6,864 M.P.H.

The fastest rocket the public has heard about so far is a four-stage "bird" only 8 in. in diameter. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics has been shooting it over the Atlantic from Wallops Island, Va. Intended for high-altitude research, the rocket has climbed 200 miles, reaching the peak speed of 6,864 m.p.h. The first two stages are solid-propellant boosters of the type used to toss the Army's Nike missile into the air.

The nose of the NACA's rocket contains instruments and telemetering equipment for transmitting data to earth. Although it is not in the class of Project Vanguard's satellite launcher, which must move at 18,000 m.p.h. 300 miles above the earth, the four-stage bird speeds almost as fast as the satellite during critical portions of its flight in comparatively dense air. Study of its behavior will help the satellite's designers.

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