NOTS-EV-1 Pilot

Two variants of the Pilot rocket were built; the Pilot-1,[5] with battleship second to fifth stages,[6] was used for ground-launched atmospheric tests from China Lake, and the Pilot-2,[5] an air-launched version, was used for orbital launch attempts. Orbital launches were conducted from a stripped–down jet carrier aircraft, an F4D–1 Skyray, flying from Point Mugu Naval Air Station,[7] and releasing the rocket over the Santa Barbara Channel Drop Zone.[5] Of the ten launches, four were of Pilot-1s, and the rest Pilot-2s.[3]

The first air–launch was performed on 25 July 1958 by NOTS research pilot William West, a career US Navy officer. The flight originated from China Lake's airstrip at Inyokern. The jet fighter was placed into a steep climb. The rocket released automatically at 41,000 feet, and three seconds later the first two HOTROCs ignited. The pilot was distracted during this time–the sudden release of weight had flipped his aircraft into a tumble. In mid–crisis, West looked up and saw what he thought was the vehicle exploding. He reported it that way, but John Nicolaides (director of the Navy's space program in Washington D.C.) later determined that the "explosion" was the plume from the rocket's motors as the exhaust expanded in the thin atmosphere. However, when ground control heard the report of the "explosion", it ordered the ground tracking stations (approximately six in number) around the world to stand down. Thus only one station (at Christchurch NZ) remained on the air; it heard a beeping in the right place at the right time. However, the signal was not repeated, so the shot was declared a failure.[8]

The second air–launch, in August, ended in a HOTROC explosion. The third air–launch, on 22 August, was again ambiguous: radio contact with the ground was lost during the second–stage burn, but the rocket appeared on film, departing over the horizon. The tracking station at Christchurch reported signals at the predicted times during the first and third orbital windows, but no further signal was received, so the mission was also declared a failure. (The Navy initially reported a successful launch to the White House, but following the loss of signal no public acknowledgement of the mission was issued).[8]

Project Pilot was cancelled in August 1958, and replaced by the NOTS-EV-2 Caleb;[9] The project remained classified until 1994.[1] Following this series of tests, and the follow-on Caleb program being riddled with multiple failures, US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided to terminate the Navy's space program and assign all responsibility to the US Air Force. The Air Force mounted one further air–launch program in the mid-1980s, an anti–satellite missile launch system based on an F–15.[8]

• Jaguar, sounding rocket launched from B-57

Media related to Project Pilot at Wikimedia Commons