Redstone (rocket family)

Jupiter-A

The first Redstone variant, Jupiter-A, tested parts for the PGM-19 Jupiter missile. Its initial version used a different fuselage. It evaluated the Redstone ST-80 guidance platform, Jupiter angle-of-attack sensors, warhead fusion systems, and explosive bolts. From 1955 to 1958, twenty-five launches took place at Cape Canaveral on Launch Complexes 5 and 6.

Juno I

Juno I was a derivative of the Jupiter-C and launched the first American satellite, Explorer 1, on January 31, 1958. The Eisenhower administration had initially wanted the first U.S. satellite launched by a civilian rocket developed by American engineers, not a military-derived rocket built by German engineers of Operation Paperclip. The administration also saw value in the USSR making the first orbital move, setting a precedent for territorial overflight in space, which was necessary for U.S. space-based photoreconnaissance ambitions after diplomatic protests against U-2 incursions. The civilian Vanguard launch vehicle was developed for this purpose, and ABMA research director Wernher von Braun was ordered not to attempt satellite launches.

Did You Know?

• The PGM-11 Redstone was built by Chrysler and deployed in West Germany.
• Sparta, a series of surplus Redstone missiles with two solid-fuel upper stages, launched Australia's first Earth satellite, WRESAT.
• Two members of the Saturn family, Saturn I and IB, used eight tanks built on Redstone tooling clustered around one tank built on Jupiter missile tooling.