On 18 April 1960, only 14 months after the creation of the Langley Scout Project Office, the first experimental Scout sat ready to be fired from a new launch tower at Wallops Island. This was "not an official Scout test." It was an "expedited launch," a "Cub Scout," meant only to obtain engineering data on the vehicle.
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| Scout rocket first test firing cover with Goldcraft cachet, postmarked Wallops Island, April 19, 1960 (a day after the event). The test failed after its first-stage burnout. |
Several problems occurred during this hurried, "unofficial" test flight of Cub Scout. The rocket rolled more than anticipated during ascent, thus causing a structural failure near the burnout of the first stage. This failure prevented the third stage (atop the second-stage dummy motor) from test-firing. In addition, the heat-shield design proved defective by breaking away from the fourth stage as the vehicle passed through the transonic region.
(Reference from
Learning Through Failure: The Early Rush of the Scout Rocket Program)
