Editing Loki (rocket) (section)

==Sounding rockets==
[[File:Rockoon Van Allen.jpg|thumb|upright|[[James Van Allen]] holding a Loki instrumented "Rockoon", Credit: JPL]]

In 1955 the [[United States Navy]] took many of the already-completed Lokis and replaced the explosive warhead with a [[Chaff (countermeasure)|chaff]] dispenser. These '''WASP''' rockets were fired from ships directly upward, and the chaff released at apogee where it was tracked by [[radar]] in order to accurately measure the winds aloft. The [[United States Air Force|USAF]] also used the Loki for this role, assigning it the name '''XRM-82'''. The [[Office of Naval Research|ONR]] also used the Loki in some of its [[Rockoon]] launches, lofting the Loki to high altitudes on a helium balloon before firing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Loki Rockoon |url=http://www.astronautix.com/l/lokirockoon.html |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=www.astronautix.com}}</ref>

Many other Lokis were sold into the civilian market, where they became quite popular for meteorological work, referred to as the '''Loki-Dart'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Loki Dart |url=http://www.astronautix.com/l/lokidart.html |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=www.astronautix.com}}</ref> To better serve the needs in this role, a larger-diameter motor with 50% more fuel was developed in 1957, creating the '''Loki II''', the original retroactively becoming '''Loki I'''. Other companies developed additional versions, including the Cooper Development/[[Marquardt Corporation|Marquardt]] '''Rocksonde 100''' with a 100,000&nbsp;ft maximum altitude and '''Rocksonde 200''' able to reach 200,000&nbsp;ft.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PWN-5 |url=http://www.astronautix.com/p/pwn-5.html |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=www.astronautix.com}}</ref>

A variant known as '''HASP''' ('''High Altitude Sounding Projectile''') was launched directly from a 5-inch gun barrel. To stabilize the HASP during firing, the dart's small fins were fitted with "bore riders", which guided the rocket along the rifled barrel and thereby also imparted a spin. The bore riders fell free as soon as the dart exited the gun barrel.<ref name=HASP>{{cite web |title=Variant |url=http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app4/hasp.html }}</ref>