Pilot 4

Launch Failure

Liftoff Time (GMT)

00:00:00

Monday August 25, 1958

Mission Details

Launch Notes

Exploded during first stage ignition.

Pilot 4

Wiki

The Project Pilot payloads were small annular-shaped satellites, which were launched by a four-stage Pilot (NOTS-EV1) vehicle from an F-4D1 Skyray. This was the first attempt to launch a satellite from an aircraft. The satellites were built around the final stage of the launch vehicle, the `NOTS 3 in. Spherical Motor', which was to remain connected with the payload. The satellite, which was mostly referred to by its nickname 'NOTSnik', was originally intended as a military weather satellite for short-notice launches to investigate the weather over a target area. It had a diameter of 20 cm, weighed only 1.05 kg, and had a single instrument, a very primitive infrared line-scanning device to make crude IR images of the ground. The Pilot program was top secret at that time. The payloads were modified as diagnostic payloads for the Project Argus high-altitude nuclear tests. The infra-red scanner was finally flown on some early Transit spacecraft.

Medium Earth Orbit

1 Payload

1 kilograms

Rocket

Retired
NOTS-EV-1

Active in 1958

United States Navy logo

Agency

US Navy

Rocket

Height: 4m

Payload to Orbit

LEO: 1 kg

GTO: 0 kg

Stages

5

Launch Site

Inyokern

China Lake, California, USA

Fastest Turnaround

24 hr 0 min

Stats

NOTS-EV-1


4th

Mission

4th

Mission of 1958

1958


17th

Orbital launch attempt