Aerojet General X-8 Information & Aerojet General X-8 Links at HealthHaven.com

X-8 Aerobee
	Aerojet X-8 rocket
Role	Upper Atmospheric Research Vehicle, X-plane
Manufacturer	Aerojet General
First flight	2 December 1949
Primary users	NACA/NASA; United States Air Force; United States Navy
Number built	108
Variants	Aerobee

The Aerojet General X-8 was an unguided, spin-stabilized sounding rocket designed to launch a 150 lb (68 kg) payload to 200,000 feet (61.0 km). The X-8 was later spun-off into the prolific Aerobee rocket.

[edit] Operational history

At launch, an 18,000 lb_f (80 kN) thrust Aerojet solid rocket booster fired for 2.5 seconds. After booster jettison, a 2,600 lb_f (12 kN) thrust RTV-N10 liquid fuel rocket burned for up to 40 seconds (depending on desired apogee). The spent rocket then fell back in a ballistic arc, the payload returning to Earth via parachute. The baseline X-8 measured 20.2 ft (6.2 m) in length and measured 5.25 ft (1.6 m) across the fins. In testing, a maximum altitude of 138 miles (222.1 km) and a speed of Mach six was achieved.

[edit] Variants

X-8 - 68
X-8A - 34
X-8B - 1
X-8C - 2
X-8D - 3

[edit] Specifications (general)

Data from The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: unmanned
Length: 20ft 1.5in ()
Wingspan: 5ft 3in ()
Height: 15in ()
Wing area: 36ft² ()
Empty weight: 135lb ()
Loaded weight: 1,097lb ()
Useful load: 150-300lb ()

Performance

Maximum speed: 3490 knots (4,020mph)
Range: 18+nm (20+mi)
Service ceiling: 800,000ft ()

Armament

None

[edit] See also

United States Air Force portal

Related development

Aerobee

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Miller, Jay (2001). "Aerojet General X-8A, X-8B, X-8C, and X-8D Aerobee". The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45. Hinckley, UK: Midland. ISBN 1857801091.

[edit] External links

Aerojet General RM-84/PWN-2 Aerobee-Hi (and earlier Aerobee variants)

[miller_2001-0] Miller, Jay (2001). "Aerojet General X-8A, X-8B, X-8C, and X-8D Aerobee". The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45. Hinckley, UK: Midland. ISBN 1857801091.

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