Scout B

Scout-B

Mission Profile

Scout B was a four-stage all-solid-fuel launch vehicle and an early standardized service variant of NASA's Scout family, designed to deliver small payloads to orbit economically. Standing 22 meters tall with a liftoff mass of 21,500 kg and generating 464 kN of thrust, it could carry approximately 100 kg to low Earth orbit. Making its inaugural flight in August 1965, Scout B helped cement the Scout program's reputation for versatility and reliability, launching a variety of scientific and military satellites from facilities in the United States and from Italy's San Marco equatorial launch platform in the Indian Ocean. Its all-solid design minimized ground support requirements and enabled deployments from multiple sites.