The Cherokee was an experimental rocket built by the Cook Electric Co. for use by the United States Air Force during the 1950s for the testing of ejection seats.
Function | Experimental rocket |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Cook Electric Co. |
Country of origin | United States |
Size | |
Height | 7.6 metres (25 ft) |
Diameter | 1,300 millimetres (51 in) |
Mass | 2,000 kilograms (4,500 lb) |
Stages | One |
Launch history | |
Status | Retired |
Launch sites | Edwards Air Force Base Holloman Air Force Base |
Total launches | 4 |
Partial failure(s) | 4 |
First flight | January 26, 1954 |
Last flight | April 3, 1956 |
First stage | |
Powered by | 1 |
Maximum thrust | 222 kN (50,000 lbf) |
Burn time | 3 seconds |
Propellant | Solid |
Made from aluminum,[1] Cherokee was a blocky, simple design that was designed for air-launch from a B-29 bomber.[2] It was operated as part of Project Whoosh, an effort to determine if the use of ejection seats at supersonic speeds was feasible.[3]
Launched from the B-29 mothership at an altitude of 6 miles (9.7 km)[4] it would fire a solid-fueled rocket to accelerate to supersonic speed, at which point the ejection seat, containing an anesthetized chimpanzee as a test subject, would be fired.[3] The first test took place on January 26, 1954, at Edwards Air Force Base; another test in June was held before the project moved to Holloman Air Force Base, with two further tests being carried out in July 1955 and April 1956.[5] None of the four chimpanzees used in the tests survived due to difficulties with the ejection system, however the project was considered a partial success.[5]