The Viking rocket family, numbering 14, grew out of the Navy’s efforts to develop an upper atmosphere research program. With enough time between launches to incorporate modifications suggested by experience with earlier Vikings, no two rockets of the series were exactly alike; however, there were two basic types of Vikings. The first seven rockets were taller, thinner, and had larger fins than those numbered 8-14; rockets in the second set were heavier, with fuel capacity greatly increased, and were designed either to go higher than the early Vikings or to carry heavier payloads to the same altitude.

Viking’s highest altitude was 254 kilometers (158 miles) following a launch from White Sands on May 24, 1954. Experiments flown on these rockets measured air temperature, density, pressure, and composition, as well as providing cosmic and solar radiation data.

One of the few failures in this program was Viking 8, the first rocket of the second set, which unexpectedly tore loose from the launch stand while being test-fired.

Viking was conceived at the Naval Research Laboratory, designed and produced by the Glenn L. Martin Company of Baltimore, Maryland, and powered by a liquid-propellant engine by Reaction Motors, Inc.

The rocket on exhibit is from the Hayden Planetarium and Martin Marietta Aerospace.