"Sounding" rocket???

What does this mean? Seen it used on packaging and in conversation here. Please educate the ignorant.

This should help
https://lmgtfy.com/?q=sounding+rocket&l=1

Simply put: relatively-low-altitude rockets used in atmospheric research. (They're never going to go suborbital, much less orbital, but can still go pretty high...)

"Sounding" is a nautical term I believe. Measuring the depth of the waters. Sounding rockets "sounded out" the characteristics of the atmosphere.

They also have certain characteristics that make them more suitable for reproduction as scale models. They were designed to be cheap, so they didn't use anything fancy like active stability (gimbaled engines, movable fins, etc...) they use passive fin stability like our rockets do. They are also really interesting scientifically and a lot of them have a neat military background. Since they are also non-military rockets their dimensions on the whole are available and not classified, unlike the exact dimensions of some rockets and missiles are today.

Cyril's Scribe said:

This should help
https://lmgtfy.com/?q=sounding+rocket&l=1

Click to expand...

I love giving people this link. Well done!

SacEsq said:

What does this mean? Seen it used on packaging and in conversation here. Please educate the ignorant.

Click to expand...

In model rocketry, these are typical scale models of atmospheric research rockets.

Addendum: The Sac Area Rocketry Group (SARG) will be having another launch this Saturday beginning at 9:00am. Hope to see you there. I'm the guy with the green and white Bronco. Stop by and say hello.

o1d_dude said:

In model rocketry, these are typical scale models of atmospheric research rockets.

Addendum: The Sac Area Rocketry Group (SARG) will be having another launch this Saturday beginning at 9:00am. Hope to see you there. I'm the guy with the green and white Bronco. Stop by and say hello.

Click to expand...

Thx ... my sons and I will be there. However, I did just get an email from Skip (apparently it went to the entire group) indicating it may be cancelled due to fire hazzard. LOL in February of all times ... He would update later today. I would have thought with the rain yesterday we would be all good.

Fingers crossed.

SacEsq said:

Thx ... my sons and I will be there. However, I did just get an email from Skip (apparently it went to the entire group) indicating it may be cancelled due to fire hazzard. LOL in February of all times ... He would update later today. I would have thought with the rain yesterday we would be all good.

Fingers crossed.

Click to expand...

I doubt it will be canceled as we had some rain yesterday. Check your email on Friday for the go/no go decision.

See you there.

StefanJ said:

Simply put: relatively-low-altitude rockets used in atmospheric research. (They're never going to go suborbital, much less orbital, but can still go pretty high...)

"Sounding" is a nautical term I believe. Measuring the depth of the waters. Sounding rockets "sounded out" the characteristics of the atmosphere.

Click to expand...

They're never going to get to orbit, but the flights that real sounding rockets make are exactly what people mean by sub-orbital flight. Many will exit the atmosphere completely to send instruments into space for a short time until they fall back into the atmosphere.

For example, the Black Brant's maximum altitude is 1500 kilometers, which is about 4-5 times higher the International Space Station's orbital altitude.

o1d_dude said:

In model rocketry, these are typical scale models of atmospheric research rockets.

Addendum: The Sac Area Rocketry Group (SARG) will be having another launch this Saturday beginning at 9:00am. Hope to see you there. I'm the guy with the green and white Bronco. Stop by and say hello.

Click to expand...

SacEsq said:

Thx ... my sons and I will be there. However, I did just get an email from Skip (apparently it went to the entire group) indicating it may be cancelled due to fire hazzard. LOL in February of all times ... He would update later today. I would have thought with the rain yesterday we would be all good.

Fingers crossed.

Click to expand...

o1d_dude said:

I doubt it will be canceled as we had some rain yesterday. Check your email on Friday for the go/no go decision.

See you there.

Click to expand...

He can also be I.D. by his overly large feet and the white gloves he wears. :smile:

This is the U.S. Coast Guard’s latest sounding rocket.

The “Nantucket Sound”

These are the jokes people.

Boomtube, that's hilarious.