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)
