Terasca, or Terrier-ASROC-Cajun, was an American three-stage sounding rocket

Sounding rocket

A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...

 developed and launched by the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. Derived from a combination of the Terrier

RIM-2 Terrier

The Convair RIM-2 Terrier was a two-stage medium-range naval surface-to-air missile , and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. Originally, the Terrier had a launch thrust of 23 kN , and weight of 1392 kg...

, ASROC and Cajun

Cajun (rocket)

The Cajun was an American sounding rocket developed during the 1950s. It was extensively used for scientific experiments by NASA and the United States military between 1956 and 1976.-Development:...

 rockets, three launches were attempted during 1959, but only one was successful.

Design and development

The Terrier-ASROC-Cajun ("Terasca") rocket was developed during early 1959 by the Naval Ordnance Test Station, located at China Lake, California, to fill a U.S. Navy requirement for a three-stage sounding rocket, intended to launch experimental payloads for conducting high-altitude research. The rocket utilised a combination of existing missiles in its construction; the first stage was a Terrier surface-to-air missile; an ASROC anti-submarine rocket made up the second stage, while a Cajun sounding rocket was utilised as a third stage.

The Terrier first stage produced 258 kN (258,000 N) thrust

Thrust

Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's second and third laws. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction on that system....

, while the ASROC second stage provided 49 kN (49,000 N), and the third-stage Cajun motor had a thrust rated at 36 kN (36,000 N). The theoretical apogee for Terasca was 98 miles (157.7 km); it could carry a scientific payload of up to 25 pounds (11.3 kg).

Operational history

Three launch attempts of the Terasca missile were made from the launch facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base

Vandenberg Air Force Base

Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....

 during 1959, utilising the Western Launch and Test Range

Western Launch and Test Range

The Western Range is the space launch range that supports the major launch head at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Managed by the 30th Space Wing, the WR extends from the West Coast of the United States to 90 degrees East longitude in the Indian Ocean where it meets the Eastern Range Operations...

. The first launch attempt took place on May 1; this launch was a failure. A second launch attempt on June 26, however, was successful, with the rocket reaching an apogee of 60 miles (96.6 km). A third launch, attempted on August 12, however, was also a failure; following the third launch, the Terasca program came to a close.

Launch history

Date/Time (GMT)	Rocket	Launch site	Outcome	Remarks
1959-05-01	Terasca	Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....	Failure	Apogee 0 kilometre (0 mi)
1959-06-26	Terasca	Vandenberg AFB	Success	Apogee 100 kilometres (62.1 mi)
1959-08-12	Terasca	Vandenberg AFB	Failure	Apogee 0 kilometre (0 mi)