We would like to thank our loyal fellow members of the Nike Historical Society for your continued support over the years.
We will be closing the Society, including the store, as of March 31, 2024.
We have acquired a large repository of Nike technical information.
The web site will continue to be available.
It has been our pleasure to keep the legacy of the Nike missile's contribution of the successful conclusion to the Cold War.
the Board of Directors
Nike Historical Society
EARLY NIKE R&D
JUL 1945 - Publication of AAGM Report.
SEP 1946 - First flight with cluster booster and dummy missile.
OCT 1946 - First full powered flight with liquid sustainer motor.
1947 - Series of free flight firings for structure, booster, and
aerodynamic data.
1948 - Series of free flight firings for propulsion and separation
data. Single JATO booster replaces cluster.
1949 - Series of steerable flight tests with on-board programmer and
telemetry for steering and roll control data.
JAN 1950 - First controlled flight test with radar command guidance.
1950 - Series of guided flight tests by programmed and manual radar
commands for control response and stability data.
1951 - Series of guided flight tests (closed loop) with first
complete ground system including missile and target radars
and computer.
NOV 1951 - First full system test against QB-17 drone with token burst
(spotting charge).
DEC 1951 - Series of 3 system tests at ground targets and 15 system
MAR 1952 tests at drones to evaluate performance.
APR 1952 - Series of 5 system tests with fragmentation warheads
against QB-17 drones completing this phase of R&D program.
(Total of 92 firings)
(Plus 17 dummy rounds)