NASA's Unsung Hero: The Scout Launch Vehicle Program

An image of one of the Scout scientists adjusting knobs on a motherboard at Langley Airfield Research Center in 1959. The first stage of the Scout Program began in 1957 and consisted of preliminary planning, development and design of the Scout launch vehicle at Langley. Scout, an acronym for Solid Controlled Orbital Utility Test, is a four-stage solid fuel satellite system capable of launching a 385-pound satellite into a 500-mile orbit. Named after significant stars, the four stages of the rocket were called Algol, Castor, Antares, and Altair. The goal of the Scout Project was to produce a relatively inexpensive, reliable, solid fuel vehicle that could be used to launch small satellites into orbit around Earth. Scout was the first orbital launch vehicle to be entirely composed of solid fuel stages.

Entrance at Wallops Island Launch Area. Although covered by a tarp, the silhouette of a Scout rocket is visible in the back of the vehicle in this photograph. Most of the testing and design work of the Scout Launch Vehicle Program was performed at Langley, and most of the launches occurred at the Wallops Island Launch Area.

A Scout rocket being prepared for launch at Wallops Island in 1960. The first launch of a Scout rocket vehicle occurred in July of 1960. Between the time of the first launch and March 1962, the Scout Program Office completed nine rocket launches, only six of which were executed successfully. The Scout Rocket Program aimed to develop a dependable rocket for the U.S. Space Program, and early in the program the Scout scientists set a reliability goal of 90 percent. With only six successful launches out of nine attempts, the success rate of 67 percent fell far below the desired goal of a 90 percent success rate.

Men load a Scout rocket part onto a transportation vehicle during the Development and Design Phase of the Scout Launch Vehicle Program in the year 1961. 

A scientist uses a drill on a rocket part inside of a warehouse in 1962. The Development and Design Phase ended and Operational Phase of the Program began with the 10th launch of a Scout rocket in April 1962. Between then and September 1963, Scout executed fourteen launch attempts, only seven of which were successful. With only a 50 percent success rate, even less than that of the previous year, the Scout Rocket Program engineers recognized the need to reexamine the program. This moment marked a turning point in the history of the Scout Rocket.

A Scout launch vehicle is mounted on a structure at Wallops Island in 1963. Between the beginning of the Recertification Program in 1963 and 1989, the Scout Rocket Program launched 89 vehicles, 85 of which were successful. Having exceeded the initial 90 percent goal with a 96 percent launch success rate, the scientists at the Scout Program Office were thrilled with the success of the Recertification Program.

Men load a Scout rocket into a U.S. aircraft. Scout rockets were tested and utilized internationally, and were flown to a variety of sites to be launched. Scout has launched 23 satellites for international space organizations including the European Space Research Organization, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. The Scout vehicles have been tested and completed a variety of missions, including orbital, probe, and re-entry. Multiple programs utilized Scout launch vehicles, such as the Navy Navigational Satellites Program, the Explorer Series Program, and the San Marco Program. 

A man with a NASA jacket over his shoulder stands next to the display rocket at the museum. The British Science Museum, in cooperation with NASA and the Scout Program Office, held an exhibit about the Scout Launch Vehicle Program in 1984. Scout was known and utilized internationally, as NASA had launched cooperative programs with many nations, including France, West Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, and Italy. 

A truck pulls out of a warehouse with a covered Scout launch vehicle in tow. The Scout Launch Vehicle Program continued at the Langley Airfield Research Center until 1991, at which time it was transferred to the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Records of the program were archived, and are now held at the National Archives at Philadelphia. In summary, Scout, although virtually unknown outside NASA circles, developed into one of the most influential pieces of technology in the history of space exploration. Tom Perry, an engineer and one of the Scout team members at Langley, observed that, "The Scout became so reliable that mission planners could take it for granted. They focused on the science of the satellite payload rather than on its transportation system.... It happens to be NASA's smallest launch vehicle and it does not receive the same level of notoriety you would with a larger system. But over the years it has proven to be a very reliable, consistent, performing warhorse." Scout made possible many feats of the U.S. Space Program.

A note left by the Scout scientists in the last box of the Scout Office Files. The note states, "This is the final box from the LARC [Langley Airfield Research Center] & GSFC [Goddard Space Flight Center] to go to the archives. The end of a successful project and hope for a successful future for SELVS [Small Expendable Launch Vehicle Service]," and was signed by the scientists from Langley. Scout provided NASA with a unique contribution, a simple, reliable and versatile launch rocket that could be used in a variety of ways. The NASA Space Program as we know it would not exist if not for the Scout Launch Vehicle.