The Viking rocket series of sounding rockets were designed and built by the Glenn L. Martin Company (now Lockheed-Martin) under the direction of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). Viking 4, on 11 May 1950, launched from the deck of the USS Norton Sound near the Equator, reached a peak altitude of 169 km, almost the maximum possible for the payload flown, in a nearly perfect flight. Guidance system was reverted to that of Vikings 1 and 2. Read more