Nuri Saryal at METU
Prof. Nuri Saryal joined the METU Department of Mechanical Engineering.
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Galaxy Roket'le
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METU · The 1960s
ORDOT
A guided rocket research and development project carried out at METU in the 1960s. This page was prepared to tell the story of that team's work, with its sources.
Illustrative drawing. ORDOT's dimensions are not given in the sources, so proportions may differ from the real rocket.
The Story
One department, one team, one rocket.
“Even though very valuable years were lost, things are finally happening in Türkiye.”
Prof. Nuri Saryal, from his ORDOT memoirs
In the early 1960s Türkiye bought its wire-guided anti-tank rockets from abroad. Prof. Nuri Saryal, who joined the METU Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1962, believed this technology could be researched at the university and brought together a team of faculty members, assistants and technicians from several departments.
The project ran for about three years. The team prepared its own solid propellant, fired the motor again and again in its own test room, developed proportional guidance electronics and designed a parachute head to recover the test rocket. The flight tests held on METU land in 1969 were widely reported in the press.
ORDOT remained a research and development project and never went into production. Even so, it left behind methods, trained people and a memory on campus.
- ~3years
- Length of the project
- 77
- The first motor test without an explosion came at about this attempt
- 2km
- Planned length of the command wire
- 1969
- Year of the flight tests
Video
ORDOT, as told by METU.
The episode of METU's “Bilim Her Yerde” series devoted to the ORDOT project (in Turkish).
Design
What was inside the rocket?
Tap the numbers to read how each part was designed. The information is based on the memoirs of Prof. Nuri Saryal.
Illustrative drawing. ORDOT's dimensions are not given in the sources, so proportions may differ from the real rocket.
01
Parachute head
Designed so that the test rocket could be recovered. An acceleration switch, adjustable between 5 and 20 seconds, released the parachute. The head worked in both catapult tests carried out above an abandoned quarry.
Suha Selamoğlu, Vedat Arpacı02
Canard layout and proportional guidance
The control surfaces were placed at the front of the body. Instead of the on-off control of the Cobra rocket of the period, the team aimed for stepless, proportional guidance.
Canan Toker03
Command wire
Commands were to reach the rocket through a 2 km wire. Four separate commands were carried on a single channel using square-wave modulation. A special machine was built to wind the wire.
İlhan Onur04
Motor casing
The casing was a seamless boiler tube of thick-walled Karabük steel. Thrust was recorded on a measuring rig sensitive to 0.4 N. The rocket used in the flight tests was unguided and launched from a ramp.
Nihat Çokyücel, Alp Esin05
Solid propellant
An asphalt-based “Galcit” type propellant with potassium perchlorate as oxidiser was chosen and designed to burn from one end. The target was a constant speed of about 100 m/s for roughly 20 seconds. The propellant was cast under a 3 Torr vacuum, compacted in a 50-ton press and checked by X-ray.
Ertuğrul Onat, Suha Selamoğlu06
Nozzle
The nozzle was chrome-plated to withstand erosion by the hot gases.
Mustafa DorukFrom the design desk
- Composite partsMade from glass fibre and polyester. The idea came from technician Esat Aşkun; the polyester was sourced from İzmir.
- Trajectory calculationThe flight path was calculated with a program written for a punched-card IBM computer (Levent Kayalar).
- Equations of motionOrhan Kural worked on the equations describing the rocket's behaviour in flight.
Timeline
28 June 1962 1964 – 1965 Second half of the 1960s About the 77th attempt 31 May 1969 22 – 30 June 1969 1 April 1970 Afterwards
ORDOT, from 1962 to 1970.
Building and laboratories
The Mechanical Engineering building and its laboratories were completed, laying the ground for experimental work.
The project begins
Work that would last about three years began. An agreement was made with the Air Force Command, and the motor test room was built next to the NATO project building of Electrical Engineering.
First motor test without an explosion
After dozens of attempts the motor burned without exploding for the first time. Step by step, the team had solved its propellant casting and burning-surface problems.
Decision for the first flight test
According to Saryal's account, on a sunny Saturday the rocket left the ramp cleanly, climbed in the calculated direction and went out of sight. The test was filmed with a 16 mm Bolex camera.
ORDOT in the press
The daily Milliyet reported the project on its front page on 22 June. The second successful test on 28 June appeared in the paper on 30 June.
End of an era
Saryal left for Munich on a Humboldt fellowship. The project remained at the research and development stage.
Traces
In later years the Guided Vehicles Test and Measurement Centre (GATÖM) was founded and was later succeeded by SAGE. Ömer Anlağan of the ORDOT team went on to serve as director of SAGE.
- 28 June 1962Nuri Saryal at METU
Prof. Nuri Saryal joined the METU Department of Mechanical Engineering.
- 1964 – 1965Building and laboratories
The Mechanical Engineering building and its laboratories were completed, laying the ground for experimental work.
- Second half of the 1960sThe project begins
Work that would last about three years began. An agreement was made with the Air Force Command, and the motor test room was built next to the NATO project building of Electrical Engineering.
- About the 77th attemptFirst motor test without an explosion
After dozens of attempts the motor burned without exploding for the first time. Step by step, the team had solved its propellant casting and burning-surface problems.
- 31 May 1969Decision for the first flight test
According to Saryal's account, on a sunny Saturday the rocket left the ramp cleanly, climbed in the calculated direction and went out of sight. The test was filmed with a 16 mm Bolex camera.
- 22 – 30 June 1969ORDOT in the press
The daily Milliyet reported the project on its front page on 22 June. The second successful test on 28 June appeared in the paper on 30 June.
- 1 April 1970End of an era
Saryal left for Munich on a Humboldt fellowship. The project remained at the research and development stage.
- AfterwardsTraces
In later years the Guided Vehicles Test and Measurement Centre (GATÖM) was founded and was later succeeded by SAGE. Ömer Anlağan of the ORDOT team went on to serve as director of SAGE.
ORDOT on Campus
01 02 03
Where were the tests held?
Motor test room
Built next to the NATO project building of Electrical Engineering. The motor was fired here again and again on the thrust measuring rig.
The quarry
The parachute head was tested by launching it with a catapult above an abandoned quarry. Both tests were successful.
Launch area
The first flight test took place on METU land, in an empty area used for burning refuse.
Support
Who supported the project?
- METU Rectorate40,000 TL
Initial funding provided under Rector Kemal Kurdaş.
- Air Force Command140,000 TL
Agreement arranged through Colonel Cemal Özalp; support was also given on aerodynamics.
- Motor test room55,000 TL
Built under Vice Rector Orhan Alsaç.
- TPAOMaterials
Asphalt for the propellant was supplied through Korkut Özal.
- Hacettepe University RadiologyX-ray
With the support of Abdullah Kenanoğlu, the propellant grains were checked by X-ray.
The Team
The people behind ORDOT.
The roles are based on the memoirs of Prof. Nuri Saryal. We would not want to leave anyone's work out: if you have a photograph, a document or a correction to share, please write to us.
NS
Prof. Nuri Saryal
Project lead · Mechanical EngineeringBorn in Baku in 1929. He graduated from Robert College in mechanical engineering in 1952, took his master's degree at Purdue University and his doctorate at the Technical University of Berlin (1956). He joined METU in 1962, chaired the department in 1963–1965 and served as Rector of METU in 1977–1979. He started and led ORDOT. He passed away in 2020.
SS
ODTÜ Anı Ağacı
ODTÜ Anı AğacıProf. Suha Selamoğlu
Parachute head, propellant moulds, design and manufacture · Mechanical EngineeringBorn in Ankara in 1929. He graduated from Istanbul Technical University in 1952 and completed his doctorate at Brown University in 1964. He joined METU Mechanical Engineering in 1966 and worked on fluid mechanics and heat transfer. He passed away in 2022.
OK
Orhan Kural
Equations of motion · Mechanical EngineeringA member of the core team; he worked on the equations describing the rocket's behaviour in flight.
ÖA
Ömer Anlağan
Research · Mechanical EngineeringNuri Saryal's thesis student. He later served as director of SAGE.
EO
Ertuğrul Onat
Propellant chemistry · ChemistryTook on the preparation of the perchloric acid needed for the oxidiser.
CT
Canan Toker
Guidance electronics · Electrical EngineeringDeveloped the electronics of the proportional guidance.
MD
Mustafa Doruk
Nozzle · Metallurgical EngineeringWorked on the chrome-plated nozzle.
VA
Vedat Arpacı
Parachute head · Visiting facultyWorked on the parachute head while on sabbatical from the University of Michigan at METU Mechanical Engineering.
AE
Alp Esin
Thrust measurementBuilt the rig that measured the motor's thrust.
İO
İlhan Onur
Command wireBuilt the machine that wound the command wire.
LK
Levent Kayalar
Trajectory programWrote the computer program that calculated the flight trajectory.
NÇ
Nihat Çokyücel
Workshop managerRan the manufacture of the rocket casing.
EA
Esat Aşkun
TechnicianCame up with the idea of using composite material.
MÖ
Metin Özbek
TechnicianMade the trips to İzmir to obtain materials.
OY
Orhan Yeşin
AssistantWorked on the project as Nuri Saryal's assistant.
Galaxy Roket does not claim to be the continuation or the heir of ORDOT. We are students designing rockets on the same campus, and we believe it is worth knowing the work of a team that wrestled with similar questions half a century before us.
The story of a team that fired its motor dozens of times, rebuilt it, and made its own mould, press and measuring rig is a good reminder for every day we spend in the workshop.
“Even though very valuable years were lost, things are finally happening in Türkiye.”
Prof. Nuri Saryal, from his ORDOT memoirs
Sources
What is this page based on?
The information here was compiled from the open sources below. ORDOT's length, diameter, weight and the altitude it reached are not given in these sources, so they are not given on this page either.
- Prof. Nuri Saryal, “ORDOT – 1960'lı Yıllarda Milli Güdümlü Roket Projesi” (in Turkish)goklerdeyiz.net
- METU Memory Tree: Prof. Suha Selamoğlu (in Turkish)memoriam.metu.edu.tr
- Nuri SaryalWikipedia
- “Bilim Her Yerde | ORDOT Projesi” (in Turkish)ODTÜ-METU YouTube channel
- News report on the book “Makine Hikayeleri”, 3 August 2012 (in Turkish)Habertürk