[Illustration: 23. Artist’s rendering of four-stage Farside sounding
rocket, in launcher below balloon.]
[Illustration: 24. Rocket was fired directly through the apex of the
balloon. Drawing shows the first stage falling away as second-stage
rocket takes over.]
Farside was a four-stage rocket launched from a balloon as an extremely
high-altitude research vehicle. Achieving heights estimated at 6400
kilometers (4000 miles). Farside’s instrument payload was intended to
study cosmic rays, earth’s magnetic field, certain forms of
electromagnetic radiation in space, the presence of interplanetary
gases, and the nature of meteoric dust.
The 908-kilogram (2000-pound) Farside was lifted to an altitude of 30.5
kilometers (19 miles) by a polyethylene balloon. An aluminum structure
suspended from the balloon carried the 7.3-meter (24-foot) rocket to
launch altitude. Positioned vertically in its casing, Farside was fired
directly through the balloon.
Six Farsides were launched by the United States in 1957 from Eniwetok
Atoll in the Pacific.
Farside’s first stage consisted of four solid-fuel Recruit rockets,
manufactured by Thiokol Chemical Company. A single Recruit served as the
second stage. Four Arrow II solid-fuel rockets by the Grand Central
Rocket Company constituted the third stage. The final stage, a single
Arrow II, carried the instrument payload provided by S. F. Singer of the
University of Maryland.
Farside was developed by Aeronutronics Systems, Inc., for the U.S. Air
Force Office of Scientific Research and Development.
The rocket on exhibit is from the Aeronutronics Division, Ford Motor
Company.
Length 7.3 m. (24 ft.)
Propellants Solid
Thrust
First stage 68,220 kg. (150,400 lb.)
Second stage 17,055 kg. (37,600 lb.)
Third state 4120 kg. (9080 lb.)
Fourth stage 1030 kg. (2270 lb.)
Velocity 29,000 km./hr. (18,000 mi./hr.)
Altitude 3220-6440 km. (2000-4000 mi.)