Development of gun launched rockets.

In 1962 McGi11 University undertook a program of high altitude research using a 16" smooth bore Naval gun. The concept of investigating upper atmosphere physics using guns was proposed by Dr. G.V. Bull. The early history and technique is described in various references. Initially, the program concentrated on launching pure ballistic vehicles. It became apparent by the spring of 1963 that, with the available launching system, the pure ballistic vehicle had attained its maximum performance which was in the region of 120 kilometers. In order to achieve better performance, in terms of payload and apogee, it became necessary to investigate other concepts. [...