Project FIRE

Project FIRE (Flight Investigation Reentry Environment) was a United States NASA effort to determine the effects of atmospheric entry on spacecraft materials.

[5][2] The first Project FIRE reentry package was propelled to an altitude of 122 km (76 miles) by an Atlas-D Antares-2 launch vehicle (missile 263D) on 14 April 1964.

[6] As the spacecraft descended towards Earth, a solid-fuel Antares II rocket positioned behind the payload ignited for 30 seconds, elevating the descent speed to 40,501 km/h (25,166 mph).

[6]During the second trial, a propelled instrumented probe, referred to as a "flying thermometer", was launched into a ballistic trajectory over 805 km (500 miles) high by an Atlas-D Antares-2 booster (missile 264D) on 22 May 1965.

[6] As the spacecraft initiated its descent after 26 minutes of flight, the Antares II rocket accelerated its fall.

Schematic drawing of Project FIRE Velocity Package. This was the design of a package used for flight tests with the Atlas rockets.
Project FIRE - Configuration of the upper stage and probe; flight trajectory