-1	N/A	Test	Structural failure 3 seconds after launch
1958-08-22	Pilot-2	Pilot-3	Test	Unexpected loss of signal
1958-08-25	Pilot-2	Pilot-4	Radiation research	Exploded during first stage ignition
1958-08-26	Pilot-2	Pilot-5	Radiation research	Failed to ignite
1958-08-28	Pilot-2	Pilot-6	Radiation research	Only one second stage engine ignited