Keweenaw Rocket Range

The Keweenaw Rocket Range was an isolated launch pad located in U.S. state of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. It was used between 1964 and 1971 for launching rockets for meteorological data collection. NASA, along with the University of Michigan, conducted the project under the lead of Dr. Harold Allen. The site was one of six similar sites scattered about North America used to collect measurements of electron density, positive ion composition and distribution, energetic electron precipitation, solar X-rays, and Lyman alpha flux.One of the other well-known sites was Wallops Island, Virginia. The collected data was later to be compared to the five other sites.Smaller rocketsIn the early stages of the project, smaller rockets were launched off a floating buoy between the on-land rocket site and Manitou Island, about 2.5mi off shore. These smaller rockets were commonly known as Mighty Mouse rockets for they were only a few feet tall and had folding fins. There were approximately 50 of these rockets launched from the floating buoy.Larger rocketsThere were two types of larger rockets launched from the site, Arcas at about six feet and the much larger Nike Apache rockets. Both of these rockets were two-stage rockets that could carry a substantial payload. The Nike Apache rockets weighed about 1700lb, were over 28ft tall and reached an altitude of almost 100mi.