Aerojet General X-8

The Aerojet General X-8 was an unguided, spin-stabilized sounding rocket designed to launch a 150 lb payload to 200000 ft. The X-8 was later spun off into the prolific Aerobee rocket.

Operational history
At launch, an 18000 lb-f thrust Aerojet 2.5KS18,000G solid rocket booster fired for 2.5 seconds. After booster jettison, a 2600 lb-f thrust XASR-2 liquid fuel rocket burned for up to 40 seconds (depending on desired apogee). The spent rocket then fell back in a ballistic arc, the payload returning to Earth via parachute. The baseline X-8 measured 20.2 ft in length and measured 5.25 ft across the fins. A X-8A reached a maximum altitude of 138.4 mi Another reached a speed of Mach six. The payloads of the X8s varied, averaging about 150 lbs. There were 30 X-8s, 30 X-8As, 1 X-8B, 2 X8-Cs and 3 X-8Ds delivered to the Air Force. The X-8As used a 4000 lb-f thrust AJ 10-25 engine. The X-8B used a 2600 lb-f thrust XASR-2 engine. The X-8Cs had 4000 lb-f thrust AJ 10-25s. The three X-8D with 4000 lb-f thrust AJ 10-25, apparently were never flown.

Variants

 * X-8 - 30
 * X-8A - 30
 * X-8B - 1
 * X-8C - 2
 * X-8D - 3