posted 05-26-2018 10:44 AM               

Oct 14, 1957. USS Glacier (AGB). Rockoon launch by a Hawk rocket (an improved version of a Loki 2 rocket). Payload was not recovered. Operation Deep Freeze cachet. Cover sent by Dan Slabaugh to Betty Slabaugh (mother, wife or sister). EN3 – Engineman Third Class- was the range of crew member and his mission was the fuel filling and maintenance of diesel motors of USS Glacier.

Space Cover #468: US Rockoons

ROCKOON is a composed word of the two words ROCKet and ballOON. And it is exactly what a rockoon is, a conjunction of two artifacts: a balloon and a rocket.

The balloon serves as mother ship elevating the rocket until upper atmosphere and there rocket ignites.

This combined system to study high atmosphere lawyers, measure temperatures and pressures as well as pick up some kind of meteorological data presents an advantage and a disadvantage. On the one hand with very small rockets it is possible to achieve high altitudes with a low fuel expenses but by the other hand the goal of the experiment should be as wide as possible because meanwhile the balloon is ascending it is subject to the wind effects and consequently, it is very difficult to determine an exact point previous to the launch.

First rockoon launch took place from USS Norton Sound on Mar 1, 1949 with a Loki rocket.

This launch would be followed by others from the deck of the ships:

• USCGC Eastwind: 7 launches (Aug 21-Sep 4, 1952), 8 launches (Aug 30-Sep 4, 1953) and 19 launches (Jul 16-Jul 26, 1954).
  
• USS Staten Island: 14 launches (Jul 18-Aug 11, 1953) and 27 launches (Sep 23-Oct 14, 1955).
  
• USS Colonial: 10 launches (Jul 16-Jul 26, 1956).
  
• USS Plymouth Rock: 18 launches (Aug 5-Aug 14, 1957).
  
• USS Glacier: 35 launches (Sep 23-Nov 11, 1957).

In spite of all these ships had on board a postmark device, it is actually a great challenge to find covers with exact date for the launching of those rockoons.

Please, if you have some cover commemorating the launch of a rockoon be so kind to share in this forum with other collectors.

Press photo of the preparation for a rockoon launch from deck of US Staten Island.

posted 05-27-2018 01:38 PM               

And of course there were efforts to launch orbital rockets during the IGY. This envelope was postmarked 4 October, 1957.

posted 05-28-2018 05:30 AM               

Probably, as you tell, my cover dated Oct 14, was onboard of the helo from USS Glacier to Christmas Is, as your pictured cover dated Oct 16.

Furthermore, in Oct 16, 1957 another Rockoon was launched from USS Glacier.

Obviously, many US Rockoons and other space activities have a close relation with IGY efforts to put an artifical satellite in orbit.