Shavetail

Function	Experimental rocket
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	9 feet (2.7 m)
Diameter	6 inches (150 mm)
Mass	200 pounds (91 kg)
Stages	One
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	White Sands Missile Range
Total launches	11
First flight	August 1959
Last flight	October 1959
	[edit on Wikidata]

Shavetail was an experimental American rocket developed during the 1950s. Used to evaluate the rapidly developing technology of rocketry, eleven Shavetail rockets were fired during 1959.

Design and development

Intended to assist in the development of rocket and missile technologies, Shavetail was a small, inexpensive, unguided solid-fueled rocket that was capable of being modified to be tested in various configurations.^[1] Among the systems tested was one to ensure precise payload separation at motor burnout.^[2]

Operational history

A series of eleven launches of the Shavetail rocket were conducted in late 1959, starting in August and ending in October.^[3] The maximum range of Shavetail was 6 miles (9.7 km).^[1]

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b "Shavetail". White Sands Missile Range Missile Park. White Sands Missile Range Museum. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
^ Baker 1978, p.142.
^ Parsch 2024

Bibliography

Baker, David (1978). The Rocket: The History and Development of Rocket & Missile Technology. New York: Crown. ISBN 978-0517534045. OL 4714156M.
Parsch, Andreas (2024). "(Other): "Missile Scrapbook"". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2011-01-19.

[WSMR-1] "Shavetail". White Sands Missile Range Missile Park. White Sands Missile Range Museum. Retrieved 2011-01-19.

[2] Baker 1978, p.142.

[DS-3] Parsch 2024

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